A Beginner’s Guide to Running
Success is much easier to attain when given the proper tools in preparation. Running has a relatively low barrier to entry compared to other forms of physical activity- grab some shoes and get goin. IT is an easy skill to train no matter where you are in the world- it won’t take up space in your luggage. Running is a moving meditation that can be both individual and social- there are many health markers that benefit from the act of running.
The physiological value of the sport is undeniable but still, running can get a bad rap. The high impact of running can lead to skeletal-muscular issues, lack of knowledge around ventilatory thresholds can lead to overexertion, and highly competitive folks may find comparison the thief of joy.
I’ve always been someone who ran, but I’ve only recently dubbed myself a runner. For years, I would embark on an annual (semiannual at best) run in the hopes that one of them would be the one to make me fall in love. I’m not sure why I persisted, but at some point, it worked. Through self study and errors made, I felt the invaluable gift of accomplishment become a motivator to keep going. Since then, I’ve become a run coach and gotten certified in nutrition for endurance sports to support the athletes that I work with.
Knowledge is power, so I’ve compiled a high level list of tools that have helped me to experience success via increased skill- it’s a positive feedback loop. I hope that a bit of a leg up can encourage that sense of personal accomplishment for y’all who may be interested in developing the skill.
“Precovery” and Nutrient Timing
Run prep doesn’t begin after you’ve laced up and hit the road. Sleep quality, nutrient strategies, and allostatic (stress) load lay down the groundwork for the run experience well before you’ve thrown on a pair of shoes and shorts. Establishing a solid routine and setting expectations relevant to these factors is base-line for successful skills development.
Precovery for amateur running does not have to be a big to-do. Instead, keep the basics in mind: fuel properly, rest plenty, and reduce stress load. You can find specifics about threshold training across the internet, but, unless you’re in it for sport-specific training, those details can muddy the water when the intention is to begin.
Nutritionally, carbs are faster acting energy, fats are highly concentrated energy. Eat a balanced diet including nourishing fats, fiber/veggies, and protein. Each of these nutrients act as building blocks to your body and it’s system operations. Give your body some time to digest the foods it’s consumed or intentionally consume easier to digest options (smoothies versus full fruits) so that you don’t end up cramping up in the run itself.
On-The-Run
Just start! running is different from walking in that running includes going airborne intermittently between steps. For a moment, on a run, you’re flying. Pace doesn’t matter, time doesn’t matter. Instead, move within a context that feels sustainable- just go and grow from there.
Your body will tell you when you need to slow down or if it’s time to speed up, you just need to read the signs. Without getting too in-depth about the details, our body leverages the resources it has to begin and maintain motion. At high speeds, the body will deplete fast-acting/fast-replenishing energy sources (carbs). At lower, longer-duration speed, the body can lean into it’s more concentrated sources (fats).
Your heart rate and breath rate are vital indicators for the systems at play and how your resources are being managed. Information on Ventilatory Threshold metrics can be found across the internet but, again, as a newbie to the sport, that information is likely to complicate something that can be identified innately.
Keep it simple, signs of excess will show up as extreme breathlessness, cramping, nausea, and painful pounding heart rate. Listen to the body and let go of expectations, your runs will improve with practice, not by force. Be present and enjoy the dialogue between body and mind.
Afterwards
When the distance and the pace don’t matter as much, the act of running is the joy itself. You’ve gotten up and gotten it done- the rest is details. After your run be sure to refuel by giving the body adequate nutritional value (whole, un-processed foods will do). Exercise is an appetite suppressant as the body shunts resources away from the visceral core and out towards the working extremities- so be mindful of how soon before/after your consuming foods keeping an eye on the time it will take to digest the foods. In the immediate hours following a run, hydration and nutrition not only support recovery, but can act as the precovery for the next bout of physical activity.
Movement should be a gift, not a punishment- our bodies feel our intentions and, much like a child, can sense when the vibes are off. As a result, the body responds accordingly, our self image can either subdue or contribute that stress load. Stress layered onto stress suppresses immune function and recovery initiatives. Love your body, enjoy the ride, take off the expectations, and allow yourself to just try a few times.
Breathe Better, Live Better
How Breath Works
Breath serves as the perpetual dance between Oxygen and CO2- these two opposite forces balance pH levels in the blood, support brain functioning, metabolic processes, and nervous system regulation.
As with all opposite forces, the balance comes from the conflicting qualities that contribute to homeostasis. With the breath, Oxygen serves as the energizer- it builds heat and lightness (getting light headed). In contrast, CO2 is a depressant, it cools and grounds.
When the body senses too much CO2 building up in the blood stream, it will signal the respiratory diaphragm to contract which, in turns, triggers and intake of air into the lungs. Once in the lungs, Oxygen reaches the vast surface area of capillaries and alveoli, teeming with vessels and capillaries, to shuttle Oxygen into the blood.
Thought CO2 gets a bad rap, it’s active participation in our everyday health should be celebrated. Because CO2 is a depressant, it down-shifts an accelerated nervous system by relaxing the smooth muscle tissues like those within the heart. In addition, an increased CO2 build up within a breath cycle may support more efficient Oxygen reuptake- this is how breathwork works!
5-minute Practice
Box breathing is arguably the easiest breath practice to follow. It regulates the nervous system through equal in breaths and out breaths with equal retention in between.
Set a timer for 5-minutes and, if possible, pull up a metronome app. Using common time, close your eyes and let the rhythm guide your pace as you breathe in for 4-counts, hold for 4-counts, breathe out for 4-counts, and hold for 4-counts.
If you feel your mind wander or you notice you’ve dozed off, realign and return. The process is the destination.
Soft Shell Tortillas
Makes about 6
what you’ll need
1.5 c Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
5 tbsp Salted Butter
0.5 c Hot Water
how you’ll prepare it
Combine “dry”s.
Add butter + water.
Knead for 5 minutes or until dough is smooth and bounces back.
Let sit for 10 min to rise.
Cut into 6 pieces- flatten/rollout.
Lightly fry in drizzle of oil (your choice) until bubbles appear- flip and repeat.
Let cool on paper towel.
ways you can consume it
In tacos, as a quesadilla, with some peanut butter on top.
Mindfulness for Beginners
What is MBSR
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a practice in being aware as moments unfold. MBSR offers an opportunity to leverage the tools we have on-hand (our consciousness) to be unhindered by both the anxieties of what has been and the concerns for what will be. In an over-stimulated society, practicing mindfulness through the easiest framework possible can feel like a breath of fresh air.
How the Body Handles Stress
When the body absorbs stimuli, our sense systems identify the threat’s potential and proceeds accordingly. When talking about stress response, the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is our central driver. The hypothalamus is the systems central operation controlling temperature, hunger, and heart rate. The pituitary gland recieves signals to start production and circulation of hormones to the body and the adrenals via secretion of the stress hormones necessary to prime our bodies to react.
Our two most common stress hormones, cortisol and adrenaline, serve the purpose to get you up and going as well as keeping the system on alert after initial response. When that initial adrenaline pump fades away, the cortisol of the body continues to pump through the system supporting circulation, respiration, and musculoskeletal alertness.
Because we are constantly on-guard and assessing the stimulus around us, high or recurring systemic cortisol is not an uncommon experience. We are, essentially, trapped in our fight or flight response by the design of the society in which we live. So how can we return to grounding in a way that is not daunting and that is accessible?
4-Fast Tips to Ground
Take Inventory of the Present Moment
We are one set of eyes in a vast universal experience. All at once, this moment unfolds for and impacts an un-quantifiable number of other humans. Sometimes simply taking a second to take inventory moment over moment can be enough to return to the now and peel away from the concerns of what was or what will.
Observe Judgments, Emotions, & Resistance
As the seer, it is our ego’s contribution to keep us narrating, identifying, and affiliating with the concepts that come to mind. Pattern recognition is an important part of operating efficiently in the world that we exist in. While wonderful and with purpose, pattern recognition at all times is exhausting. The practice of noticing patterns can be enough to cut off intrusive thoughts and repetitive inner discourse.
Engage With Their Implications
While we dialogue internally between our observer and our narrator, having taken inventory and observed the narrator’s contributions to the present response to the present moment, we can begin to realize what is us and what is not us. More often than not, so much of what we assign to us is, in fact, not us. We are the sum of those that we interact with the most- the people, places, and things that operate around us have such a significant influence on our concept of self. Just taking the step back to see the historical pattern play out can also be enough to cut off overthinking or unproductive internal rumination.
Explore Opportunity to Step Into New Patterns
I often refer to this yogic concept of Samskaras- these wheels of suffering that we persistently ride on. Suffering (Dukkha) is inevitable, we are a logical narrator tacked on to an irrational animal form- both the horse and the rider- a match made in hell if I do say so myself.
Choices are made for us (both external and internal) when we lack the practice of awareness to find which choices we can in fact choose for ourselves, we become stuck to this treadmill of the same stimulus leading to the same outcome further ingraining our patterns and our suffering.
By this point, perhaps headway has been made, perhaps how you began is how you remain. What is worth noting is this- if you’ve taken the time to observe, to dis-associate, and to explore new oprtions- you’ve done the practice. It is a practice not a perfect because it may not be the first nor fiftieth time that yields a breakthough, but it may be that fifty-first, ya know?
Simply trying is the first step- failure, missteps, disappointments are inevitable- but sitting put and accepting the outcomes without agency will certainly yield no progress.
March in Your Body
March is the real turn-of-the-leaf away from the dark time and into the light time. Once daylight savings Springs forward, the days get exponentially longer, the earth begins to thaw, and we’re drawn outward. You may notice that you crave less of the heavy sweetness that the Winter called for; you may even notice your appetite diminish significantly. Embrace that. Just like the cold, hard, and heavy winter gives way for the light, energetic, clearness of Spring, this time of year the body readies itself to shed an refresh.
qualities of the season
Here, in the throes of Kapha Season we meet the intersection of the dark time and light time. Between now and April, it’s not abnormal to feel slightly disconnected or pulled in two different directions. Fear not, this is the perfect opportunity to dial into your intuition. The body knows what the body wants, it’s just hard to feel fully aligned with it when we’re inundated daily with the things we’re told we should want.
While the body reheats and re-energizes, it’s helpful to support the transition with easy to digest, light, simple foods. When Springtime hits, the lighter load requires the body to leverage its accumulated stores for fuel. Prioritize warm, light, dry, mobile, sharp, penetrating qualities and embrace bitter, stringent, and pungent tastes.
daily/practices
Like other animals, we too shed our winter layers in preparation for the upcoming warm season. In our case, it involves losing the insulating layers of fat beneath the skin, a natural process that differs from the modern concept of striving for a "summer body." Instead, it aligns with the natural order, orchestrating changes to set us up for success in each season.
As this shedding process unfolds, our blood and lymphatic systems may experience congestion or sluggishness, leading to feelings of heaviness and lethargy. This slowdown can contribute to mucous build-up, common during this time of year. Dry brushing remains a helpful practice to support the somewhat reluctant lymphatic system.
The idea of scraping, known as lekhana, can be applied in various ways throughout the season to introduce a rough and mobile quality when it's lacking. For example, tongue scraping is beneficial year-round but particularly useful now to clarify and assess the state of the digestive system.
While the body lightens up, there's an increased risk of irritants causing seasonal allergies due to changes in blood circulation. Regular Neti practice helps cleanse the sinuses, flushing out any trapped irritants and reducing immune responses.
Additionally, spending time outdoors and staying active is essential. Embracing our connection to nature on nice days allows us to return to its warm embrace. Engaging in activities like preparing spring gardens brings joy in witnessing new life. Our nervous systems greatly benefit from reconnecting with nature, aligning our vibes with the environment around us.
diet staples
March signifies the switch to bitter, pungent, and astringent tastes. Foods high in prana, or energy and life, are more easily accessible as farm stand season returns. Gone are the dark, cold months of root veggies and preserves- now is the time for berries, cherries, greens, and grains!
Pungent and warming digestive herbs like ginger, black pepper, and turmeric assist the digestion, or agni, to brighten up and reinvigorate. It’s the perfect season to re-introduce all sorts of grains into the diet. Grains like barkley, buckwheat, and millet are light and mobile enough to give quick bursts of energy that will help keep the system running efficiently with the longer days.
finally, beans and lean meats - particularly easy to digest beans and fish - nourish the system via their fiber and protein content. Because the light time encourages getting outside and getting mobile, it’s important to keep protein in a light and easily digestible form in order to ensure the body is supplied properly for regeneration.
what’s it all mean
The big takeaway is this: the sun is back, the body gets to movin in the Spring. Support your body's transition with easily digestible, light, and simple foods. As the body taps into its accumulated reserves for fuel, prioritize warm, light, dry, and mobile qualities, alongside bitter, stringent, and pungent tastes.
In daily practices, shed winter layers with dry brushing, scraping, and especially tongue scraping to assess digestive health. Combat potential seasonal allergies by incorporating regular Neti practice. Embrace outdoor activities for overall well-being, connecting with nature during this time of renewal. Circulation, metabolism, and circadian health are primary focuses as we transition out of the cool, dark, dry and into the warm, light time!
If you need support with planning for your unique constitution, tap on (me!) your friendly neighborhood longevity educator!