An Introduction to Adequate Recovery

By Meg McCarrick

In DRC, you see us talk a lot about recovery, but what does it mean? Is it healing up after an injury? Or taking a day off after an intense work out? Is it just a word reserved for elite athletes?

Look, if you are a member of DRC, you are an athlete. It is time to recognize that and treat yourself as such.  

With the weather on the verge of a spring upswing, we are all counting down the minutes until our feet get to hit the pavement or trail each day. Not surprisingly, the highest incidence of injury is often associated with this rev-up in running. As glorious as it is to be out there increasing speed and mileage, sometimes we neglect applying the necessary recovery to our running lifestyle.

Ok, so… remember, we are athletes here. We are killing PRs and pushing our limits and crushing the physical standards most people expect of themselves. Let’s take a couple minutes to talk about the parts of the day NOT spent running, but that definitely affect our running.

Hydration: Hydration is an everyday necessity and our general population is kind of terrible at it. 3-5 liters of water a day. Who does that? Well, athletes …like you. So get yourself a heavy-duty BPA-free, or steel or glass liter bottle and keep it with you. DRINK!  Replenishing fluid for your body after exertion or time in the heat or wind or even extreme cold is key to keeping the cells of your body turgid and productive. You cleanse your digestive and urinary systems more regularly and efficiently with a steady flow of water consumption. The healing process actually speeds up with effective hydration. You get over illness more quickly, repair an injury with less time down and stay mentally sharp, all simply by consuming an adequate amount of water on a daily basis. Be ready to pee a lot.

Nutrition: There is a very obvious disconnect with Americans and the purpose of food. We typically do not view food as fuel, or as sustenance, or as specific to healing or health. We tend to limit ourselves rather than green-lighting a feeding frenzy of actual real food. Calories derived from real food sources are easily utilized by our systems at rest and during physical demand. It’s unfortunate that we don’t have better food education built into primary, occupational, or even medical schools. So, it is up to us to look for the information and to apply it even when that type of lifestyle is made challenging in our common culture. Food is basic and simple… if it is basic and simple: fresh, clean, live foods are going to create a fresh, clean and live environment within our bodies. If you are eating junk, your system will be junk. The “you are what you eat” saying rings very true to those people looking to reach their physical and mental potential. Athletics aside, wouldn’t it be great if all people ate for health? We would eliminate diabetes and most cancers, as well as drastically reduce occurrences of common viral and bacterial infections because we would be more capable of fighting those things off, JUST BY HAVING A HEALTHIER SYSTEM. Now, imagine what kind of an impact a diet full of fresh, clean, live foods can have on your preparation, performance, and healing as it links to your running lifestyle.

Rest: Good sleep is paramount. We are up before the sun and not in bed until well after it goes down. We sleep restlessly as our body fights the daily sugar spikes, screen time, work and life stressors. We sleep with other restless bodies, barking dogs, noisy traffic, kids that need to get up to pee. Even when we do get in bed, as tired as zombies, sleep is often hard to manage. Napping is viewed as laziness, but we are all tired. Someone once told me to make sleeping a hobby and habit, enjoy it, don’t apologize for it and take all that you need. 8-10 hours, try to make time for it. Your body’s cells actually heal more quickly while you are at rest; while sleeping, complex systems are still diligently filtering, processing and creating new cells, pathways and products.

That’s the recovery trifecta. By becoming more in tune with your water intake, pushing a heavy diet of good foods, and making sleep a priority you can take on quality workouts, make huge gains, and heal in a fraction of the normal time. This is essentially the secret to evolving to your most impressive athlete and self. Ok, so training and balanced workouts are extremely helpful as well, but I would venture to say that how you recover actually plays a larger role in your ability and potential than just jamming out intense training. Further, you are going to be able to jam out a whole lot harder with the right regular big picture care.

Stress Avoidance: In addition to those main three, Hydration, Nutrition and Sleep, there is another facet of well-being that effects recovery. It’s a little sticky to avoid stress as we are bombarded with it in most aspects of our lives. Heck, it is why a lot of us run in the first place. If you focus on the trifecta, you will find that some stress is more manageable anyway, but there are some areas that require a little more thought. We all have those issues in our lives that make just getting by difficult. Money, other people, jobs, expectations… some of these things are static and you just have to sip your herbal tea and let it roll off your back, while in downward facing dog, listening to Fleet Foxes. But some other stresses can be lessened with clear decision making to avoid overly-heavy situations, setting up smart systems and even considering cutting your obligations. The most effective way to lessen the effect of stressors is to stay positive and stay thankful. Take time to really value those great relationships, accomplishments and joys in your life. 

Solid athletic performance and recovery will always be complimentary of one another. As DRC athletes, and especially going in to this busy season of running, remember to place some importance and focus on recovery. Proper hydration, nutrition and sleep, along with keeping a peaceful mind will strengthen your running ability and allow you to make those changes in form and training that lead to even bigger gains. Happy Running, DRC!

New Year, New... Ugh!

By Rae Hedlund

Welcome to another year, DRC! Looking back at 2015, I’m blown away by all the things our club has accomplished: members have joined and become confident and consistent runners; people have run their first races or tackled new distances; we have shared stories, told more about our lives before running and how running has changed us. It’s truly incredible to see the things our club has done over the last year.

I’ve spent the past year helping with the DRC blog, encouraging you to share your stories, and I have loved every minute of it. Every story you’ve told has been an inspiration to me personally, and I’m so thankful to have been a part of it thus far. Starting out another year, I feel excited just seeing the things to come, with the 2016 Penny Challenge, our month of speedwork in April, and other fun things in the works, it’s all so exciting! But can I share something with you that hasn’t been exciting me lately? Resolutions.

For some years now, I’ve felt completely overwhelmed by the “New Year, New You!” concept. Those of you that know me know I’m an extrovert (Gasp! Shocking!), and while I’m great at seeing a big-picture concept, achieving the final product leaves me feeling confused and muddled—the details elude me. Ask me to tell you my “resolutions” and I get frazzled because I have a lot of things I’d love to accomplish, but don’t know what is reasonable and what isn’t. To be honest, there is also a part of me that’s just cynical about resolutions. Think of all the memes out there about people going to the gym in January... and not going after that! Those memes are how I’ve always looked at resolutions.

Not gonna lie, I think they based this off something I said once.

I'd tell you to disregard the year, but this shows that I'm not the only one who thinks this way!

Well, I’m here to say sorry. I’m sorry for being cynical, and I’m sorry (okay, only a little) for being so easily stressed over a pastime that most people embrace. However, I’ve shifted my thinking over the last couple years to try to see “resolutions” as goals- and I’m always excited to talk about my goals! I have some for the year (volunteering and decluttering, to name a couple), but my main goal is to be gracious with myself. The idea of being gracious, compassionate, or just kind to myself came during my 50-miler last year, and I’ve tried to keep that idea alive.

This year is starting out particularly directionless for me. Being 34 weeks pregnant, I’m just thankful for every moment my body feels good being active. Over and over, I’ve been encouraged to “listen to my body,” while also being prodded to be cautious and not overdo things. So, this year, I consider it a  goal to continue having a healthy pregnancy. With that in mind, I have just tried to be gracious with myself while doing what I love: I love running! But I also know that I need to take walking breaks, or cut a run short; there are also times, though, where I know the discomfort I’m feeling stems not from pregnancy, but from running just being tough.

Starting off my year in my third trimester has thrown my already easily overwhelmed, non-detail-oriented brain into a tizzy. How can I set fitness goals? Can I get close to last year’s mileage, or is that out of the question? What do I even want my goals to be? I’m not much for racing and have none on my calendar for the year, and I’m okay with that! I’ve learned that I don’t need a race as motivation, that I just like to see what my body can do, and with DRC to keep the motivation flowing I know I’ll continue running (thanks, DRC!).

No races, no mileage goal, I really do feel directionless! At the same time, though, I’m looking forward to some awesome volunteering opportunities—it is so inspiring to see others pushing themselves, getting to help them on their way is just way too cool. I’m hoping to get to pace some friends this year as they go out to crush their goals, because what better way to give back to those who have helped me in my own running journey? Even continuing to encourage you DRCers to share your running stories with the rest of us through the blog is something I’m looking forward to this year!

What does this all mean, then? Here I am, somewhat goalless but looking forward to a full year. Honestly, I feel a little empty about it, but also kind of excited to see what the year will bring; with nothing in my sights, anything that comes across my horizon will be an adventure I’ll be floored to take part in. I love seeing the goals/resolutions of other DRCers, because I know that I’ll be setting goals sometime this year, just not in January. I feel directionless, but I know that I’m not.

My Challenge Year

By Kristy Young

I really don’t know why I took up running. I used to run, when I was 19; I was young and thin, and had joined the Army. In Boot Camp, you had to run... but then I developed shin splints from running in combat boots, which turned into stress fractures that wouldn’t heal because I wasn’t able to get the rest time I needed. These stress fractures caused me to be unable to do the necessary amount of push-ups needed to pass the PT test. I was eventually sent home.

That was all 19 years ago.

Fast forward to 2014. I’m married, have a home, a child, and have to be an adult now. I’ve also gained a bunch of weight from my own unhealthy eating choices, lack of energy, and lack of exercise. It’s a vicious cycle: I was always eating on the go, eating fast food that made me feel terrible and tired, and never made time for myself. I would do the same thing day after day, always feeling terrible and tired.

To try to break this cycle, I started running in early 2014 and feel like I did okay; I was slow, with 15-minute miles, but I was out there doing something! I stumbled across DRC, joined, and watched. I ran off and on with the Couch to 5k app, which is a mixture of walking and running. I did this until around July, when I had an asthma attack during my run and had to quit. I was DONE. I couldn’t do it. I was too tired, too fat, too unmotivated, too slow... I was unable to breathe, so I was just done.

But I still watched the DRC posts. Yep, I Facebook stalked all of you. And I kept seeing all the miles that were going on out there. So jealous, yet unable to get myself off the couch to claim a few miles for myself.

In November of 2014, I decided to join the gym. Club Fitness is three minutes from my house, why not? I started working with a personal trainer, Jamie Driemeyer, who taught me how to exercise properly and, more importantly, how to eat properly. Nutrition was where I was lacking the most and needed major help. First, I had to cut out the fast food and make healthy choices while cooking at home. This alone changed my entire household: we started meal-planning and meal-prepping, which was new for us. We started using MyFitnessPal to track what we were eating—it’s amazing what you put into your mouth and what you don’t when you are forced to think about it. From November 2014 to May 2015, I worked with Jamie and lost 50 pounds! During that time, I was still watching all the miles being posted in DRC.

At the beginning of 2015, The Challenge came out: Run 20.15 miles per week or month, or run 2015k or miles for the year. I thought, “I can do 20.15 a week, that can’t be too tough!” Wow, January was a huge struggle for me, but I scraped by with 21.1. miles! I kept at it. February was tough, too, and really scraped by with 20.7. My miles stayed restricted to a treadmill because of what had happened the previous July.

Then March came and I had a HUGE MONTH! I hit 41 miles! I doubled what I had previously done! And, more importantly, I fell in love! In April, I ran outside for the first time since July 2014 and I was even happier. At this point, I just could not wait to run!

Running my first race, the Mo' Cowbell 5k!

Every week I challenged myself, every day I was so anxious to run that I could hardly wait to get home and get out there! I have read almost everything I can find about running: what to do, what not to do, how to get faster, how to win over the mind struggles. I love reading your advice, your struggles, and your successes! Through the articles and your personal experiences, I have learned what works for me. I have hit 11- to 12-minute miles, a big improvement from where I started my year, an accomplishment that makes me very proud.

PR time of 35:50!

My goal at the beginning of 2015 was to run 20.15 each month, with a total of 240 miles for the year. Well, I hit that in September—that’s right, September! I changed my goal to 500 for the year and am 13 miles from that goal, and will definitely meet it.

In September I met my running buddy, Jolene Toeben. Without DRC, I would never have met Jolene. She and I became fast friends with common goals, I am so grateful to have met her. We run our long runs once a week- or every other week, depending on our schedules- together, but are virtual running partners every day. We support each other through texts and Facebook posts. It has been a joy to find someone with goals similar to mine and who is so supportive in all aspects of my life.

Katy Trail geocaching adventures with my husband and son.

So, DRC, I’m here to thank you. Thank you, all of DRC!! Without you, I would not be anywhere close to where I am now. I would probably still be on the couch. Because of you, I have completed 5ks, 10ks, and am running the Wildwood Frozen Feet half-marathon in January 2016. A year ago, I would have told you that you were crazy for wanting to run that distance, and even crazier if you told me I would run it!

My son Anthony's first 5k!

So again I say thank you! Thank you for motivating me, thank you for motivating my family. My 8 year-old just completed his first 5k, and is more active than ever, always wanting to go running with me. My husband is jumping on the bandwagon as well, starting slowly, but it looks like soon we’ll be a whole family of runners. Thank you, DRC. Without your unintentionally motivating posts, our lives would be so different right now. I would have missed out on all the fun, and the joy of watching myself change into a new person. 2015 was a tough year for me, but it was also so inspiring to see what I can do, if I only want it.