Beginners Running Program
3 days a week on your off days cross train with the elliptical, biking, rowing and I would do some Pilates.

Week 1~2
Walk 4 min. ~ Jog 2 min. 5x

Week 3~4
Walk 3 min. ~ Jog 3 min. 5x

Week 5~6
walk 2 min. ~ Jog 4 min. 5x

Week 7~8
Two days this week do the
Walk 1 min. ~ Jog 5 min. 5x
Race day Run 30 min.
~Race weekend~

If you are struggling no worries we all do or did at some point~ just be positive and don't give up! If you have any questions please facebook or e-mail me. Have fun Endurance Divas/Endurance Dudes!

Very good reading!

6 Nutrition Tips to Avoid Stomach Pain

By Nancy Clark, MS RD CSSD
For Active.com

"I'm afraid to eat before I exercise ... I might get a side stitch."

"I always carry toilet paper with me when I go on a long run."

"How can I change my sports diet to so I don't need pit stops..???"

Little is more frustrating to a competitive athlete than to be well trained for an event and then get sidelined with a side stitch or diarrhea. Yes, the sports diet that's intended to enhance your performance can also bring you to a screeching halt! Sound familiar?

Transit troubles and gastrointestinal (GI) concerns are common among athletes, particularly those who run and jostle their intestines. An estimated 30 to 50 percent of distance runners experience exercise-related intestinal problems, with women experiencing more problems than do men.

If you are among the many active people who fear side stitches, loose stools, and GI distress, keep reading. The goal of this article is to offer some information and advice that can help you manage, if not reduce, your transit troubles.

Side Stitches

A side stitch--that stabbing pain in your gut that can bring you to a stand-still--is familiar to about 60 percent of athletes. Because getting attacked by a side stitch is unpredictable (that is, one day you might get one but the next day you don't), they are hard to research. The available data suggests they commonly occur in the same spot: on the upper right side of the abdomen where the liver is attached to the diaphragm by two ligaments.

While we aren't 100 percent certain what causes a side stitch, the prevailing theory is exercise creates stress on the ligaments that connect the liver to the diaphragm. Stitches can be provoked by a heavy dose of pre-exercise food/fluids, minimal training and inadequate pre-exercise warm-up.

Wearing a tight belt can help reduce organ jostling and reduce the symptoms. You could also record your food and fluid intake to try to detect triggers (too much pre-exercise water? too large a meal?). With repeated dietary tweaks, you can hopefully discover a tolerable portion of pre-exercise fuel.

To treat a side stitch, many athletes bend forward, stretch the affected side, breathe deeply from the belly, push up on the affected area, tighten the abdominal muscles, and/or change from "shallow" to "deep" breathing. (Pretend you are blowing out candles while exhaling with pursed lips.)

Dreaded Diarrhea

Marathoner Bill Rodgers may have been right when he commented more marathons are won or lost at the porta-toilets than they are at the dinner table. Diarrhea is a major concern for many athletes, particularly those who run--and understandably so. Running jostles the intestines, reduces blood flow to the intestines as the body sends more blood to the exercising muscles, stimulates changes in intestinal hormones that hasten transit time, alters absorption rate, and contributes to dehydration-based diarrhea.

Add some stress, pre-event jitters, high intensity effort--and it's no wonder athletes (particularly novices whose bodies are yet unaccustomed to the stress of hard exercise) fret about "runners' trots."

Exercise--specifically more exercise than your body is accustomed to doing--speeds up GI transit time. (Strength- training also accelerated transit time from an average of 44 hours to 20 hours in healthy, untrained 60-year old men.)

As your body adjusts to the exercise, your intestines may resume standard bowel patterns. But not always, as witnessed by the number of experienced runners who carry toilet paper with them while running. (They also know the whereabouts of every public toilet on the route.) Athletes with pre-existing GI conditions, such as irritable bowel or lactose intolerance, commonly deal with runners' trots.

Solutions for Intestinal Rebellion

To help alleviate undesired pit stops, try exercising lightly before a harder workout to help empty your bowels. Also experiment with training at different times of the day. If you are a morning runner, drink a warm beverage (tea, coffee, water) to stimulate a bowel movement; then allow time to sit on the toilet to do your business prior to exercising. When exercising, visualize yourself having no intestinal problems. A positive mindset (as opposed to useless fretting) may control the problem.

The following nutrition tips might help you fuel wisely and reduce the symptoms:

1) Eat less high fiber cereal. Fiber increases fecal bulk and movement, thereby reducing transit time. High fiber = High risk of distress. Triathletes with a high fiber intake reported more GI complaints than those with a lower fiber intake.

2) Limit "sugar-free" gum, candies and foods that contain sorbitol, a type of sugar that can cause diarrhea.

3) Keep a food & diarrhea chart to pinpoint food triggers. For a week, eliminate any suspicious foods--excessive intakes of juice, coffee, fresh or dried fruits, beans, lentils, milk, high fiber breads and cereals, gels, commercial sports foods. Next, eat a big dose of the suspected food and observe changes in bowel movements. If you stop having diarrhea when you cut out bran cereal, but have a worrisome situation when you eat an extra-large portion, the answer becomes obvious: eat less bran cereal.

4) Learn your personal transit time by eating sesame seeds, corn or beets--foods that can be seen in feces. Because food moves through most people's intestines in 1 to 3 days, the trigger may be a food you ate a few days ago.

5) Stay well-hydrated. GI complaints are common in runners who have lost more than 4 percent of their body weight in sweat. (That's 6 lb. for a 150 lb. athlete.) Runners may think they got diarrhea because of the sports drink they consumed, but the diarrhea might have been related to dehydration.

6) When all else fails, you might want to consult with your doctor about timely use of anti-diarrhea medicine, such as Immodium. Perhaps that will be your saving grace.

The Bottom Line

You are not alone with your concerns. Yet, your body is unique and you need to experiment with different food and exercise patterns to find a solution that brings peacefulness to your exercise program.

Nancy Clark, MS, RD, CSSD (Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics) counsels both casual and competitive athletes in her private practice at Healthworks, the premier fitness center in Chestnut Hill MA (617-383-6100).

Chicago Marathon here I come!

Training for the Marathon is a 12 week plan 31-48 miles

Month of July distance 156.85

August first week 35
8/9/10

Monday 18 miles running from West Salem to La Crosse very hot, thank gosh my hubby put 64 oz of Poweraid everywhere for me. I felt great when I came in the door I went right for Carbs/protein and lots of stretches.

Tuesday Easy run 6 miles~ 3 miles with my son, 3 miles at a 23 min pace
second workout rode bike as hard as I could 15 miles with 3 mile run feeling great! Stretch and ate healthy.

Training!

Looking at doing a hard workout tomorrow I like a challenge
Hill repeats with Hindu Squats goal for the first time is going to be 75 squats with 8-10 hill repeats. Distance of the hill will be 1 mile out to hill 6-8 min up hill, then nice easy down hill, Hindu Squats and back up Heart rate will be 80-85% lets see what we can do.

What a great day, biked 15 miles as hard as I could with one major hill average speed 22 mph I'm feeling great off the bike off to a 3 mile run heart rate 70-75%.

Try this for a wokout!

The following circuit is specifically designed for runners.

Performed regularly, it will improve core strength, endurance, running efficiency & power. It's easy to adapt the workout to accommodate your own level of fitness.

Too easy repeat the circuit 2-3 times back to back or increase reps.

(After completing 1 full circuit including warm up & cool down you will have run roughly 4 miles & completed a full body workout

in about 50-55 minutes. Performing a additional circuit adds another 25-30 minutes.

The Runner's Circuit:

Do the following runs & strength in order. Move quickly from one to the other, but don't rush the actual moves, making sure to maintain good form.

There is no recovery time between the exercises, other than moving from one to the next.

Remember to stay well hydrated throughout the workout.

1. Warm up: Run 10 minutes easy on the treadmill, then run 30 seconds fast (90-95 percent effort) jog for 30 seconds to recover

repeat the fast/slow sequence four more times.

2. Perform 15 squats with dumbbell overhead press.

3. Do 20 bicycles on each leg.

4. Perform 20 step-ups with bicep curls.

5. Run 400 meters at 5k pace (90-95 percent effort) on the treadmill.

6. Do 12 single-leg squats on each leg.

7. Perform 20 dips off a bench.

8. Do 20 supermans.

9. Run 800 meters at 5k pace (90-95 percent effort) on the treadmill.

10. Perform 25 stability ball push-ups.

11. Do 10 lunges with rotation on each leg, using dumbbells or a medicine ball.

12. Hold plank position for 30 seconds.

13. Run 400 meters at 5k pace (90-95 percent effort) recover with 1 1/2 minute easy jogging; repeat the fast/slow running

sequence one more time. For the more advanced, repeat steps 2-13 of circuit 2-3 times.

14. Cool down: After a two minute walk/rest jog & stretch for 10 minutes.

5 Ways to End Muscle Cramps

By Hana A. Feeney, MS, RD, CSSD

“About a quarter-mile from the finish, I started to sprint. I could feel muscle twitches in my quads, and my quads were burning. I had to slow down as I felt the cramp coming on. Then wham! Like a sledgehammer to my leg, the cramp hit and I had to stop and rub it out. What could I have done to prevent that muscle cramp?”

This is a common question among athletes. Muscle cramps are involuntary, intensely painful muscle contractions that nearly every athlete has experienced at some point. Some people experience them often and simply seem to be prone to muscle cramps.

What Can You Do?

Cramps usually hit at the end of intense workouts or during endurance events because fatigued muscles are more likely to cramp. Novice athletes are more likely to have cramps as they fatigue more quickly than seasoned exercisers. If you carefully progress your workouts, you will avoid unnecessary cramps. Heat, and not being used to the heat, increases the frequency of cramps. When the season changes and summer arrives, ease into workouts in the heat.

Additionally, carefully plan your fluids, electrolytes and carbohydrate intake to help avoid or delay muscle cramps.

Are You Drinking Enough?

Studies on fluids and cramps have produced mixed results. Some studies find no associations, while other show that consuming fluids and electrolytes to avoid dehydration will prevent, or at least delay, muscle cramps. The benefits of avoiding dehydration are widespread, so even if it’s not 100 percent guaranteed that you won’t cramp, consuming adequate fluids during exercise will still improve performance.

How would dehydration cause muscle cramps? Fluids in the body are either inside the cell or outside of the cell. When we become dehydrated, the fluid outside of the cells decreases. Reductions in fluids cause nerve endings to be squished together, overexcited, and spontaneously discharge. That spontaneous discharge is a muscle twitch, which can lead to a muscle cramp. By maintaining proper hydration, you can prevent dramatic shifts in fluids that contribute to abnormal muscle contractions.

To prevent dehydration, start by drinking fluids according to your thirst. Weigh yourself before and immediately after exercise, preferably au natural. Any change in your weight is a change in fluid balance. Weight loss greater than 2 to 3 percent of your body weight increases your risk for muscle cramps. If drinking based on thirst prevents fluctuations in your weight during exercise, then you can rely on thirst to be your hydration guide. Otherwise, you need a hydration schedule to meet your fluid needs.

The Need for Salt

Fluids aren’t alone in the task of maintaining your body’s fluid balance. Electrolytes control the shift of fluids in and out of cells. The electrolyte of most concern during exercise is sodium. Found as sodium chloride in table salt. We lose more sodium in sweat than the other electrolytes. Both water and sodium are lost in sweat. Replacement of water without sodium can lead to dangerously low blood sodium levels, called hyponatremia. Hyponatremia will also occur if you are sweating a lot and simply losing a lot of sodium in sweat. This is most likely to occur during endurance exercise or with repeated sweating throughout the day. Muscle cramps may occur when the concentration of sodium in the blood decreases; cramps can progress to a serious medical emergency when hyponatremia is not treated.

To prevent hyponatremia and the muscle cramps it may cause, sodium should be consumed with fluids. This is particularly useful for cramp-prone individuals. High sodium sports drinks can delay muscle cramps in those who cramp often. Sodium may be consumed from salty foods (such as pretzels) or through sports products.

Don't Be Afraid of Carbohydrates

Carbohydrate depletion will also lead to muscle cramps. Carbohydrates are the primary fuel used during exercise. There is a finite amount of carbohydrate stored as glycogen in our muscles to provide the energy to exercise. Once that store of glycogen has been exhausted, we are at high risk for muscle cramps. The muscle requires carbohydrate (or energy) to contract; it also needs energy to relax. When there isn’t adequate fuel circulating yet we continue to exercise and contract our muscles, muscle relaxation is impaired, and the cramp occurs.

It takes about 60 to 90 minutes of exercise to deplete glycogen stores. Therefore, it is appropriate to consume carbohydrate during any activity that will last longer than 60 to 90 minutes. Even very intense exercise lasting only 45 minutes may deplete glycogen stores. Be sure to eat a carbohydrate-rich meal or snack prior to endurance or intense exercise. Plus, you will need to consume carbohydrates through food or sports products during longer duration exercise. Consuming carbohydrates appropriately is well-worth it to prevent a muscle cramp.

Follow these five steps to prevent muscle cramps:

1. Train appropriately.
2. Acclimate yourself to the environment.
3. Consume the right amount of fluids for your body to prevent dehydration.
4. Choose salty foods or sodium rich sports products before, during and after exercise.
5. Prevent carbohydrate depletion by consuming carbohydrates before your workout and during your workout if it is longer than 60-90 minutes.

Canyon Ranch pioneered the evolution of wellness lifestyle and has been an industry leader for 30 years. Lead by a team of expert physicians and other health and wellness specialists, Canyon Ranch operates the world’s most celebrated collection of life-enhancement properties with the goal to inspire people to make a commitment to healthy living.

If you would like to go for a run tomorrow La Crosse YMCA 10:45 am and 1:15 pm. Come on down!

http://getsportyendurancedivas.blogspot.com

Check out www.sportybands.com to get your(Sporty) look today.

check out my new Get Sporty! Endurance Diva's Blog let's get moving try new things out!

Madison Mini Half Marathon
New Challenge let go!
Get Sporty!/Sporty Bands is going to start training for a 5k, 10K and even a Half Marathon with you! All you have to do is sign up "very easy",now no worries if your just starting out we have a plans for you~ our goal is to finish a Half Marathon in August or September think about it you can do anything you put your mind to! Send me a reply with what you would like to do for your run I will give you some idea's for a race. I will also be starting a blog with more information like running programs for the 5K 10K and half so no worries lets see how many of you would like to take a new challenge and Get Sporty! Make yourself an Endurance Diva!

You can go to Fans of Sporty Bands and send me a link there......

This is what I have been working on the last few months check it out!
http://www.sportybands.com

Did my first expo in Oshkosh what a great turn out!

Next Expo/Race La Crosse Fitness Festival May 2

Working on new stuff~ Just wait! You will love it :)
Training is going great~

Today was a 2 hour bike ride with a 5 mile run and 45 min. Pilates with lots of stretches.
Keep up the Smart Training! :)

My workout for today was great ran 8 miles and 45 min. Pilates

Little things to do!

Work hard at what you like to do and try to overcome all obstacles

Laugh at your mistakes and praise yourself for learning from them

Pick some flowers and appreciate the beauty of nature

Say hello to strangers and enjoy the people you know

Don't be afraid to show your emotions laughing and crying make you feel better

Love your friends and family with your entire being they are the most important part of your life

Feel the calmness on a quiet sunny day

Find a rainbow and live your world of dreams always remember life is better than it seems...

So very true!

Happy Training :)

Training is going wonderful!
My running is going great still about 20-30 miles a week, Pilates still 6 times a week
Biking 2 -4 hours a week.
I tried a new pair of shoes that I would never, never wear again they are Mizuno wave runner 12 I ran 5 miles in them and no way! They are awesome for people that have a normal foot strike and if you have a high arch they would be good for that, if you are a forefoot runner don't waist your time getting them..

The race is 10 weeks away feeling great!

Interval Training Tips for Runners

By Jack Daniels, Ph.D.

Assuming that you are in good physical condition and have built a reasonable aerobic base (you're comfortable at sustained running for 30 minutes or more on a regular basis), interval training can be your best choice for improving fitness, developing running economy, and getting faster. You do not need to be a competitive athlete to make effective use of intervals in your training. Interval training can improve your running ability whether you run a 10-minute mile or a 20-minute 5K.

Running an interval involves running at a faster pace than your usual aerobic pace. You know you are running aerobically if you are able to talk in complete sentences while you're running. A pace that requires more huffing and puffing, a step up from your aerobic pace, is run for a predetermined length of time, with a recovery jog interval, and repeated for a set number of repetitions. These are intervals and they serve to improve the efficiency of the oxygen delivery system to your muscles. The result over time will be measurable improvements in speed, endurance, and efficiency.

According to Jack Daniels, Ph.D., interval mileage should be capped at 8 percent of your total weekly mileage in any given quality workout. If you are running 25 miles a week, devoting a couple of miles to a quality workout with intervals a couple of times a week is reasonable and will produce results.

If you are new to interval training, try this workout twice a week in place of your regular run for four weeks. After four weeks you can increase the interval length to two minutes. Always remember to warm up and cool down adequately.

• Warm up for 10 minutes at an easy jog.
• Run at interval pace (a step up from your usual pace) for one minute.
• Jog for a two-minute recovery interval.
• Repeat four times.
• Cool down for five minutes and stretch.

If you are a more experienced runner with a higher mileage base, your intervals can be easily adjusted for your fitness level. Remembering the 8 percent cap on interval mileage, interval pace can be about your 5K pace, faster for shorter intervals, slower for longer intervals ranging from 30 seconds to five minutes. As a rule of thumb, your recovery interval should take about as much time as your working interval.

Hello Sunshine's!

Pilates today with a 5 mile easy run!

"Have a positive attitude with everything you do today!"

Off to the Doctor again they just love me there!