How I structure my workouts

I have a slightly complicated relationship with running. I know all about the health benefits of incorporating running into your daily life, and I've been told by more than one health professional that it's one of the best ways to maintain weight and/or knock off a few extra calories that you may have drank over the weekend (hello, wedding dress...). But I don't like running - it's hot, it's repetitive, and it's a solitary activity. But I also like running - primarily because it's hot, it's repetitive, and it's a solitary activity. The post-run "feel good" is pretty potent, and there are few other exercises that work my entire body as quickly and efficiently and with as little equipment as just going for a run. But still - how many days do I put "RUN" on my to-do list and crawl into bed hours later without having crossed it off?

Last summer, I wrote about starting to run and how I, without really thinking it through, signed up for my first 5k. But once that Mindfulness Triathlon ended, so did my running career. I hung up my gym shoes and never really hit the road after that. Sometime last March, though, I got the "I have pent up energy and need to exercise" bug and dusted off the old sneaks. I headed out with visions of conquering every river and bridge in the tri-state area, only to immediately realize that it was 35 degrees out and the streets were covered in snow. One mini meltdown, the acceptance of an early birthday present, and a frantic local gym tryout later, I was a proud member of the Astoria branch of New York Sports Club - a mid-range gym with decent stretching areas and plenty of treadmills.

It wasn't too long before I had a system for my time at the gym. I work really well with structure and parameters, and I developed my own plan for a 30-minute, 2-mile run/walk. By alternating between running and walking and never doing either for more than three minutes at a time, I never get bored with the walking or overwhelmed by the running. And while every person (and every treadmill) is different, I walk at 3.7 mph and run at 4.7 mph - which results in two full miles and around 6,500 steps (helping me reach that daily FitBit goal).

Please note - I am not a physician, personal trainer, or athletic authority in any way - this is a workout that works for me, and I share it with you to use as an approach to your running regimen. Consult your doctor before starting or altering your workout plan, and never do anything that results in pain or extreme discomfort. You know your body, and you know what it can handle. That being said, logging two miles on a treadmill might be absolutely nothing for some people - but it might also be a reach goal for others. Use this plan as a guide and an inspiration for starting a new workout or changing up a stale routine.

I keep the music loud and the water bottle full, and I take care to spend at least 15 minutes stretching post-run. While I certainly don't make it to the gym as much as I should, I've been using this method for a couple of months now and I'm not even close to tiring of it. I know exactly how long I'm going to run, and there aren't any surprises. I feel great afterwards, and it's often just the energy-boosting run I need when in one of my blah moods. Try it out for yourself, and let me know what you think!

So I'm not the next FloJo

I went for a run today. Specifically, I ran one mile without stopping.

Ok, so one mile isn't anything to write home about. Most people can do that in their sleep. Many people do much more than that in a single workout. I have a friend who is currently training to run her sixth full marathon. I, however, am not that type of person. Running has never been easy for me - my body is not naturally suited for running (I'm short and round and rock a C-cup), and though I like the idea of running, the actual practice is a huge struggle. In grade school, I dreaded the "run the mile" day so much that I eventually worked out a system with my best friend that essentially let me lie and cheat my way to a passing gym class grade.

But I'm older now, and (in theory) healthier and wiser than I was at 13. So I know that running is one of the absolute best ways to get fit and stay healthy and improve circulation and lower stress and all those good things that I'll probably really want when I'm 50, so I decided to start running - slow and steady, just one foot in front of the other. I think I originally had a vision of running one mile a day (as inspired by this blogger), but about a million obstacles stood in my way from achieving that goal (weather, allergies, schedule, migraines, tech, and did I mention the weather? just to name a few), so I then made the more realistic decision to run only when it made sense for me to do so. I've run about 30 miles in the past three months, which again is not a lot for most people, but is a lot for me.

Last week though, I thought I was done for good. The run started out just like all the others, but it quickly turned impossible. It was much more humid out than I anticipated, and I was soon sweating buckets. My knees hurt like crazy. I was suffering from a weird bout of acid reflux. I hadn't hydrated enough and was nauseous. After about half a mile, I had to stop and walk the rest of the way home, utterly disappointed in myself. The whole experience was so miserable that I assumed my running days were over. Nice knowing you, cute neon gym shoes!

But then this morning, I felt better. My knees weren't screaming at me. The previous day's visit to the chiropractor loosened up about a billion muscles in my neck and back. An early morning thunderstorm lifted the oppressive heat that had been laying over the city. So I donned my trusty Cubs baseball cap, laced up my shoes, and got back on the horse. Same route as always, same one-mile goal. And though it wasn't easy, it wasn't impossible. My heart was pumping, my breaths were smooth and even, and my legs were strong and powerful as I pushed forward - and it felt good. Maybe I can do this.

Pie Blogger for a Day, Phat Man Running

What do baking pie and short-distance running have in common?

Well, nothing.

Nothing, that is, until two friends who write completely dissimilar blogs decide to combine individual interests into one action-packed day that results in two fantastic articles posted on each others' respective website.

It's a crossover-post, like that episode when Steve Urkel helps Stephanie learn to love her new glasses. Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about.

Read Sean's take on the day's pie baking below; my post on running appears on his blog HERE


From The Desktop of PhatManRunning
Inviting a pie blogger into your home always sounds like a great idea. There are expectations of course, and they aren't unreasonable. The first expectation of course is that you'll be eating pie. Not stopped at the very closest bar to the train station drinking beer (though admittedly, that was at least partially my fault). The other, perhaps more important assumption that I made, is that when I asked, should we make a blueberry pie and she said yes, that she would follow with at least mostly the right directions, but I digress.

Let us start from where all great stories do (and most completely shit stories start as well); the beginning.

When I starting blogging (Phat Man Running) it was in large part inspired by Mary's similar adventures in blogging in this very spot. I was a few weeks into beginning a new running regimen and I thought blogging might be a fun way to keep myself going. I hadn't expected the results to be a sweaty photo of me being the first images to now come up when I Google stalk myself, but this is what happened. Mary and I have been remotely comparing notes on blogging, constantly checking our website traffic, and commenting on how "big" we seem to both be in Russian. While our blogs seem diametrically opposed, it also seemed like we would have to do a blog cross-over sooner or later. So, we set the plan that Mary would come to Always Sunny Philadelphia (Killadelphia as it's been called lately) bake some pie and run a little bit.

The date was set, and on a brave Sunday morning in February she took the bus down. Again, to be fair, the bar was my idea. Also, skipping the whole running/pieing/blogging thing and just going on a bar crawl that would involve eating pie (and possibly running from cops) may have been my proposal. But rather than doing less, we chose to do more. Rather than make a pie, we chose to make a pie meal.  Mini quiche appetizers, Shepard's pie, and blueberry pie (someone once told me antioxidants were good for running, I don't remember why, but this is the kind of healthy advice you are used to if you've read my blog before, I'm assuming I don't need to hyperlink to it again.)

After a short trip to Trader Joe's, we returned to my home to make the pie crusts. While Mary clearly had a better idea of how to make the pie crust than I did, she didn't speak up. Rather, she chose to just passive aggressivly tweet at me--made worse because she didn't tag me in the tweet, nor use the official Pie Running Cross Over Post hash tag, #PRCOP. 

I keep telling myself, "it's ok, different people make pie crusts in different ways." Yet I somehow don't believe me...
— Mary Spadoni (@Pies_Etc) February 19, 2012

I believe you Mary, it's okay.

The pie crusts were put in the fridge before we got all did up and ready to run, which you'll have read about on Phat Man Running. Needless to say, she didn't find the fun.

Just completed the 1st leg of the Couch to 5k training session. Being a pie blogger tastes so much better
— Mary Spadoni (@Pies_Etc) February 19, 2012

When we got home, we started boiling some big peeled russet potatoes. Afterwards, we created the filling of the pie which started with four chopped carrots and a large onions sauteed in olive oil with salt and pepper. Once they were softened, a pound of lean beef was added and browned.

After draining the excess fat, we added a tablespoon of butter, quarter cup of tomato sauce, a glass red wine, and two tablespoons of flour before letting it cook down. Once it cooked down, a cup of chicken stock and half a can of corn was added, then cooked down again, finishing the filling.

The filling was added to a pie crust, mashed potatoes with butter and buttermilk was piped onto the top of the pie, coated with a beaten egg and sprinkled with parmesan before it was placed in the over at 375 for 20 minutes.

Nutrition Facts Shepard's Pie
4 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories		842.3
Total Fat		48.4 g
	Saturated Fat	25.0 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	2.4 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	16.9 g
Cholesterol		151.5 mg
Sodium		1,145.8 mg
Potassium		1,274.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate		68.4 g
	Dietary Fiber	6.5 g
	Sugars	2.4 g
Protein		28.9 g

I expect this is the first time--and likely the last time--nutritional information is ever discussed on Pies Etc. It's not what the blog is about, and I wouldn't expect it to be. But my blog is, at least superficially, about fitness, I've lost nearly 25 pounds since starting it four months ago, so I'm not without any authority on the topic. And its from that position I can report, this wasn't a healthy pie. It's wasn't HORRIBLE and you really could have gotten six or eight serving out of this if you had to. But, I'm also going be gracious by saying we only ate a quarter each.

The good things about the pie though, is that there was plenty of protein (but really I'm just stretching at straws to say that.) What I don't have to stretch to say, is that it was a delicious pie, that it was easy to make, and will be scrumptious come St. Patrick's day, just a few days a way (you will be able to tell this when a grass hopper pie appears on the blog shortly I'm guessing.)

This is already a really log blog post isn't it?

Well we also made some puff pastry mini quiches for apps and runny blueberry pi--though I guess it was thematic-- which most pie bloggers would call a failure, but Mary's ability to forgive anything that comes in a round shape and a buttery crust seemed to save it from the bin. We scooped it in to bowls and licked them clean.

How did my experience as a pie blogger for a day go? Well, having Mary come and visit is always a pleasure. Cooking with her? Not so much. But I will say, while finishing a 5 miler race, or even a 5k twitter road race with a record time might give a sense of accomplishment, it's nothing compared to coming home to fridge packed with leftover Shepard's and blueberry pie just waiting to be eaten.