Necessary winter gear (from top to bottom): a reflective vest, Yaktrax, and a headlamp.

Just ignore my retro carpet in the background :)

Now that Cross Country season is over it’s time to welcome in the winter months (and start blasting that Christmas music).

Here are just a few tips for how to be more prepared for running during the winter:

1.       Bundle up – Now is the time to bring out the winter clothes. Don’t be afraid to run outside, be afraid if you don’t have enough to wear. Last winter I found myself running outside in blizzards and I didn’t have a problem because I was bundled up well enough (even if it was 4 or 5 layers, plus face masks, scarves, and numerous headbands and gloves).

2.       Hydrate – It’s especially hard during the winter months to remember to stay hydrated. The best way for me to stay hydrated is by drinking 6-8 ounces of water as soon as I wake up. That gets me going for the day. Throughout the rest of the day I remember a quote my Mom always told me – “Drink before you’re thirsty”. I know if I get thirsty during the day then I haven’t been drinking enough.

3.       Wear proper footwear – You want to make sure you have good traction on your shoes. Even then, when the roads and sidewalks get icy the best solution I have found is Yaktrax. They are attachable traction supports for your shoes. Granted, they may add on several extra pounds of weight, but that’s better than slipping and falling. There are two types of Yaktrax - Walk and Run. I prefer the running ones because they have steel spikes in the forefoot and steel coils on the heel that keep you from sliding around.

4.       Check the weather ahead of time – Know what time of day to go running, when it is warmest, or when it’s least windy, etc… Sometimes running in cold, snowy weather is inevitable but if there is a break in the bad weather then you’ll want to take advantage of it. Wunderground.com is my favorite source for predicting the weather.

5.       Expect to run in the dark – With the sun coming up later and going down earlier it’s inevitable that you’ll face the dark sometime this winter. So, either get a really good head lamp and reflective gear, or run on lighted paths.

6.       Kids along? Only if you’re crazy J  – If you’re going to bring your kids along make sure you also have them properly bundled in their snow gear and a weather cover for your stroller.

7.       Keep warm on your run – Aside from bundling up, the best way to stay warm is to keep moving. If you stop, your body will start to cool down, causing you to get chilled, thus increasing your risk of sickness. To curb getting chilled it is best to transition directly from your warm up into your workout, and from your workout directly into your cool down. Remember that you’ll need a longer warm up during the winter. However, if you find that your muscles are tight during your run you may stop and stretch briefly, then start again. As soon as you get home you need to shed your sweaty layers, shower, and bundle up. I’m convinced that this instant transitioning saved me from getting sick last winter.

8.       Easy way out – The easiest solution for all of this is to simply get a gym membership and workout indoor during the winter.

This is just what has worked for me and I hope it can help you too. Anyone else have suggestions on how they tackle running during the winter months?

I couldn’t have asked for a better trail race debut. The Gnarly Bear was indeed - gnarly - but totally worth it. All the runners were treated so well that I'm definitely coming back for more next year (although I don't know if I'll be able to beat my time from today). The weather was amazing for this late in the season and the trails at Kelly Canyon beat EVERY other trail I’ve been on. To top it off, the views from the peaks were breathtaking.

I know this sounds weird, but my only goal for today’s race was to not walk (aside from stopping to refill my handheld at aid stations). Everyone who ran today knows it’s pretty much impossible to run up the Face (i.e. black diamond in ski terms) at Kelly Canyon without walking, but I did it. I didn’t walk once. The entire 25 kilometers. With 3,000 feet vertical elevation gain. It took me 15 minutes to run my 9^th mile straight uphill - but I didn’t walk.

So now that I have some experience under my belt I can offer some advice for other aspiring trail runners.

1. Pace yourself. I know it seems hard to find a pace with constantly changing elevation, but it’s not about speed, it’s about effort. If you feel you are overexerting yourself early on in the race (regardless of how fast or slow your pace is), you will be road kill by the end J So slow up - you know the story of the tortoise and the hare. Well, I felt like the tortoise at the beginning but I remembered that slow and steady wins the race, and that's what happened.
2.  Fuel properly, early on, and regularly. Don’t skimp and wait for aid stations. Bring what you need along with you. I found the perfect gel that worked for me – Huma – and I packed what I needed in my handheld along with water. I had a gel every 30 minutes per advice from Pat Bragassa, and I didn’t hit the wall like other runners.
3. Train ahead of time. Don’t go out and do a trail race cold turkey. You’ve got to practice running the same distance and/or estimated finish time. And you’ve got to get some experience on the trails too. The only thing that kept me alive the last half of the race was the fact that I knew what to expect because I had practiced on it before.
4. Enjoy your time on the trails. It’s all about fun, enjoying the views, and destressing. Stop and chat with people you pass (or people that pass you), cheer other runners on, and keep yourself pumped. Two weeks ago I when I practiced on the trails I was having so much fun enjoying the scenery and chatting with a running buddy that we took a wrong turn. But it was worth it because we got to see a moose and her baby (at a safe distance, of course). Were we bummed we took the wrong way? Of course not! Because we were having fun and enjoying nature in its fullest.
5. Set a goal and see it fulfilled. Whether it be to make a new PR, have more fun, fuel better, or like me - not walk, etc...
6. So who's in it with me next year?

My kids playing in a lake to get a break from the stroller (and yes, I packed a change of clothes and extra diapers)

As a mother of two, numerous people have asked me how I’ve managed to fit in exercise time each day. I’ll share a few of the things I’ve implemented over the past few years that seem to work.

1. Schedule your exercise time at the beginning of each week. Plan with your family so that they know what to expect, how long you’ll be gone, if you are bringing the kids along in the stroller, and where you’re running (in case of bad weather or an emergency they can come pick you up).
2. Get a babysitter on your hard days. For example, I have a scheduled, permanent babysitter two days each week (same time, same days). Every other day of the week I push the kids in the stroller.
3. Prepare for anything to happen. I bring everything imaginable with me on a run: snacks, snacks, snacks, diapers, wipes, extra clothes, coats, hats, gloves, blankets, water bottles (for myself and the kids), and the weather shield for the stroller. I figure that my kids weigh 60 pounds together, plus the stroller weighs about 40 pounds, so what difference will an extra 10 pounds of weight make? It’s better to be over prepared than to have hungry, cold, or fussy kids.
4. Stop and have fun. When I go running with my kids I try to go places where I can let them take small breaks to get out and play. Sometimes we’ll stop at a playground, other times we’ll pass a lake and I will let them get out and play in the water, or we’ll go to Great Harvest for free slices of their delicious bread.
5. Plan for multiple routes. I realize that with kids anything can happen. So when I go running with them I plan to go the bare minimum – 3 miles. But if they are doing okay at three miles, I’ll go another two miles, or four, or 6, etc…
6. Run when your kids are happy. That is most often accomplished if they have full tummies. A hungry kid is a grumpy kid.
7. Or go running when your kids are sleepy. Sometimes the easiest way to put kids down for their nap is pushing them in the stroller. That way they’ll sleep the entire time and you can go as far as you want.
8. Fuel yourself. Take good care of your body before, during, and after your run. Eat a healthy meal or snack 2 hours prior. Bring energy foods with you on your run and consume them as often as prescribed. And don’t forget to refuel when you are done. It’s hard enough trying to run by yourself on an empty stomach, but it’s even more difficult when you add a stroller and two kids in front of you. You’ll be better off to take care of your kids if you also take care of yourself.
9. Have fun too. Make sure you laugh and smile the whole way. I will often sing songs with my kids, point out things in nature, tell them jokes, and just have random conversations with them.
10. Remember, you are not supermom. It’s okay to stop and walk. If you try pushing your kids in the stroller for the first time and you work yourself too hard, it’s easy to get burnt out fast. Go easy and slow to begin with. You’ll eventually find you can go farther and faster the longer you keep it up. Even I stop and walk occasionally (did I just admit that?).
11. Give your kids more outside time than what they get in the stroller. If they enjoy playing outside, they’ll like being in the stroller. If you kids are indoors all day long, getting in the stroller might not be appealing to them. My kids probably spend a combined total of 5 hours outside each day, and they love the stroller because it means spending even more time outside.
12. Getting in a hard workout with the kids: Some days it’s hard to find a babysitter so you have to bring the kids with you. I have found when this happens it’s best to go somewhere my kids can run around in a contained area while I closely supervise them. Fenced in tracks are great locations – bring toys along for the kids to play with in the jumping pit (they love sand). You’ll be guaranteed at least 30 minutes of an uninterrupted workout.
13. Want to get in a strength workout too? In my mind, pushing kids in the stroller is somewhat of a strength workout. But that doesn’t cut it if you want to tone all your muscles. So I’ve done some internet searching for good core, leg, and arm exercises that I can do right in my home (free and cheap). I have found the best place to do those workouts are in my kids play room. That way they can play while I get in my strength conditioning. All it takes is 20 minutes every other day.
14. Start now and don’t quit! If you want to be in good physical condition when you are older, now is the time to start. Don’t come up with excuses. Don’t wait until tomorrow to exercise, do it today. I’ve told several people that I want to be able to run with my grandkids when they are in middle school and high school. I know that’s really far down the road of life, and I’ll be much slower than I am today, but I want my posterity to see the importance of a healthy lifestyle through my example.

I've been reminiscing recently and thought I'd put down my thoughts for all to read…

When I was still running at ISU I had so many aspirations to become an elite runner, but I seemed to have bad luck when it came to crunch time. My goal during my senior year of cross country was to qualify for the National Championship. Unfortunately the night before Regionals (the qualifying meet for nationals) I had an undercooked chicken dinner that gave me a bout of food poisoning and I found myself throwing up all night. Needless to say, I was extremely weak at the race start but I wanted to give it my best shot. Unfortunately the last 1000 meters I got tunnel vision and nearly passed out at the finish line. I didn’t place high enough to go to nationals.

I felt so unfulfilled but I decided to focus my effort and attention on track instead. By the end of the outdoor season my steeple time was 22^nd fastest in the nation. I thought for sure I was guaranteed into nationals but I took too much for granted. Just before my race at regionals I felt super exhausted so I decided to take a power nap. When I woke up my body felt strangely numb. I thought my warmup would shake off the coma, but it only made me more tired. During my heat it rained so hard that I could barely see where I was going. As soon as I stepped of the track the rain let up, and the other two heats ran in perfect weather with almost every girl getting a PR. Again I didn’t qualify for nationals.

I wasn’t ready for my running career to be finished, but my dreams had been dashed. I decided to focus myself on more positive situations. Maybe my bout of bad luck was a sign for me to move on with my life. I had a wonderful husband and we wanted to start a family. The next three years our little family doubled as Logan and Charlotte were born. Being a mother is the most rewarding job I could ever hope for and I wouldn’t give it up for the world. I was also blessed to become the assistant coach for the Skyline Cross Country team under the supervision of Head Coach Sean Schmidt. I think that coaching is the best paying job for a mother because my kids can tag along.

But I must admit that I wouldn’t be the runner I am today if I weren’t a coach. In fact, I’d probably be a couch potato. Coaching gives me an incentive to get out the door each day and exercise. As a coach I want my athletes to know that I’m willing to do the same workouts I inflict upon them. When I run with my athletes I take each opportunity to help them develop proper running form, push past mental barriers, and always do their best. In turn, I strive set the example by doing all of these things myself. Over the past few years I have been slowly improving, but I wouldn’t have seen that without the help of Coach Schmidt. He encouraged me to extending my running career even after I believed I was done running competitively. He offered to train me and helped me find placement on the Boise Betties team.

I feel fortunate that my situation has turned out for the better. I know I’m repeating myself when I say this, but I’m lucky to have such a supportive husband who makes an extra effort to help me succeed, a wonderful cross country team and head coach who challenge me to improve, a supportive family that cheers me on, a fun team in Boise that encourages me to run at the next level, helpful sponsors who make it all possible, and enthusiastic kids who tell me to “run faster!”

Racing at sea level is a wonderful experience. True, it’s been 4 years since I’ve raced at sea level and I’d forgotten how amazing it is. It makes me feel guilty for not taking advantage of it more often. But I can’t complain: I live in a beautiful area of Idaho with a wonderful community that supports me every step of the way. I couldn’t ask for more, even if the elevation of Idaho Falls is 4,700 feet. True, it’s not ideal for most elite runners because it’s right in-between. In-between the point of oxygen deprivation (found at higher altitudes), and pure speed (that can be attained at sea level).

Regardless, racing in New York last month was a good pick-me-up. I had qualified for three events in the USATF Club National Track and Field Championships. My dilemma was figuring out what events to actually run. For some reason, the schedule on the championship website was outdated and missing certain events. I had pestered the meet director for three months to put out an updated schedule so that I could plan for what races to run. In the past, the championship had been a two day event, so I planned my schedule accordingly.

Unfortunately, the final schedule came out only a week before the championships. To make matters worse, all my events were on the same day. Not only that, they were schedule within 3 ½ hours of one another. I had hoped to run one event on one day, rest, and do another event the second day. Now, I had to decide if I would do just one or two races in a crunched time period. The first event was the 5,000m run. I hadn’t done a 5k on a track since I was a sophomore in college. I personally detested it but I was willing to give it another go to see if my preference had changed in 6 years.

So, at 10 am I toed the line on the track at the breathtaking Icahn Stadium (sorry Oregon, New York has a better venue in my opinion). I hadn’t been training for the 5k so I had no set pace. I was just going to wing it and see how everything turned out. I gave the race everything I had, and lucky for me, I actually enjoyed it. But when I finished I was so wiped that I wasn’t sure if I could do any more races. Here comes the nice part about being at sea level: ½ hour after my race I felt completely recovered. I almost felt like I hadn’t even run a race earlier.

So, I decided to give a shot at the next race, the 3k steeple (scheduled for 12:20). By the time I was done cooling down from the 5k, it was time for me to start warming up for the steeple. I was beginning to think it was a bad idea for me to try to run more than one race, but I didn’t want my time in New York to go to waste. So I toed the line again. Luckily there was a rabbit that I was able to run behind for the first half, but after three laps I was definitely more fatigued than I had planned. Still, I gave it every last ounce of energy and finished as a National Champion*. It wasn’t my fastest time of the season, but it was a decent performance. I was so excited about the outcome that I blurted out to my husband that I was going to run the 1500. Wait, what? I never thought I was crazy enough to do something like that. The last time I had tripled on the same day was my senior year of high school (8 years ago). And the races I did back then were shorter distances, slower paces, and they were scheduled farther apart from one another. But the words were already out, so I went out for my cool down, I mean warm-up.

Either way, I only had 30 minutes until the race started. I barely had time to put my shoes on and run to the start line at 1:25. I was already out of breath before the gun even went off. I felt like a slug the first two laps, and I even considered dropping out. But since I made it half way I decided to go the other half. Luckily my legs started to pick up a little more. I wasn’t able to throw in a great kick at the end but I didn’t lose my place. When I met up with my husband after the race, I joked to him that I should try to do the 800m run that was scheduled 45 minutes later. He just about choked!

Coming back home was the best part about the whole experience. I teared up each night we were gone because I missed my kids and all the fun things they were doing without us (like Logan going on his first train ride). The one thing I didn’t miss was climbing stairs. I never realized how out of breath you can get at 4,700 feet above sea level!

As always, thanks so much to Bill’s Bike and Run and Teton Toyota cheering for me the whole way. It was great to have your support in New York!

*Being a National Champion isn’t as big of a deal as some make it out to be. There are dozens of faster women in the US than me. Plenty of people have asked me if I will be going to the Olympics because of my performance. The answer is no. If I want to make it to the Olympic Trials my times have to be considerably faster. Granted, it has always been a dream of mine since I was a little girl to go to the Olympics. Regardless of what happens I’ll still give it my best shot.

I would like to tribute this article to my fantastic and supportive husband, Tim Richardson. If it wasn’t for his support I would not be the runner I am today. Happy Early Father’s Day!

There are so many people that I have spoken with over the past few months who ask me how I’m able to fit in all this running stuff while being a mother, homemaker, etc... It’s simple: my hubby makes all the difference. As soon as Tim steps in the door from work, I am out the door for a run. He feeds the kids, changes their diapers, plays with them, puts them to bed, and even attempts to bathe them on occasion :)  I’m not going to lie, he does a pretty good job at being a daddy. He has amazing taste in clothes and always picks the cutest outfits for Charlotte (in fact, I hardly ever go clothes shopping for myself anymore because Tim has better taste than me and he gets me the cutest outfits). And Tim is better at playing the Wii than me so Logan is sure to spend more time with Tim.

As an example of how awesome Tim is, he was my support group for the Sawtooth Relays this past weekend. He willingly toted me and the kids from Idaho Falls to Stanley the night before the race (a 4 hour trip). He was super patient when our poor daughter got carsick on the windy road and threw up all over herself - which caused ½ hour delay while we cleaned up the mess and made sure she was a happy baby again (honestly, how many other men out there, besides Tim, are willing to clean up throw up?). Not only that, but he did an awesome job in the car with the kids for over 8 hours while I participated in the relay on Saturday (my team was awesome – we placed first in the women’s category!). I don’t think the kids cried once the entire day. They were so happy and had an absolute blast cheering for me and giving me water every couple of miles. He was so prepared with books, toys, food, snacks, and things to do (like taking the kids to Redfish Lake so they could play in the water).

When the relay was finally over he was still in Superdad mode – he told me how awful he felt that he had forgotten to put sunscreen on the kids. If it were me, I wouldn’t have even thought to bring sunscreen. The best part about the whole day was the smile I saw on Tim’s face every time he stopped to cheer me on. He is the happiest person I know. Thanks for all your support Tim, and Happy Father’s Day!

It has been so much fun being back on the track! Since graduating in 2011 I raced on a track only two times. Now I’m back to what I love – the 3k Steeplechase.

Not anyone can run the 3k Steeple. You have to have guts to run two miles over 35 immovable barriers (5 each lap, one of which includes a 12 foot long water pit). It takes hours of training too… strength training, practicing hurdle form, speed work, stretching, tempo runs, practicing water jumps, intervals, ladders, not to mention still getting in the right amount of mileage… enough said. But it’s totally worth the effort.

To top it off, anything can go wrong in a race like the 3k steeplechase. That’s what happened to me five weeks ago when I sprained my ankle coming off of the first water jump of a race. Let’s just say I was lame for the rest of the ordeal. I should have stepped off the track mid mango but it had been so long since I had been able to run a steeplechase that I wanted to finish.

Well, that experience put me out of order for about two weeks, but it made me smarter. I realized I hadn’t prepared well enough for that race. The big wake-up call came to me when I read one of my former teammates’ articles in Runner’s World magazine that emphasized strength training. Lois Keller was an awesome mentor for me when I came to ISU in 2007. She was a veteran of the steeplechase and I was a naïve freshman hoping to follow in her footsteps. I trusted every piece of advice she gave me and it helped me improve by leaps and bounds. Now, eight years later, I still trust in her advice. Her article helped me realize that strength training was not on the top of my priority list where it should be.

Simply put, it all comes down to the nitty gritty details. When one is striving for success it is easy to plateau if they are only focusing on one or two facets. It’s easy to forget about the little things that improve performance other than just mileage and workouts. So I intensified my strength training efforts, spent more time stretching, and I focused my attention on improving technique over the barriers.

Amazingly, all that hard work has already paid off. I attempted another steeplechase last weekend and – Voila! I was able to cut my splits down by 3 seconds per lap simply because my technique and muscle strength were significantly improved.

Granted, adding in an extra workout each day hasn’t been the easiest adjustment to make. For all those mothers out there (and Happy Mother’s Day by the way) who know what it’s like to keep the house clean, make meals, do laundry, run errands, keep kids happy, etc… you know it’s hard enough just to get a run in, let alone another hour of strength training. But as I’ve mentioned earlier in my blog, don’t give up!!! Because…

 

The best part about all the hard work before each race is the fun time that I can have with my family when the race is over: playing in the steeple pit!!! My kids get so excited to go to track meets now because they get to “play in the water”. If I’ve taken anything away from this experience, it is: make sure there is still fun involved in the hard work.