Women in Running- Camille Herron (Part 2!)
Last week I wrote about this podcast with the amazing Camille Herron. One of the things she talked about was how much she wanted to win the upcoming Western States race- the biggest 100 mile race in the U.S. Camille recently set some big world records, and she said she felt very fit and fast. She was very clear about her intentions to win Western States, so I was a little surprised and disappointed to see that she ended up placing eighth. I wondered what had happened. WELL, this episode of the Strides Forward podcast explains it all. Camille talks in general about menstrual health, and specifically about how she got her period literally in the middle of Western States. She had to deal with nausea, cramps, and of course the bleeding- but she wasn’t complaining. 100 mile races are all about problem solving, so she said if she hadn’t had to deal with getting her period, she would have had to deal with something else. She also talks about the importance of having regular periods, and says ever since she was a teenager she understood that she needed to eat enough to offset the energy she expended by running. She also talks about being on oral contraceptives for years, and the convenience of that, but ultimately how she went off them because she felt it was harming her health and performance. Camille obviously runs a LOT, and she looks really, really thin- so it was nice to hear her talk about the importance of eating enough and keeping her period. I never ran enough to lose my period, but I do have a little story of my own related to that subject. When I met my husband, I was already 34 years old. We got married a year later and I knew I wanted to have a baby pretty soon. I was also running a lot back then. My husband and I ran two marathons together, and I was seriously considering doing a 50K race. I was doing long runs every weekend- and meanwhile we were trying to get pregnant. I was getting my periods, but very sporadically. I never knew when it might come, and it was impossible to predict when I might be ovulating. We tried unsuccessfully for a while, and then I had a birthday and turned 36. At that point I had a mini panic attack- I thought about how we weren’t having any success, and how it was only going to get harder and harder, the older I got. I made the decision to cancel my plans for the 50K, and I kept running, but immediately stopped doing long runs. One month later- I was pregnant with my precious son Paul. I don’t really know if it was a coincidence, or if stopping my long runs was what it took to convince my body that I was ready to have a baby. The funny thing is, I always thought it would be a temporary detour from my dream of running an ultra, and that I would surely come back to it. Now I think of the Robert Frost poem “The Road Not Taken,” where he comes to a fork in the road, takes one path and saves the other for another day- “Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.” Can women run ultramarathons and also have babies? Absolutely! Could I have done it? Hmmmm. Could I still get back to that fork in the road and take the other path? We’ll see. The Strides Forward Podcast is stories about running, told by women. There’s another episode with Camille about winning the Comrades Marathon, one with Courtney Dauwalter, and many more. The episodes are around 15-30 minutes long- I normally like longer podcasts, but these are a nice length if you want something you can listen to in one sitting. Check it out if you want to hear some inspiring stories! I’m linking up with My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida for Fit Five Friday! Have you had any issues with your period and running? Did you run while you were pregnant?
So Many Books… So Little Time
Yesterday I picked up FOUR library holds that all came in at the same time. I figured I better get started right away! I dove into The Cartographers first (so far it’s a satisfying mystery.) I’m saving The Murder of Mr. Wickham for my upcoming trip to Chicago, since it’s a paperback, and therefore easier to carry. I’m looking forward to that one- I can never resist a Pride and Prejudice spinoff. Actually I’m looking forward to all of them, and I hope I can get them read before the library wants them back. I’m also reading this: and, aptly enough, this: I saw this book on Nicole’s blog. It’s not a typical time management or productivity book. Instead, it’s a philosophical examination of our relationship with time, and advice on how to live meaningfully with the time we have. I’ll admit I’ve only had enough time (ha ha! See what I did there?) to read the first chapter, but it has already provided a lot of food for thought. Burkeman contrasts our lives today to a medieval peasant working the land. In most ways their lives were not luxurious back then. But they did have one luxury we don’t- the freedom from that constant pressure of the clock ticking away. They would have no reason to hurry, or “save” time, or even think about time as a separate thing at all. They got up when it was light, did their work, and went to bed when it was dark. They milked the cows and harvested the crops when they were ready. There would be nu rush to get everything done, because their work would never be done, but instead continue on in endless cycles. Historians call this method of work “task orientation.” I wish my own work were more task-oriented and less time-oriented. I give either 60 or 90 minute massages, and I have to be very aware of the time. I can’t come out short or the client will feel like they didn’t get their money’s worth. But I can’t go over the time, because I have another client waiting. The goal of course is to get into a state of flow, and that’s challenging when you always have one eye on the clock. Yesterday I tried to imagine how my job could be task-oriented. What if I just finished every massage when it was done? If someone needed to relax, I would massage them until they were fully relaxed. If they had pain, I wold address the issue and work on it until it was resolved. Well, that wouldn’t work. How would my next client know when to show up? And if the person had somewhere to be afterwards, they wouldn’t know when they would be done. No, if we’re going to coordinate our schedules with other people, we have to work with the clock. So then I thought about what other areas of my life could be task oriented. I measure all my runs by miles, not time. On weekdays I’m usually loosely aware of the time, because I only have so much to devote to my workouts before I have to get my daughter to school and myself to work. But on my Sunday long runs, I don’t think about time at all. The only data I glance at are miles, and sometimes pace, although I’m not usually concerned with that. I’m either focused on the turnaround point, or completing a loop, or getting to my destination. It isn’t until the run is over that I (eventually) look at the time, but even then it usually doesn’t matter much to me. As long as I get home at some sort of reasonable time where my family won’t be calling the police, I’m good. In the book, Burkeman refers to these interludes as living in “deep time,” or, as he quotes writer Gary Eberle, “The clock does not stop… but we do not hear it ticking.” What a relief to be fully focused on a task and immersed in the present moment, and not think about time for a couple hours. Another activity where I don’t notice the passing of time is… reading. I never time my reading sessions (although maybe if I did, I’d be getting more sleep. But that’s another topic.) Running and reading are two pleasurable activities where I don’t hear the clock ticking. I need more of that in my life! I got all this from the first chapter of this book- I can’t wait to read the rest. Thanks as always to Kim and Zenaida for their Tuesday Topics linkup! Do you feel like your work (or your life) is task-oriented or time-oriented? Do you measure your runs by miles, or time? (or kilometers?)
Weekly Rundown- The Highs and the Lows
Hello and welcome! This week started with a race, and ended with some time in the pool. But we’ll get to all that! Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown. Now let’s just see what went wrong- er, let’s just see what went ON this week. Sunday This was a weird Sunday. Since I was running a race the next day, I didn’t want to do anything too strenuous. I also had been noticing a little soreness in my right shin the past week (foreshadowing!) so I was trying to take it easy. I ran three miles on Saturday and it seemed okay, but didn’t want to run again on Sunday. I ended up doing a 10 minute core class and then a 45 minute power yoga class. As you will see, I’m a creature of habit. All my classes were on Peloton, and I have my favorite instructors: all core classes this week were with Rebecca Kennedy, all other strength was with Matty Maggiacomo, and all yoga classes with Denis Morton. I find my favorites and stick with them! Monday Race day! I ran a July 4th 5K. Thrilling(?) race recap here. Now- as soon as I started my warmup run, my shin hurt. SERIOUSLY? You’re going to flare up NOW??? I did what any sane person would do, and ignored it. I was there to run a race, and that’s what I did. I figured I would sort out the shin later. My shin hurt during my warmup and then a little in the first mile of the race, and then it went away. However, I’m very familiar with this type of shin issue. Here’s a little story: Years ago, I was living in New York and training for the NYC marathon. My shin was hurting, not too bad, but just aching at the start of my runs. Obviously, I ignored it. I was training for a marathon and had no time for injuries. Well… this went on for a while until one day I was doing a long run. The pain in my shin got so bad I literally couldn’t take one more step, and I had to take the subway home. Guess who didn’t run the NYC marathon that year? Me. Now I take shin pain seriously! After the race I iced it a couple times. It was just mildly achy, but I decided to take a few days off to let everything heal up. Tuesday Everything felt good, other than the mild pain on the inside of my shin. i did a 5 minute core class, and a 30 minute yoga flow. Ah, so far resting my shin is going great! Wednesday I decided it would be the Week of Strength! I did a 5 minute core class, a 20 minute upper body strength class, and my favorite 30 minute glutes and legs class with Matty from 3/22/21. The only time I felt my shin was if I did skaters or side lunges- so I skipped those and subbed other moves. Thursday I did a 10 minute core class, and then…a 45 minute pool run. Friday I did two core classes- first, Rebecca’s 10 minute standing core class. This has a lot of balance work, which I always like. I know that you’re using your core when you balance, but this class doesn’t give me those burning abs. But the second class did! This was Rebecca’s 10 minute class from 5/13/22. OUCH. This class is 10 solid minutes with no breaks, and I felt it. Great class. Then, another Matty 30 minutes glues and legs class, from 2/11/21. This is also a great class- four rounds of lunges, squats, deadlifts, and sumo squats. The first round is just bodyweight to focus on perfect form. The next three rounds use weights, and he makes it increasingly harder by adding pulses in the last two rounds. He actually calls this class “Pulse-a-Palooza.” Matty loves his Paloozas! Saturday I knew I was going to have a really hard day at work. If you were just observing my clients, you would think an amateur football team was sending its members in for massages. I like all these clients, but they should be banned from all coming on the same day. Knowing this ahead of time, I saved my workouts for after work. I did a 20 minute upper body strength class. Until recently, I’ve really been slacking on upper body strength, and now I’m paying the price. These classes leave me really sore! I know I just have to do it more and get used to it. I followed this class with a 20 minute yoga flow. All these classes were great, but as the week went on I had this odd “life has no meaning” feeling- I wonder why? Oh, I know why! I’m not running. Funny what an effect that has on my mental health. Sunday On tap is another strength class and a pool run! It’s enough to keep me sane, but I’m really hoping to be running next week. Heal quickly, shin!!! I’m longing for a trail run. Have you ever had shin splints? Or to be more specific, medial tibial stress syndrome. A fancy way of saying a sore muscle on the inside of the shin bone (tibia.) Sigh.
Women in Running- Camille Herron
I just received my copy of Next Level- Your Guide to Kicking Ass, Feeling Great, and Crushing Goals Through Menopause and Beyond by Stacy Sims, and am eagerly flipping through it. So much good advice! I’ll write more about it when I’ve read the whole book, but a couple things that immediately caught my eye were in the nutrition section- namely, that intermittent fasting and keto aren’t good for women. According to Sims, studies show intermittent fasting is beneficial for MEN, but actually detrimental for women, especially women who exercise. The book also explains that the keto diet doesn’t work the same way for women as it does for men. Both keto and intermittent fasting can raise cortisol levels and depress thyroid function in women (among other undesirable effects.) So it’s true- women are not just “little men.” Unless you’re Camille Herron. Not that she’s a man, of course, but that hasn’t stopped her from beating all the men in some of her recent races. Like the Jackpot 100 this past February, where she won the race outright and set a new world record for 100 miles, 12:41:11. Yep- at the age of 40, Camille ran an average pace of 7:37 for 100 miles (her final mile was 7:08), beating all the women and men in that race. I listened to her on this episode of the Rich Roll podcast and it was SO GOOD! I loved this episode so, so much. They talk about her training, how she used Inside Tracker to identify and fix a major problem with her biomarkers, what kind of strength work she does, a story about how her family’s house was completely demolished by a tornado when she was in high school, and much more. All these topics were fascinating, but more than that it’s her happiness and positivity, her infectious enthusiasm for running that made the episode addictive. I listened to it, and then went back and watched it on Youtube. Some of my favorite quotes: “If I could, I would run all day.” (Good thing she runs 100 mile races!) “I’m propelled by joy.” (Something to think about on my next run.) “I’m doing this for the world. I’m doing this to elevate the sport, to raise the bar in what women think is possible.” (Thank you, Camille!) It’s easy to fall into a rut, or fall into the trap of thinking our best days are behind us. Listening to podcasts like this and reading books like Next Level make me feel excited and empowered to reach my full potential. If you also need a jolt of inspiration, please listen to Camille and tell me what you think! I’m linking up with My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida for Fit Five Friday! Check them out for more fun and inspiration.