Tag Archives: new runner

Runners are slower and older now and that’s OK!

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

One of our ChiRunning Instructors just posted an interesting article in our Instructor faceook page.  I am rarely this motivated to write a blog post but I scanned the study and I was inspired immediately!  I haven’t even really read through the full thing but just picked out a few of things that really got me excited!

Something I’ll never forget from my Psychology 101 class in college is that most “studies” are really BS.  There are many variables required to have an effective study so it’s easy to believe every article in every magazine that claims the effectiveness of such study .  So truly most of the time they are BS. I actually just saw one yesterday that mentioned a study with a sample size of 8 people!  Hardly representative of any population!

The first sentence before the title of the article says: “This is the first mapping of Global running participation. The analysis covers 107.9 million race results from more than 70 thousand events from 1986 to 2018. This is by far the largest study of race results in history. “

hmmmm that sounds like a pretty decent sample size!

The State of Running 2019

You can go ahead and read the findings here: The State of Running 2019 by Jens Jakob Anderson

Here are the the key points that got me fired up with my 2 cents under them 😉

  • Runners have never been slower – male runners in particular. In 1986 the average finish time was 3:52:35, whereas today it’s 4:32:49 – a slowdown of 40 minutes and 14 seconds. (marathon)
    • Yeah!  It’s about time we don’t care about speed when it comes to running!
  • Runners have never been older aging from 35.2 in 1986 to 39.3 in 2018.
    • Based on the people I hang out with, this is actually still young!  Great to see people getting out of their comfort zones as they age!
  • For the first time in history, there are more female than male runners. In 2018, 50.24% of runners were female.
    • Yes! I am working on getting more women running first…then more women running trails…then more women running ultras 😉
  • Traveling to race has never been more popular than today.
    • Definitely something I started doing more for some of my races as well as my groups.  One of the reasons I love trail and ultra running is to getting to see new beautiful places.  Ladies Training Programs so far have been to Flagstaff (2x), Vail AZ, Tucson and Moab.  Future plans are to have more programs out of town.
  • The motives for participating in running are potentially changing from being achievement-focused to being psychological, health and socially focused, which in part can be proved by more people traveling to race, slower finish times and how milestone-ages (30, 40, 50) now are much less dominant than 15 and 30 years ago.
    • This makes me the happiest!  This is the kind of running I promote!
      • Learn how to do it right so you don’t hurt yourself as you age and you can run forever!
      • Be social! Make sure you are having fun by doing it with friends!
      • Travel!
      • Take your time, there is no rush!  Your pace, your race!
      • Run to eat, run to drink beers, run for cookies…or whatever floats your boat!

Doing all of this will make it so running can be part of your lifestyle!  This is how and why I run!

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

50 Miles of Gratitude: (9) Training & Aravaipa Running

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

WOW…I am really slow at blogging! My goal is to write 50 blog posts about my first 50 miler and I’m only on #9!

Getting ready for a 50 miler is no joke.  If you want to train properly, you have to invest the time into training.  I used the Ultraladies training plan which was easy to follow.  

The hardest part about training for me is getting the long weekend runs.  Ultra running training is about doing long back to back runs on the weekend so your body and mind know what it’s like to run on tired legs.  Even though we have plenty of long trails, the hard part about training runs is that you either need to have all your food/drink with you for those 20+ miles (downside is that you have to carry more stuff), or you need to do loops and keep your refueling in the car (downside it that it’s easy to stop after a loop when you are back to your car) or you can run races as training runs!

This is where Aravaipa Running comes in the pictures.  The 2 major trail running companies here are Aravaipa and XTERRA (more on them in another blog post).

I love running races because you get a shirt, a pint glass, a nice trail and aid stations so it’s probably my favorite way to get a training run in.  In can get expensive but the great thing is that they offer volunteer opportunities so you can get race credits. It’s a great way to give back to the community and then pay for upcoming races!  The other thing is that depending on how I am feeling on that day, I might choose to push myself a bit harder since I’m in a “race” atmosphere.

I did my first 50K with Aravaipa and two others (Elephant Mountain (1st), Frenzy (2nd) and Crown King (3rd) ).  McDowell Mountain Frenzy was a training run for my 50 mile race. So was the Coldwater Rumble (20 miles).  One of the advantages of doing their races is that you have plenty of time to finish them. They usually have at least a 50K or 50 miler or 100 miler so as long as you finish within that time, you have no problem. Just always check to see what the course cut off is and you are good to go.

aravaipaglasses

I love my pint glass selection and a few are missing..probably the only thing I would like to be different as you can really only fit so many of these in your cupboard 😉

As I write this post, they also have a night trail running series (Insomniac Series) during the summer which are a blast! I remember when I thought trail running was crazy, let alone running at night time on a trail.  But that is now my favorite type of running! I just finished the Adrenaline 26K last weekend (haven’t blogged as I didn’t have time but this is my mini paragraph about it right now.).  This is my favorite! First of all, McDowell mountains have some of my favorite trails.  I also ran this race a few years ago (it was my first night trail run!) and I was hoping to beat my time…which I did!  It was another epic race for me as I shaved 21 minutes off my time from 2014!  Click here for some pics of that run 😉 (I’m training for my 4th 50K in Capitol Reef on 7/9/2016) I’m at 22 seconds in this video they made!

I considered doing an Aravaipa race as my first 50 miler because I love supporting local businesses, especially those that support the running community so well.  The main reason I didn’t is because I wanted to see a new place so that’s why I chose Antelope Canyon (and Elaine practically twisted my arm 😉 and it was over my 45th birthday weekend )

Aravaipa Running also offer a variety of group runs weekly rotating around the Phoenix area.  They are a blast with a lot of fun people!  Check them out!

Click here: 50 Miles of Gratitude: 50 Posts about my first 50 Miler

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

Running Tips for Beginner Trail Runners

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

I’m finally getting some of my “road” runners to drink the Kool Aid 😉  The trail running Kool Aid that is!

I’ll be honest, I remember the days when I used to hike and see trail runners out there.  I’d call them “freaks” in my head….I’d think “what are they crazy? They’re going to fall down and hurt themselves.”  Then a few years ago (and for the life of me I can’t remember what hit me) I decided I wanted to try trail running….and I did…and I’m hooked!  I don’t mind road running (my trail running has actually improved my road running) but if given a choice, I’ll hit a trail any day first.

I have a schpeel (had to look up how to spell this word ;)) that I give my newbie trail runners that I’d like to share because it can help you too:

  1. Pick an easy off-road trail. Don’t pick a trail with a lot of hills on your first time.
  2. You are more than likely going to take a fall at some point so don’t keep thinking about it.  Acknowledge the possibility and move on. You’ll deal with it when it happens, no sense in adding this stress to the situation.  Make sure your core is engaged because this well help with stability.
  3. Look for all the OPEN spaces to put your feet.  Most people focus on where NOT To put their feet.  Your eyes will find what you are looking for so if you look for obstacles, that’s what you’ll find.  Look for all those OPEN spots.  Same idea when you buy that new car or are pregnant and all of the sudden that’s all you see around you.
  4. Start out slow with short strides.  Don’t try to make big jumps in between open spots. I like to think of it as a dance sometimes.
  5. Keep your eyes focused ahead of you so you can see the terrain as it comes at you.  This will get easier with experience.
  6. As a ChiRunner, you will always shoot for a midfoot landing but sometimes the open spots are smaller so aim with the top part of your foot. This will engage your calves more so be aware not to do it all the time.
  7. Make sure are bending your knees. One of the most common reasons people fall is because their heel doesn’t go high enough behind them and they trip on a protruding rock.  Sometimes I even over-exaggerate knee bending when there are bigger rocks around. (Again, more than likely a fall will happen but we try to avoid those as much as possible with proper technique).
  8. It’s totally OK to walk!  I prefer ChiWalking myself but you get the idea.  Trails are more challenging and will tend to get your heart rate up. Don’t worry about walking if you need to take a break (and enjoy nature too)…
  9. Enjoy nature.  Stop and take photos and enjoy nature at it’s best. This is one of the main reasons I love trail running.

Hope these help you!  If you have any other good tips for beginner trail runners, please comment below so we can all learn from each other!

I also highly recommend the ChiRunning Hills and Trails DVD.  You’ll find some of these tips and more, especially the hills part!

One of my favorite DVDs! I love hills and trail because of ChiRunning ;)

One of my favorite DVDs! I love hills and trail because of ChiRunning 😉

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

My New Favorite Running App

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

(I started writing this while I was on vacation in the midwest.  Just got back last night)

As you may know, I’ve been gallivanting around the midwest for the last week and a half.  I have found the scenery here so different and refreshing from the AZ desert.  Continue Reading →