It’s a little sad to me that we need the federal government to tell us to get a move on every day.  In an ideal world we wouldn’t need that—we’d be able to live our lives without the stress of an urban or suburban environment relegating us to a life of boxes.  (Lie on a box, eat from a box on a box, get in a box, drive to a box, sit at a box, stare at a box, get back in the box, drive to your box, sit on a box, stare at a box, lie on a box, and repeat!)

However, not only am I unable to change the world just by wishing for a change, I am also not likely to inflict my desires on an entire population.  (If only!)

So despite my sadness I find it somewhat useful to periodically check in on the federal guidelines for physical activity for Americans.  I think they are fairly weak requirements as I’m positive most would benefit more from somewhat higher standards, but I also understand a majority of citizens are very far from achieving even these daily amounts of physical activity… which brings on another wave of sadness!

How do you measure up to these standards?  How does your family measure up?  Your friends?  Are you doing what you can to achieve these recommendations for your body and health?

Children and Adolescents (aged 6–17)

• Children and adolescents should do 1 hour (60 minutes) or more of physical activity every day.
• Most of the 1 hour or more a day should be either moderate- or vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity.
• As part of their daily physical activity, children and adolescents should do vigorous-intensity activity on at least 3 days per week. They also should do muscle-strengthening and bone-strengthening activity on at least 3 days per week.

Adults (aged 18–64)

• Adults should do 2 hours and 30 minutes a week of moderate-intensity, or 1 hour and 15 minutes (75 minutes) a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity. Aerobic activity should be performed in episodes of at least 10 minutes, preferably spread throughout the week.
• Additional health benefits are provided by increasing to 5 hours (300 minutes) a week of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity, or 2 hours and 30 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both.
• Adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities that involve all major muscle groups performed on 2 or more days per week.

Older Adults (aged 65 and older)

• Older adults should follow the adult guidelines. If this is not possible due to limiting chronic conditions, older adults should be as physically active as their abilities allow. They should avoid inactivity. Older adults should do exercises that maintain or improve balance if they are at risk of falling.

I ran less than 17 miles yesterday.  Do you know what that means??  It means I’m getting really close to the marathon—it’s TAPER TIME!!!  My longest runs have already been completed and after months of slowly gearing up for the Memorial Day event, now is the time for me to ease back and rest up.  Fun!

However, I did not have a great time out there yesterday.  Sure, I missed out on the rain, which was fantastic, but it was still me running the same routes I’ve been running for the past what seems like eternity.  I let the boredom in and it was almost all over right at that moment.

Training blahs have set in with a vengeance.

I shouldn’t be concerned about the training blahs: I know I’ve been here before, and I know I’ll be there again.

What I CAN do at this point is remember to simply plan better.  It seems I have to keep re-learning the same things as I search for balance between being too rigid with my training and too flexible:

1.       Plan a fun new run.

Sometimes I wonder why I don’t listen to my own advice!  I don’t vary my routes significantly in large part because I don’t like to drive someplace to start running.  That means I’m limited to where my two little legs can carry me, leaving from my front door.  Granted, the farther I run while preparing for a marathon the more sights I can see, but those first few and last few miles are always either on route A or route B.  Yawn.

Yesterday I left my house without a firm route set in my mind.  That wasn’t a great idea, because I let boredom get the better of me!  My “oh, I’ll just see what happens” was really not a good way to plan for 16-18 miles. (I ended up getting in just 16.7)

2.       EAT no matter what my blood glucose levels are.

I think yesterday that was my biggest blunder.  I had eaten oatmeal before I left and didn’t bolus for that, so I knew I had enough glucose in my body to get through the run.  Looking back at it, I see that I did just fine keeping pace for the first 75 minutes before I let myself stop due to boredom and never really got anything back to where it had been.  I kept stopping and starting for a variety of reasons, but I’m betting that if I had taken a little extra insulin and eaten something at mile 4-5 I would have had a much better time of things, and wouldn’t have lost the mental or physical edge. 

3.       REST an additional day if necessary.

This advice I DID take this past weekend.  I have two days I can run in the mornings: Saturdays or Sundays.  (The other mornings are full of bootcamp!) That means that Fridays I generally spend thinking about where I’m going on Saturday (as I really do usually plan a route!) and trying to rest up. 

But the previous weekend I didn’t rest when I should have, and just stuck to my plan of going on Saturday when I probably would have done better had I run on Sunday instead.  This weekend, I knew on Thursday evening I shouldn’t run on Saturday because of the way my legs felt.  So, I saved it all for Sunday instead.  That was smart of me, because at this point, I’m not into getting hurt and not being able to participate in the run!

Like I said, it’s a balancing act to train for a marathon.  Thankfully, I’m almost there.

I know I’ve said this before, but it always bears repeating: our bodies are waaaay smarter than we are.  And, our bodies are always looking out for us by responding to a stress by getting stronger.  One of my favorite experts, Jason Karp, Ph. D, said it best when he refers to training as threatening your body’s survival.  In turn, your body does what it needs to do to prevent that threat the next time it comes around.

It’s one of the ways you get stronger and faster!  It’s how lifting a 10 pound weight that used to be incredibly difficult seems easy by comparison when you’re strong enough to lift a 20 pound weight for the same exercise.  And how running a ten minute mile is no longer as difficult once you’ve gotten used to running a nine minute mile.

All of that being said, it’s still critical to mix things up if you want to increase your fitness level and protect your body from injuries that can occur with repetitive stress of unvaried training.  It can be a fine line between not enough and too much!

One of the best ways to keep yourself in tip top shape and free of injury is to MIX THINGS UP when it comes to your exercise routine.  For me, that means doing a lot more than simply running.

I like these ideas from Active.com. 

Take a Dance Class

Replace a day you would normally spend cross training with a Zumba, hip-hop or salsa class. Runners often focus so intensely on forward movement that their quadriceps can become over-developed and as a result, the gluteal and adductor muscles that provide for stability and lateral movement can atrophy. 

These small and often forgotten muscles are necessary to keep the body balanced and to prevent injuries to the IT band, knee and ankle. You can hit the gym and build these muscles by lifting weights, but why not take a dance class that gives you a cardio benefit as well?

Zumba, hip-hop and salsa provide a balanced workout because they require dancers to move in 360 degrees around their bodies. They strengthen all major and minor muscle groups in the legs; provide a core and cardio workout, and the bonus? A dance class once a week helps break up the daunting mental block that training can inflict on the psyche.

Do Speed Work in Spin

Sprints in a high-intensity spin class have the same benefit on fast-twitch muscles as a track workout, but the impact on your joints is far less. Plus, if you aren’t part of a running group, putting together a speed workout can be overwhelming.

If you take a spin class, you get the social benefit of sweating amongst your peers and the added inspiration this brings.

Replace One Day of Strength Training With Pilates

Abdominal muscles are an integral part of running. Not only do they protect your back and keep you stable and upright, your pelvic floor helps lift the two tree trunks below your waste. So the stronger your abs, the easier each step, and the less likely you are to pull a hip flexor.

Another benefit to Pilates is that it lengthens muscles. Repetitive motion like running and standard weight lifting causes muscles to contract and tighten, which can lead to injury.

Pilates provides a balance to this shortening. It also helps bring the body into alignment by using small movements to reverse the bad habits we develop in our everyday lives. Since most injuries occur because one part of our body is compensating for another due to misalignment, Pilates is an important way we can protect ourselves.

Strengthen and Stretch Your Feet

Your feet are the most important body part when it comes to running and the common maladies of Plantar Fasciitis and a pulled IT band often start here. To remain injury-free, your feet must not only be strong, but flexible.

If you don’t live near a beach or lake with sand, and you’re not into the barefoot running shoes, then for ten minutes a day, sit with your bare or socked feet on a towel, repeatedly squeeze and try to pick it up with your toes.

To stretch your feet after this exercise and every run, sit on your heels with your knees on the floor and your toes curled under for as long as you can stand it. This yoga pose (called “Hero’s Pose”), stretches the bottom of your feet and is the single best way to prevent plantar fasciitis.

It will be painful at first, but eventually you’ll be able to get through an entire 30 minute television program.  

Replace One Short Run With a Stair Workout

Running stairs is a great cardio workout and training tool because you’re still running, but the motion is different than if you were on a flat road. It strengthens your core, all of the major and minor muscle groups in your legs, and helps with stability.