Investigative Report: Forearm and Calf Sleeves

For one unfamiliar with the world of running, some things seem completely bizarre - from words seemingly designed to make 12-year-olds giggle (fartlek?), to completely strange apparel.  Take this woman:

I met this lady at Beat the Blerch, where she was running the full marathon. She seems to be dressed fairly typically - running shoes, a running skirt with built-in shorts, a tank top. But what the hell is up with the leg warmers and forearm sleeves?!

I've seen a number of runners wearing these one at a time or together both at races, and just out on runs around town. There are whole sections of these scrap pieces of fabric at running and athletic stores, and we are somehow supposed to believe that they are stand-alone items of clothing?! Clearly there is some kind of running insider secret to which I am not yet privy. It is time for an investigation...

Luckily, I happen to be friends with one of the managers of my local running store, Salt Lake Running Company. So, on one chilly, rainy, Sunday morning, I sent her this message on Facebook:

"Hey, I have a running question for you. I wondered - can you tell me what the point of those sleeves that only cover your forearms is? I see "serious" runners wearing them, and I have no idea why...same goes for the calf-only sleeve things... What are those, and why would one consider wearing them?"

As a serious runner herself, she of course knew what I meant right away. In fact, she was out for a run, and had only stopped to get a coffee before running home. It turns out that the forearm sleeves and the calf sleeves serve different purposes.

Forearm sleeves are meant as another way to modulate your temperature on a run. With the forearm sleeves, you can continue to wear shorter sleeved shirts when it gets chilly. This way, you can be warmer at the start of your run, but if you start to get too warm, you can just take them off mid-run.

Okay, one mystery down. But what about the calf ones? I don't know about you, but my legs are rarely cold while working that hard.

It turns out that the calf sleeves serve a more anatomical, bio-mechanical purpose. First of all, calf sleeves are a form of compression - that is, they're super, duper tight and squeeze your calves. This is supposed to be good for two reasons: 1) to increase blood flow, though the research on that isn't super good yet, and 2) to reduce muscle vibration, which is absolutely proven and supported by the science. The benefit is that this extra support causes you to feel less calf strain while you're running, and therefore less muscle soreness afterwards. That also explains why it is that I usually see them on runners doing longer distances.

So there you have it, mystery solved! Have you worn arm and/or calf sleeves? What did you think about them?

A Guide to Running in Costume

Because I'm less of a runner and more of a have-runner, I'm always looking for something to spice up my runs and races. Fun, silly, super scenic locale, anything so that its not just another miserable 3-6 miles...

Confession time: I am both a huge Halloween nerd, and a massive Disney fan. For running, this means that it was only a matter of time before I ran a race in costume.

I've been looking for a good costume race (and trying to convince hubby to run it with me) for a long time. We actually have several costumed Half Marathons near us, but I wasn't ready to commit to that many miles in costume just yet. And then a wonderful thing happened: one of those Half Marathons added a 5K! I signed up myself and my two kids, and even convinced hubby to slum it with us in the 5K instead of doing the half. So without further ado, a few things we discovered about running in costumes:

DO: Work with what you have.

The best running costumes use running gear. No surprise, right? There is a reason we run in tech fabric and why we choose the the styles and cuts of running gear that we do. We choose our running gear according to what we're most comfortable running in. So, if you can work running gear that you already have into your costume - awesome!

Case in point: Hubby ran as Zorro.

He wore black running tights and a black running shirt that he already had. The cape is one we've had for years and was in our costume box. The hat was a re-use from a past pirate costume. The only new thing that we got was the fabric for the mask which we literally bought on the way to the race, and I cut eye holes while he drove!

DON'T: Use big accessories.

Think about it: you don't want to have to carry extra crap. Another thought though - there are usually A LOT of runners on the course, so not only do you not want to carry this stuff, but if its big, you have to worry about not hitting/running into other runners with it.

Example: fairy wings.

As you can see, her wings expanded way, way out past her shoulders. This became a pain for her in a number of ways. First, at the race start, everyone within 10 feet of her got smacked, poked, whacked, or stabbed with fairy wings. Then, nearly everyone she passed on the course got hit too. Also, fairy wings move. I know, shocker. Her wings spent much more time folded up and shifted down so that they were on her sideways. By the end she was so annoyed, that she took them off and carried them.

If you're going to do wings, a couple of pointers: 1) keep it small - the smaller they are, the less they'll move around. 2) consider immobilizing them - maybe use safety pins to attach to the back of your shirt instead of just relying on the shoulder straps. 3) take them for a test run - yes you will look like a crazy person running around your local park wearing wings, but if they annoy you after 100 yards, you definitely don't want to wear them in a distance race.

DO: Be careful of too many layers. 

Ok, so this one was my own fault. I was trying to go with my first point about wearing running gear if possible. I was going as Lady Zorro, so I was wearing a black knee-length skirt with a red stretchy corset and fishnets. That sounded like it would be awful to run in, so I wore some knee-length running shorts and a tank top underneath. Now, due to the nature of how a corset is worn over a skirt, that means that around my mid-section, I had undies, fishnets, running shorts, a wool skirt, and a corset. That's FIVE layers!! That wound up being hot, constricting, and generally uncomfortable. 

As hot as my middle got, I'm surprised that my race bib didn't melt off by the end...

DON'T: Assume that a mask will be 'fine'

We had mixed results with the masks. Mine was TORTURE. I made it a little over a mile before I took it off. It was hot and made me sweaty way earlier than any other part of me got sweaty (including the parts that were wearing 5 layers!). To make matters worse, nothing stays exactly in place when you're running, so the mask kept riding up and bothering my eyes. Hubby, on the other hand, had no such issues. We made his mask to mirror the original Zorro mask, so it covered his whole head. He still wore it for the whole race with no complaints. To be fair, we were running WAY under his pace, so he never really got hot or sweaty.

Do: Be make small changes to make some things more running-friendly

We made minor modifications to several things to make them more running friendly. For hubby's costume, the cape was one of the cheap Halloween capes that ties at the neck. You can imagine that running along with that flapping behind you and the ties pulling on your throat would get old fast. So we safety-pinned the ties to his shirt. Similarly, my son dressed as Bill Nye the Science Guy, who famously wears a bow-tie. We had a bow-tie in the costume box, but it was one with an elastic band to wear around the neck. Again, we just safety-pinned it to his shirt. Small modifications, but they make a big difference!

We're running another costumed race this weekend, so I'll come back and update with any new lessons learned. Do you have any tips? I'd love to know your tricks!

Stumbled Upon Gem of the Day

Ok, so I may be the very last one to this party, but today I discovered dailymile.com . In case you haven't found it yet either, I thought I'd share.

I only discovered this today, so I'm not by any means an expert, but along with a mapping feature for planning routes (which can be saved and re-used), the site allows you to store your workout history and also works like a social networking site for athletes.

If you haven't joined yet, head on over and take a look. If you're already a member, do you have any tips for us noobs?

When to Run: In a summer storm

As I am writing, thunder is booming outside, there's an occasional flash of lightning, and the rain is falling in fat, heavy splatters. This my friends, is my favorite kind of weather to run in.

"Are you nuts?!" You may be asking...Well that point is debatable, but in this case I don't think so. See, in the dead of summer, with high temperatures reaching over 100 degrees, its hard to find a good time to run without putting yourself at risk of heat exhaustion.

But when it rains, everything turns magical. The icky, sticky feeling is washed out of the air. Since its still 90+ degrees outside, the rain isn't actually cold, its just refreshing. Its hard to get over-heated with a constant nice, refreshing rain cooling you off. Plus there's the unique smell of summer rain.

And, hey, as long as you're not the tallest thing around, you should be fine, right? All in all, a beautiful time to run. :)

Prepping for Longer Distances

With my first 5k behind me, I find myself ready to move on - at least mentally. So this morning I spent some time looking for half-marathon training programs. Little known fact: if you can comfortably run a 5k and do training runs at least 3 miles long, 3 times per week, you can begin a beginner's half-marathon training program.

I have looked through several half-marathon training programs, and I will try to take notes and give you all a run down over the next couple of days. In the meantime though, I came across this excellent article on Web-MD about how to mentally prepare, and things that long distance runners wish they'd known when they were starting out:

Marathon Training Tips for Beginners

Where are you in your running journey? What are you training for right now? Do you plan to stop there? What is the distance you'd ultimately like to do?

Stretches: Static vs. Dynamic

Assuming that you're not a flaming idiot (and I assume that you're all complete geniuses), you know that stretching is an absolute must. But how do you stretch? For how long? Are you getting ALL the muscle groups you should? Do you use a static or dynamic stretch? Do you know the difference?

The answer to the sometimes heated debate between static and dynamic stretches is: both. A quick primer: static stretches are those horrible things your gym teacher made you do where you reached for your toes (or grabbed your ankle or whatever) and stayed there for what seemed like eternity. Dynamic stretches, on the other hand rely on motion to accomplish the stretch.

The key to the static or dynamic debate is in when you use the stretches. For the least risk of injury, you should stretch both before AND after a run. Before your run, dynamic stretches are best, as static stretches can be damaging to 'cold' muscles. The tricky thing about dynamic stretches though, is that they work best when tailored to a specific sport. After your run, when your muscles want to reflexively tighten, is when static stretches are best.

In the coming days and weeks, I will be attempting to do a video tutorial on the various stretches and hopefully help to set you up with a well-rounded stretching regimen for all your runs. With that in mind, what are your favorite, can't miss stretches?

I'm a "Have Run-er"

I had an interesting conversation with one of my coworkers over lunch the other day. He was intrigued by my sudden rabid interest in running. It turns out that he and his wife go for frequent walks in and around my neighborhood so he knows many of the routes that I often run. We were discussing interesting routes in my neighborhood and he mentioned several that are particularly scenic, or have some other nice feature, but they all had the same stinking problem - hills! I've mentioned before that I detest running hills - it just absolutely kills me. So on this particular day, I was explaining this to my coworker. He seemed to understand, but also like he wanted to ask me why I was being such a baby about the hills - he was too polite to actually ask though.

At some point in the conversation, he said something that amounted to a comment about me really enjoying running. To which I replied, "Well see, that's the funny thing about me as a runner, because I really don't enjoy the actual running all that much, its what comes after that keeps me going." I then mentioned things like the feeling of relaxation, energy, increased focus, and of course the feeling of accomplishment. He leaned back, and nodded sagely, and said "Ah, so its not that you like to run, its that you like to have run." Exactly! He then went on to add "So by avoiding hills, you're trying to keep the actual running part from being as unpleasant as possible." Once again, he was dead-on.

See, here's the truth of the thing. Running hurts. It is sweaty, your legs will hurt, things will chafe, and at times it will be just plain miserable. There will be mornings where you won't want to do it. You are going to feel self-conscious - if you're over-weight, you're going to feel like people are staring and judging you. You are going to sweat buckets. Your calves will be sore. If you have stairs, you may have trouble going down them the morning after a run because your legs are so stiff.

But you know what else? There will be days when your run is perfect. You will feel strong, and accomplished. You will feel completely empowered because YOU did this. No one else can do this for you. You will feel energized and happy. And you will feel healthy. You may even reach a point with your health or size that you haven't seen for 5, 10, 20 years - or maybe a point that you've never seen before, ever.

So yeah, at times running can suck, but that's why I'm a Have Run-er.

You must run, before you run hills...

Ok so its not as catchy as "You must walk before you run", but its still just as true. The reason why toddlers must walk before they run has to do with muscle development. There must be a base amount of muscle tone and development, all of which is acquired by walking. Once the muscles are sufficiently developed, toddlers stop simply toppling over when they try to run, and finally take off.

As a runner, you are once again a toddler. No, that doesn't mean that you can wear a diaper to work. Unless your boss treats you like a baby and you want to make a statement - in which case, please send pictures! No, new runners are just developing and slowly strengthening key muscles and tendons. Here's where the hills come in: don't do it!

When I first started running, my husband and I were trying to figure out what to do with the kids. We came to the conclusion that we would have to bring them with us, so we asked them whether they would rather run with us, or play while we ran (probably around a track while they played in the grass in the middle). They said that they wanted to run too. So then we had to find a place to run that would be safe with young kids. There is an absolutely adorable park near us that has nice rolling hills and a 1.5 mile jogging loop with its own lane. Perfect!

I had wondered about the wisdom of running hills, but as my husband pointed out, you have to run hills sometime, and if you do it from the beginning, then it won't be such a big deal when it comes up - after all, you'll have lots of practice. The logic was seemingly airtight.

So we did our runs for the first several weeks - and a couple repeated weeks due to allergies and the flu - in this lovely park with the bucolic rolling hills. But then I got the weirdest sensation in my left hip joint. It felt like it needed to pop, but it wouldn't - no matter what I did - and it hurt to walk. After a really good, deep stretch it felt better, so I decided to investigate what it might be. I went to the library and checked out several books on sports injuries, injury prevention, and so on. The culprit: strained groin muscle.

It turns out, I was trying to run before I had spent a sufficient time walking. I hadn't built up enough of a base strength to be able to run those nice, rolling hills. And the really funny part? It wasn't the up-hills - it was the down-hills! When you run down-hill, you shift your weight back, take shorter strides, and basically just run completely differently. Now don't get me wrong, the up-hills can be just as bad - after all, its just like down-hills but in reverse: we lean into the hill, and really dig to try to get up the hill (or just take tiny steps, which still alters which muscles you're working). Going up-hill puts even more strain on your knees than you were already subjecting them to, and it makes the run more difficult than it needs to be for a beginner runner.

So what to do? Plan your runs to avoid hills if at all possible. If its not possible, minimize how many hills there are, and try to keep the incline as low as possible - the steeper it is, the worse it is. And above all, don't try to pop your groin muscle!!

Where to Run: Creating a Route

I have to say that I'm a little weird about choosing my running routes. See, it either has to be a loop or it has to have a destination at the end. Also, I've found that knowing where I will stop is a good motivator to keep going. This is especially pertinent if you've been following the Couch-to-5K plan. For simplicity, I ran for time instead of distance. But after a while it got to be mind-numbing. There was no end in sight - literally, it turned out that my problem was not being able to see where I would stop. For me, it is a lot easier to keep going if I know that its only 2 more blocks, than knowing that I still have 8 minutes. Plus, by running for time, I found myself slowing down and just waiting out the time. The result: when I got to the part of the plan where you're not walking anymore, I wasn't making anywhere near the distance that I was supposed to in the time given for each workout.

So now, I carefully map my routes. There are lots of sites online that will let you map out a run and will tell you the distance, elevation gain/loss, and all sorts of other things. I recommend the one on Livestrong.com . You've heard of this before, right? Lance Armstrong, yellow rubber bracelets, etc, etc. Well it turns out, that as part of the foundation's activity they curate a whole site devoted to healthy living. They have a section called 'My Plate' that works as an online food journal and has an insane number of foods in its database. And if a food you're looking for isn't in the database, you can add it. On top of that, you can set daily goals for total calories, fat, carbs, all sorts of things. But back to the loops...On the homepage of Livestrong.com, at the top of the page, hover on 'Get Fit', to the right of the drop-down are 'Get Fit Tools', click on 'Loops'. From here you can create your own loops, view loops created by others in your area, and add a loop to your 'My Plate' (if you have one). A free account is needed to create loops, but even if this is the only part of the site that you use, it is totally worth it.

To create your loop, first follow the directions above to get to the 'Loops' page. Then, under 'Create a Loop', click on 'Create'. Now, center the map over where you want to run. Ok, here's the little bit of a tricky part: first, click on your start point, then click your end point and a line will appear between them - now drag the line to where you want your route to go. So, for example, if you are planning a route that will start and end in front of your house, click for the start in front of your house, then click right next to it for the end. It is most convenient to put your start pin to the side where you will be going to, and the stop pin to the side you will be coming from (so that the route line doesn't have to cross itself). Then, grab the little line and pull it where you want it to go. Along the route line will be little boxes - use these to drag your route around and fit it to where you want to go. Also, below the map will be a graph of elevation change. The dots on the elevation graph correspond with the boxes on your route - so you'll know in advance where you go up and where your route goes back down again.

How about you? How do you plan your routes?

Fatty Tip: You're Gonna Get Hungry...Really Hungry

You know all those products on the market that claim to 'boost your metabolism'? You know the ones, pomegranate extract, B vitamins, etc, etc, the list goes on forever. Well, it turns out that if you're looking for a metabolism booster, running is an excellent source.

In the process of ramping-up your muscle building and fat burning, your body becomes a calorie burning furnace. In order to keep that furnace burning, your body demands food. A lot. I find that I get hungry (noticeably) about every 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Hmm, isn't that interesting, isn't that about how often all the experts say we should be eating to maintain weight loss? Coincidence? I think not.

The key here is how you deal with the hunger. First of all, be aware that its coming and plan for it. All that hard work you put in this morning will be for naught if you satisfy that first pang with an entire bag of Doritos. Or a bucket of chicken. Seriously, you'll be starving! So, remember when I said that boatloads of veggies and fruit are essential for fat loss? This is a great place to apply that knowledge! This is also an excellent opportunity to stay on top of hydration. Every time you find yourself hungry, drink some water. Now, I'm not saying drink water instead of eating, I'm saying drink water in addition to eating. Remember, feeding the furnace is essential to keep it burning.

As an example, here's what was in my "lunch" bag today:

- Morning snack: celery and carrot spears with peanut butter

-Lunch: leftover whole-wheat spaghetti with lean ground turkey and chunky fresh veggies, with a fresh side salad with more carrots and fat-free Italian dressing

- Afternoon snack 1: Apple

-Afternoon snack 2: Banana, coffee, and a snickerdoodle (hey, I am human...)

Ok, so it wasn't all in my lunch bag - afternoon snack 2 I had when I got home from work :). But the point is to eat small snacks throughout the day. Notice the near complete lack of processed carbs, and the presence of lots of fiber, this too will help.

To avoid boredom, have lots of variety. For my veggie snacks I may have celery, carrots, cucumber spears, or sliced bell peppers. Also, don't be afraid to spice it up! Italian dressing makes a very flavorful dip with very little actual dressing used. Also, peanut butter is a great way to add in some protein. For fruits, mix it up there too. Good packable fruits include apples, pears, bananas, cantaloupe, watermelon, and honeydew. Sliced kiwi, anyone? Oranges, grapefruit? The list is limited only by your imagination and personal taste. The key is to move on from one as soon as you start to feel the slightest boredom - just leave it out of the rotation for a while.

How about you? What are your go-to snacks?

How to Make Your Own 'Love Sock'

Don't worry, its not what it sounds like...This is a cheap, DIY heating pad of a sort. In the same way that a bag of frozen peas is better than a rigid ice pack, the rice-filled sock is better than a more constrained heating pad.

Ingredients:

-1 lb. dry uncooked rice

-1 tube sock (I prefer clean, unused ones, but to each his/her own...)

- lavender (optional)

1. Decorate your sock (if you so choose)

2. Mix rice and lavender, pour into sock.

3. Tie off the top of the sock.

4. Heat in the microwave for 2 minutes or until it achieves the temperature you'd like.

That's it! Use it as you would a heating pad. The Love Sock is particularly good for lower backs, draping around your neck, or for heating your foot as mentioned in the Plantar Fasciitis post.

Enjoy!

Injuries: Plantar Fasciitis

It would seem that running should be perfectly natural - something that we're born to do. But unfortunately, there is a right and a wrong way to do it. When done the wrong way, injuries are not only possible, but absolutely likely. This post is the first in a series on common injuries for beginner runners - especially those that are particularly likely for over-weight runners.

So, quick anatomy lesson. Plantar: the bottom surface of your foot. Fascia: a very thick, rubbery, tendon. So then, your plantar fascia is the thick tendon that runs along the bottom of your foot - from the bottom of your heel bone, to the base of each toe to be exact.

It turns out that your plantar fascia is a critical bit of anatomy. This tough tendon is responsible for maintaining your arch. Without that tendon, your foot would splat against the ground with no tone, and would not be able to function. Each time you take a step, it is stretched as your foot touches the ground, and springs back as you lift your foot - much like a rubber band.

Understandably then, injury to the fascia can be excruciating. Most often, plantar fasciitis is felt as pain on the bottom of the foot, directly under the heel bone. And the news gets worse: plantar fasciitis is very slow to heal, with average healing time being 9-18 months. The thing is, fascia are very thick and rubbery - as such, they don't get much fresh blood, which is essential for healing.

Plantar fasciitis is particularly common in over-weight people and runners. So, what about over-weight runners? Well, lets not take our chances, shall we?

So, if you find yourself with plantar fasciitis, what can you do? First of all, stretches. The pain is generally only felt when standing and walking, and is worst first thing in the morning, or after sitting for an hour or more. So firstly, stretch before standing. With your leg stretched out in front of you, grab your toes and gently pull toward yourself. If you can't reach your toes, use a hand towel looped under your foot and pull the ends toward yourself. Next, keep your calves and achilles tendon loose at all times. Also of great help will be very supportive shoes. I know, you just shuddered at the image of those awful nude colored orthotic things your grandmother wore. Worry not, it doesn't need to be that bad. For any old shoe, you can get heel caps to add extra stability. Also, many shoe manufacturers make high-stability shoes. New Balance makes a nice hiking shoe, as well as a couple of different athletic shoes with built-in motion stability.

How will this impact your running? Not much, if you're careful. Just before your run, heat your foot on a heating pad for ~10 minutes. This will get the blood flowing and loosen up the fascia before the run. Second, you absolutely must have a full 24 hour recovery period between runs. Since the fascia is so slow to heal, this CANNOT be missed.

Above all, don't let it get you down! You wouldn't stop going to concerts just because you need a little ibuprofen afterward, would you?

Fatty Tip: Your Underwear are Going to Fall Down

Or roll down, whichever. You know how hard it is to find underwear that fit right? Yes well, "fitting right" is a completely different story when it comes to running. See, all that bouncing, jostling, and jiggling, makes it harder for your undies to stay where they belong.

As you're running along, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, little by little your undies are going to slide - or roll- down off your belly. And then what? You leave them there so that they can fall all the way off your ass? Or you try to find a way to pull up your underwear in the middle of a public park and hope the concerned parents don't call the cops?

There are two things you can do here. 1) Wear big underwear. The bigger they are (as in the higher up they come on your belly), the more room you've got to move around without them falling down. 2) Weather permitting, wear running shorts. They have the underwear already built in, so the CAN'T fall down!

Stumbling Block: Running with Allergies

In case you are lucky enough to not suffer from an outdoor allergy, let me just say: it sucks. Hard. Now here's the really fun part: you may have them, and not even know it.

I had never really had a problem with allergies, until after 1) I started running, and 2) the trees started blooming. Apparently, allergies are dose-dependent. Think of it like a bottle of wine. After one glass, you're still fine - no real inebriation. But after the whole bottle...

Allergies work something like the bottle of wine. While just walking around outside going about your normal business, you body may be able to handle pollen just fine and any effects you feel are minimal. But when you're running, you're huffing down the pollen at such a high dose that your body can't take it anymore. That's exactly what happened to me. I had been running just fine, until one day in April. The run itself went fine, but after about 5 minutes of cool down I started sneezing uncontrollably. My kids helpfully counted over 20 sneezes in the first 5 minutes. Plus, my nose was running like a faucet. I was a mess.

That's where my exploration into running with allergies started. There is good news and there is bad news. The good news: there is relief in sight. The bad news: there's no quick fix. First, if you do have allergies, you'll need an anti-histamine. Most over-the-counter ones will work just fine. However, anti-histamines don't work like painkillers - when you first take them, you likely won't notice any difference at all. In fact, it takes about 2 weeks to build up a good amount of anti-histamine in your system.

So, what to do for those 2 weeks? You basically have 2 options: suffer through it, or take it easy. If you opt to suffer through it, there are some things you can do to make it less painful:

1. Pollen levels are highest early in the morning and late in the evening, so run in the afternoon.
2. Try a nasal spray before your run. The idea here is that the spray acts as a barrier between the pollen and your nasal tissue. It works for some, and not for others, so you'll need to experiment a little.
3. Take a shower the minute you walk in the house, and quarantine your clothes. This keeps the pollen from lingering on you and continuing to aggravate you.
4. Stay super hydrated - the better hydrated you are, the better your body can fight allergens.
5. Ladies: beware your period. For whatever reason, we're more susceptible to allergy attacks during and just before our periods.

Lastly, know your allergy. Sometimes its obvious, sometimes not, but by knowing what it is that you're reacting to, you can track the specific levels of that pollen to know when to tough it out, or when it might be better to skip it. Even better: you'll be able to find out when it will stop blooming....

Running for Weight Loss

Or rather, for fat loss. For this journey, you're going to have to let go of the number on the scale for a little while. Running is indeed the granddaddy of all cardio, and is an ideal exercise for weight loss - the kind that stays off. However, it is by no means a quick fix.

Hard truth: you're going to gain weight. At first. Now there are those that will say that if you're on the right diet, that won't happen. If it doesn't happen, you're doing something wrong, and you're likely going to hurt yourself.

See, it comes down to a somewhat simple equation. Muscle weighs more than fat. At first, you'll be building muscle faster than you can burn the fat. However, the mere presence of all that muscle will make you a fat-burning machine! Muscle burns fat just by its very existence, so even when you're sleeping, you'll still be burning fat! Little by little, the muscle will stop building and start maintaining. Also little by little, you'll be burning more and more fat.

So at first, you'll gain a little weight (I gained ~ 10 lbs). Then, you'll start losing it again - slowly at first, but then faster. The weird thing is, while you're gaining weight, you'll be losing inches. I swear to you, I had stopped weighing myself (it got too depressing), but I noticed that all my clothes were fitting loose, or not fitting at all, so I excitedly hopped on the scale. Bad idea.

To help things along, be careful what you eat. TONS of veggies and fruit are absolutely essential. But also, eat whole grains a few times a day. Whole-oat oatmeal with raisins makes for a power-packed, run-fueling, fat-burning breakfast. Also, drink copious amounts of water, it helps to flush your system.

I weighed myself this morning for the first time in a couple of months. I was about 3 lbs less than when I started running. But, I'm also 2 pants sizes smaller.

Body Glide: Your New Best Friend

One of the worst things about being over-weight and taking on vigorous exercise is the chafing. Bloody nipples, chapped thighs, blistered feet...the list goes on. Enter your new best friend: Body Glide. No, its not something one would find while lurking around an 'adult bookstore'.

Rather, Body Glide is this miraculous waxy substance that creates an anti-chafe barrier on the skin. Very long distance runners use it to protect against the inevitable chafing that comes with 26+ miles of rubbing waist bands and sports bras. For those of us that have more areas that rub up against each other, Body Glide is excellent from the first run. I use it liberally on my inner thighs. I know of others that use it on their feet, nipples, etc.

Body Glide comes in a deodorant-like container, and rolls on the same way as deodorant. It is not greasy, not slippery, and has no scent or odor at all. It is not visible on the skin unless you really look for it (and lets be honest, its likely to be under your clothes or covered in sweat anyway).

Ladies: Body Glide does make a women's formula. However, its a big fat attempt to get you to spend more money. It is exactly the same thing, but with a slight perfume-y scent, and costs a decent amount more than the original formula.

Body Glide can be found at running specialty stores, or at some outdoor and sporting goods stores (including many REI's). Click on the picture to read more about Body Glide, including a zip-code search on where to get it near you.

Where to Run: Surfaces

One of the many things that I had no idea about when I started this thing, was the importance of where you run. For new runners, especially those of us putting even more strain than usual on our joints, the surface you run on can make the difference between a good run and an ice pack.

The four most common surfaces are concrete, asphalt, chip trails, and packed-dirt trails.

Concrete: This one is probably the most accessible to the most runners. Concrete is the white pavement that sidewalks are made of. It is also the toughest of these four on your joints. As the firmest surface, it increases impact and therefore strain on your joints. If you have no other option but concrete, just be aware of this and try to land as gently on your feet as you can.

Asphalt: You remember this one from Driver's Ed, right? I still shudder when I think of "Red Asphalt"...For runners though, asphalt is pretty decent choice. It has more give than concrete, and so is less stressful on joints. It also, however, is most commonly found as a street. Where there are cars. So, good for your joints, bad for you as a potential target for that kid who's texting and driving at the same time. However, lots of parks have paved running/walking trails made of asphalt, which makes for a better running surface and less chance of you as roadkill.

Packed-dirt Trails: These trails are exactly what they sound like. They've been used enough that the dirt has gotten packed down to a nice firm surface. Believe it or not, there's probably one in your local park. Runners often wear these trails into the outer perimeter of a park by running that path all the time. Dirt surfaces have plenty of give, and can actually be a bit springy - allowing you to get a better push-off with less exertion. One caution though: in wet weather, these can get really slippery, so watch your footing.

Chip Trails: You know those pretty trails full of wood chip you sometimes see in parks? Try running on one some time. They are the easiest on joints since the soft chip has lots of give. However, they have A LOT of give, so its harder to use the ground to push off at each step. This tends to slow you down somewhat.

How to choose a surface:

The first thing is what's available. If there aren't any chip trails near you, then obviously that one's not an option. If you do have access to more than one, I would recommend switching them up every so often. For example, if you're having a lot of soreness, run on one of the gentler surfaces for a while. Been on gentle for a while, switch to asphalt or concrete, after all, most races are run on paved surfaces. After a few runs you'll come to notice that you have a preference for some surfaces over others.

Why This Blog? Why Running?

One of my favorite paradoxes is fat people and exercise. People snidely say that fat people should get off our asses and exercise. But holy crap, look at their faces when we actually do! Those super fit people (think, overly perky girls in nothing but glorified undies) sneer, roll their eyes, and just generally adopt a 'holier than thou' attitude.

Also, I love how everyone says that exercise is so easy. Well of course they say that, the people doing the talking are those same perky pains-in-the-ass. So, when a fatty (like me) does decide to bite the bullet and commit to a serious exercise regimen, it is a) really easy to get discouraged, and b) really hard to find honest information about what to expect.

That's where this blog comes in. I have spent the last several months developing myself into a running neophyte. I've seen injuries, puzzled over running gear, got lost in shoes, and discovered a ridiculous amount of information about myself. So, I have chosen to graciously share the result of all of my information gleaning. I will tell you the truth. At times it won't be pretty. It can be pretty embarrassing. It will often be snarky. But most of all, I hope that it will be informative.

So, why running? To be honest, when I was coming to the decision that I wanted to find a way to exercise, I was pretty broke. Running seemed like a pretty good solution: no gym membership needed, no expensive equipment, no set schedules, just me, my feet, and a place to run. Also, I had never been able to run a whole mile at a time, ever. Never, ever. Not even as a kid. So, the idea that I could do that seemed pretty cool. I had also recently run across a beginner's running program to prepare you for a 5K race (more on that program later). And so, I took the plunge.

Where am I now? I've been training for 3 1/2 months. I did in fact hit that 1 mile mark - and I kept going. My plan is to run my first 5K race on the 4th of July. Wish me luck!