Gallagher Fitness Resources

Tag: Weather conditions

  • Event Preparation Checklist

    You’ve trained diligently for your event and now all you have to do is get a good night’s sleep, wake up early enough in the morning and head to the starting line.  But, do you have everything you need?  Many participants, from first-timers to veterans, take last-minute preparations for granted.

    To be prepared, make a checklist. Use it to pack a bag full of everything you may need before, during and after your event.  If you participate frequently, set aside a permanent event bag and keep a supply of most of what you’ll need already packed away.

    SHOES: Pack two pairs. Many pack racing shoes and training shoes. Even if you race in your training shoes, pack a second pair so you’ll have dry footwear after the race.

    INSERTS: Put orthotics, insoles, heel pads or other devices you normally use in the shoes you will be wearing for the event.

    SOCKS: Two pairs.  One for the event (inspect for seams or anything that may cause a blister) and another so you can have a dry pair to wear afterwards.

    JOG-BRA: Some may not wear a jog bra but if you do be sure you pack it. Lack of proper support for the girls is not fun!

    OUTFIT: Gone are the days when you grabbed the nearest T-shirt and headed out the door.  Now, not only do you get to decide whether to wear shorts or tights, but you get to color-coordinate your outfits.  Pack all the possibilities in case it suddenly gets colder, hotter or rainy.

    BIB NUMBER: If you have a bib number in advance, pin it on whatever you’re most likely to wear.  (It’s best to pick up your number before race day, if possible, to avoid last-minute stress.)

    CHIP TIMING: Many events no longer have bib numbers but use chip timing. You many receive a chip at packet pick-up which goes on your shoe and records your time electronically. In this case, you will also be provided with a mini lock-tie or something to attach the chip to your shoe.

    WARM-UPS AND POSTRACE CLOTHING: Pack the warm-ups you will wear before and after the race.  This may mean a rain-resistant outfit for a wet day.  Pack an extra T-shirt, sweatshirt, socks, etc., so you’ll have a dry set of clothing after you finish. It’ll make the post-event socializing and trip home much more comfortable.

    HOT/COLD WEATHER ITEMS: Sunscreen and a hat are always good ideas and sunglasses if it’s going to be sunny will be helpful.  In cold weather, you’ll need to pack gloves, a hat and perhaps a long-sleeved thermal shirt.  In extremely wet or windy conditions, you may choose to wear a light windbreaker or a vest as well.

    FIRST-AID/NECESSITIES: Consider packing extra toilet paper. Port-a-potties are usually well stocked but bring it just in case they run out.  Pack “Glide” or a similar product for your feet, inner thighs or other sensitive areas to prevent blisters and chafing if this tends to occur during training.  Bring a towel to dry off with whether it’s from sweat or rain.

    DRINK/FOOD: Pack water to drink, prior to the start and for the drive home.  Bring additional snacks for after the race. Some events have plenty but bring your own just in case.  A good mix of protein and carbohydrates will help you recover quicker and feel better later on in the day.

    WEATHER: Check the weather the night before and first thing in the morning to be aware of any last minute changes and modify your outfit as needed.

    LOGISTICS: A few days prior to the event,  go to the event website.  Review directions to get there, location of the registration/packet pick-up area, parking area, starting line, race course map (including turns and hills) and FAQ if available.  Print driving directions and place in your bag if it’s an unfamiliar place.  Plan to arrive at the event site about an hour before the start, especially if you’re not sure where you’re going or where you’re parking.  Quickly locate port-a-potties, packet pick-up, starting line area, etc. Get the lay of the land so you’re prepared and ready to go when the gun goes off… or the cowbells ring!

    WATCH: Place your watch next to your bag and put it on first thing race morning so you remember it.

    STRATEGY: The night before the event, review in your mind, your strategy for starting out easy and relaxed. There will be lots of people, noises, smells, excitement and adrenaline. Imagine a good blend of fun nervousness and butterflies mixed with some calm and confidence that your preparation and determination to finish the race will get you through it, finishing strong!

    Remember that your effort will feel easy at first because of the adrenaline.  It’s race day magic!  Start out wisely.  Imagine keeping your effort nice and controlled in the beginning so that you stay comfortable throughout the entire distance and don’t over-do it. Going out too fast is one of the most common mistakes that beginners and veterans make.  It leads to disappointment, a less than favorable performance and… it’s not as fun!

    HUMOR and GRATITUDE: Last but not least, take along a sense of humor. Stuff happens that’s out of your control and you don’t want it to ruin the day.  Many details are required to put on events and race directors do their best to provide a fun, safe experience for participants. Still, things go awry and can be frustrating, especially if it’s a new race director or a new event.  Take it with a grain of salt, do your best and be thankful for the opportunity to be on your feet and contribute positively to a community.  Cheers!

  • Logging

    Keeping track of exercise sessions and how we feel during exercise allows us to see improvement, helps us learn to avoid mistakes that lead to injury and helps us stay accountable and consistent. Logging can also be a great source of inspiration, both to yourself and to others.

    More on logging:

    • Provides information on how weather conditions, clothes, shoes and food affect exercise
    • Provides information on favorite places to exercise
    • A “journal of your journey” says John “The Penguin” Bingham
    • No matter where you are at this moment, a year from now you will have traveled to a new place
    • Helps you track physical and emotional change
    • Allows you to feel great enjoyment and accomplishment looking over past experiences
    • What may seem like trivial data today can be the basis for analyzing progress or meeting challenges in the future
    • Reflections on times when things went well often lead to future success in meeting your goals
    • Allows you to analyze what led up to an injury or less-than-satisfactory performance
    • Past problems can help you make powerful changes – if you have the right information written down
    • The accounts of your successes can often lead to more success
    • One of the main reasons why we don’t log is because we don’t want to know the truth!

    Tip from the Big Cat Kahuna:

    • Secure homework slips onto an 8 ½ by 11-inch sheet (4 weeks per sheet)
    • Record actual minutes walked or run each day and total your minutes at the end of the week
    • Leave space after each week to write notes: weather, time of day, route, shoes, how you felt, what you wore, who you went with, what you learned, goals, etc.
    • Have fun!

  • Factors Affecting Your Heart Rate

    Factors Affecting Heart Rate
    Happy Running Heart

    Factors Affecting Heart Rate

    There are certain factors affecting heart rate when exercising. Your body relies as heavily on the oxygen/fuel ratio as your car does. Much like your car’s engine, your body uses oxygen and various fuels (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins) to yield muscle energy. When this ratio is not in balance in the body, a whole series of physiological events occur.

    These events can be gauged with your body’s tachometer — your heart rate. And much like the automobile engine, the true efficiency of the body’s engine is dependent upon a multitude of parts working efficiently together. Your heart rate will indicate if there is any sign of trouble in your body’s engine.

    A Brief List of Factors Affecting Heart Rate

    These factors play a role in directly affecting heart rate while running or walking:

    1. Emotions and anxiety can raise your heart rate! Unlike an automobile that is purely mechanical, we are not solely governed by working parts. Some days you can “feel” your way to a higher HR.
    2. Body Temperature: If you become too hot or too cold your body senses a thermal stress load. Blood is sent to your skin to enhance heat dissipation to cool you or increases blood flow to warm you. Apparent temperatures (which account for humidity or wind chill) above 70 degress (F) and below 35 degrees (F) will increase your heart rate at least 2-4 beats per minute. Over 90% humidity can equal as much as a 10 beat increase in heart rate.
    3. The terrain. Walk or run uphill and your HR increases. Walk or run downhill and your HR decreases.
    4. Wind. Walking or running with the wind at your back is easy, therefore HR decreases. Walking or running into the wind is more difficult: HR increases.
    5. Dehydration. As you become increasingly dehydrated during a long walk, hike, or run, your blood becomes thicker and waste products build up in bloodstream. Your heart will work harder to maintain constant cardiac output. A fluid loss of 3% of body weight increases pulse rate because of decrease in circulating blood volume.
    6. Diminishing glycogen stores — your muscles primary fuel source. As the fuel depletes, in order to maintain the same walking or running pace, your HR rises.
    7. Insufficient nutrition. HR increases.
    8. Insufficient sleep. HR increases.
    9. Insufficient recovery after a long hike, run, or other hard workout. HR increases.
    10. Recent illness — or — a signal of impending illness. You guessed it!
    11. Medication – depending upon the medication, heart rate can either decrease or increase. Be certain to ask your physician about any medication you are taking and its effects on your exercise heart rate.
  • Will I Melt If I Run in the RAIN?

    Will I Melt If I Run in the RAIN?

    Contrary to the fate of the the Wicked Witch of the West, it is highly unlikely you will melt when water contacts your skin while running.  However, the likelihood of chafing and blisters does increase when the raindrops fall.  Be prepared!

    • Avoid cotton next to your skin.  Cotton loves water and readily absorbs it.  As a cotton clothing item gets wet, it quickly loses its shape.  The abundant moisture in a cotton apparel item adds weight and begins to rub because it can no longer remain contoured to your body.  The rubbing causes chafing and blisters.  OUCH! Socks and athletic tops are the worst offenders.
    • Technical fibers – primarily polyesters and nylon blended with lycra fibers – perform best when the rains hit.  Polyester, lycra, and nylons are hydrophobic.  They “fear” water.  They also “wick,” moving moisture away from your skin to the surface of the fabric.  Because these apparel items will not lose their shape,  they prevent friction, prevent chafing,  and allow you to be more comfortable.
    • Socks that fit are the most important item when it rains.  They should be comfortable and conform to your foot.  Just ‘cuz your running buddies prefer a certain pair of socks, that doesn’t mean they are the socks for you.  It is worth an extra few bucks to have the sock that hugs your foot and won’t move when you get wet!
    • The truth is – things rub in the most humid of conditions and in steady rain.  If you are doing any activity for longer than 60 minutes in a steady rain, be prepared with BodyGlide or other anti-friction powders and creams.  These are lifesavers during long duration events.
    • Nip Guards for guys will keep the sensitive area of the chest protected and help you avoid two blood-stained stripes down the front of your shirt or running top.
    • The last bit of advice:  Have fun!  When you were a little kid remember how much fun rain and puddles were?  Remember the gleeful giggles of splashing and stomping around in a downpour?  Use that childhood experience to your advantage while everyone else around you whines and suffers.

  • Thoughts: Post-PDX Marathon 10/10/10

    Congratulations to all finishers on 10/10/10!  Mother Nature dealt a crooked hand this past Sunday in Portland, OR.  Soggy shoes, soggy shirts, and soggy shorts ruled the morning.  Our TeamGFR Marathon and Half-Marathon group performed bravely!  Finishers endured a record setting rainfall for marathon day and a record crowd of runners and walkers.

    Here’s a link to the pictures Susan took:  [You may have to paste it into your browser or go to the GFR Facebook page.]

    Pictures from 2010 Portland Marathon:   http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=226386&id=87156918283

    Many of you are still a bit sore today.  Most are happy they finished.  Some are admittedly a little (or a lot) disappointed they did not meet their intended goal time.  Regardless of that finish time, YOU ARE A MARATHONER or a HALF MARATHONER!

    As I have reminded folks after numerous marathons.  You are now a member of an elite bunch of folks.  Less than 1/10 of 1% (that’s .001 for the decimal minded) of the US population finished a marathon last year.  How many people can confidently say they are in the 99.9+ percentile in anything?  Congratulations – you can make that claim!  Don’t believe me?  Here’s your proof:

    The Running USA Annual Report on the State of the Sport:  http://www.runningusa.org/node/57770

    Susan and I have spoken to a lot of folks.  Emailed a few more.  And posted to a whole bunch of Facebook profiles.  Ladies and Gentlemen, that was a tough day.  No one should feel disappointed with their performance.  You may not believe me at this point (just 2 or 3 days after the race), but some day soon – maybe not this week or next – but soon, you will look at that finisher’s medal and wear that finishers shirt and shed tears of joy while feeling an intense sense of accomplishment.  You EARNED that medal and shirt on Sunday.  No one can take that away from you.  Think about ALL the days that went into earning that medal and shirt.  It didn’t just happen magically on Sunday 10/10/10.

    Not only did you endure nearly 3/4 of an inch of rain, you made it through over 5 months of consistent training.  Are you fitter, thinner, healthier than you were 5 months ago?  Did you meet and get to know some brand new and absolutely awesome people over the last 5 months?  Did you find yourself actually looking forward to getting up early on Saturday mornings – and behaving a bit more on Friday nights? Did your life change?  Did your accomplishment inspire others to make changes in their lives?  Do you realize the impact that medal around your neck had on your family, friends, and co-workers?  How does it feel to be inspirational?

    I’ll admit, I have had a few brutal marathons.  More of them have been successes, but none of them have been a “walk in the park.”  My first experience at the Boston Marathon in 2005 was affected by an unseasonably hot day and I wilted miserably over the last 4.5 miles.  I was disappointed and felt that sense of failure.  I was kicking myself around inside my head.  It was still obvious on my face a couple of hours after the race.   Then something extraordinary happened.  Susan and I were doing the tourist thing, walking around Boston wearing my finisher’s shirt with my medal around my neck.  While we were waiting at a crosswalk for a traffic light to change, a guy holding a cigarette and wearing a Boston Red Sox ballcap asked me how I did.  I mumbled something like “Well, I finished, but I didn’t hit my goal.”  He looked at me in absolute amazement.  He tossed his cigarette aside and threw his hands up in the air and shouted, “What’re you talkin about? You finished da Bah-stun marathon! Bah-stun, man!  Nobody cares what your time was – you did it!”

    Ah – perspective!

    Susan and I are excited to hear your post-marathon stories.  We will listen and offer advice on how to get closer to those goals in the next one.  But expect the same reaction from us as that guy on the Boston street corner:  “What’re you talkin about? You finished da Portland marathon! Portland, man!  Nobody cares what your time was – you did it!

    ”

    Have a great week!  Please plan on attending the Celebration and Kickoff on Thursday November 4th.  We want to see ALL of you PROUDLY wearing those finishers shirts!