12 Useful Things

I often see blog posts that ask, "What advice would you give to a novice runner?"  Well, to me that is always a simple answer.  "Love running and your feet will follow."

So instead, here are 12 useful things I've discovered along the way that make running much more fun:

1. Find the courage to pee while simultaneously wearing a running skirt or shorts and the ability to go anywhere. 
   
2. Learn how to properly clear mucous.  It is one thing to know how to clear out the mucous.  It is another to know how to aim it around hordes of people during a race or crowded trail.                

   

   Kid, you've got skills.
3. Be polite to other trail users.  Saying, "Hi," "Hey," "Good morning," whatever I can muster to fellow runners while sounding unaffected by the burning in my lungs is not only amiable but it looks cool.  This method is best utilized while waving to people that are heading down a huge hill you just ran up.   
   
4. Find pride in the runner's tan.  My legs are only tanned between my knee high compression sock line and below the shorts.  I call it my striping.  
   
5. Roll out exhausted muscles using a foam roller.  This intimate time with the floor really pays off.  

   

   The look on the teacher's face cracks me up! 

6. Know how many miles are in a marathon, half marathon, 15K, 10K, and 5K, and not just the numerical values, but what it truly means to cover those distances. 

   

   Or in Garfield's case, why you are running in the first place...

7. How to avoid chaffing.  I had my first bout of it at the Denver Half Marathon last fall right between my legs and I paid for that burn for over 2 weeks!  Now I bathe regularly in Body Glide.       
   
8. Making friends mid run.  I've met some of the coolest people on the trails and during races and I feel so grateful to be a part of this awesome community.                                                              
   
   
9. How to remove the nasty odor from running clothes.  Baking soda works great.  Add a couple tablespoons directly to your washer, you can also work it into a paste and let it soak into your pit stains.  Or if it is really nasty, soak the vile clothes in vinegar pre-wash.  I don't like this method as much because the next step includes removing the smell of sour coleslaw from my shirts.  
   
10. Learn how to walk.  It feels like defeat to stop running, but every runner has to come to terms with this at some point.  "I didn't give up! I was resting, eating, drinking, cursing, moaning, recovering, still moving..."   
    
11. Learn how to breathe properly.  I don't focus on the intake of breath, especially when I am desperate for air.  That only makes me gulp oxygen like a goldfish.  Instead, I focus on fully expelling the air OUT of my belly, then allowing the air to naturally return, which allows more oxygen to enter my system and calms my gait.   
    
12. Every race doesn't end in a PR.  Yeah, I thought this was a bummer too, but the sooner you come to terms with it the better.  Some races are about the experience, the people, the sense of community, and the courage or journey it took to approach the starting line. That being said, I will be upset if I don't rock my next marathon.  This speed work better have been worth something!   
    

What else have you learned along the way that makes it more fun?  
Is there something you are still working at to improve your experience? 
Anyone know how to cover up the runner's tan besides long pants? 

~Roadburner

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