Fast forward to my 30’s: I over-trained and earned myself a stress fracture. The doctor prescribed swimming and pool running. I did it a few times, and then even a few more times once my leg healed.

But to be honest, I had a rough time in the pool in the past. For one, I don’t really like sharing a lane, and in a public pool, that can be difficult to avoid. The public pool also costs money, so there’s that. And I never seem to know what sort of workout to do in the pool. Plus, have you ever noticed how hard swimming is?

Every time I go to the pool I remember how hard it is to swim! It feels like every muscle in my body is working and I quickly run out of breath. Turns out it doesn’t just feel that way.

“Swimming recruits all the major muscles groups, including the shoulders, back, abdominals, legs, hips, and glutes,” says Little Rock Athletic Club’s head swim coach Tay Stratton in the article, “Swimming is for Everyone,” on WebMD. “And because water affords 12 times the resistance as air in every direction, it really helps to build strength,” Stratton says.

Oh, okay. That’s why it’s so hard. But that’s also why swimming is such a great workout, and it’s a smart alternative to running and biking – sports that can be tough on joints.

So, what are some good pool workouts that will ease you into swimming? Here are a few I like:
• Here’s an entire 4-week swim training program from Beginner Triathlete that can help you improve as a swimmer or train for a tri.
• Active.com has a lot of different swim workouts. This one features drills and a complete swim training plan.
• Another article from Active.com that explains how to use “tools” in the pool, including kickboards, fins and pull buoys, gives you some alternatives to basic freestyle laps. It even mentions using a snorkel in the pool. I’ve never heard of that. Have you tried that before?
• Fitness magazine’s article “A Pool Routine for Every Level,” covers workouts for beginning, intermediate and advanced swimmers.
• And, if your sports doctor prescribed pool running, Runner’s World has a great article on how to make it more fun.

Getting my morning started right

I eat breakfast. Do you? I mean real breakfast. Not coffee and…more coffee, and that’s it. Actual food.

I think we’ve all heard of the studies that show eating breakfast every day can help you lose weight and keep it off. But what you eat matters, too. Ever had a doughnut for breakfast? You know you were hungry three minutes later…and reaching for another doughnut.

I was in the grocery store over the weekend and they were having a deal on blueberries and blackberries. Me and another woman were piling containers of berries in our carts. “I’m buying these for my oatmeal,” she volunteered. I laughed. “Me, too!”

I love my morning oatmeal. It’s not fancy, but it’s so good. I actually look forward to it. It’s easy to make, too – I even make it at work! Both my husband and my 3-year-old son love it. And there are so many combinations.

Here’s what I do:
Put ½ cup microwaveable oats in a microwave-safe bowl. Chop up an apple (or peach or pear), or a ¼ cup of blueberries or blackberries (or strawberries!). Then add ¾-cup water, and place your bowl in the microwave. Two to 2-and-a-half minutes is enough to cook the oats and berries, or steam the apple or pear (you can leave the skin on, the steaming process softens it).

To my apple oatmeal, I add: 1 Tablespoon brown sugar and a few dashes of cinnamon. It’s like eating apple pie for breakfast! Other options I’ve added to this combination are 1 Tablespoon sliced almonds, 1 Tablespoon golden raisins and/or 2 Tablespoons of whipped cream. Note: Careful with the almonds and raisins – they are high in calories for the amount you get, but sometimes it’s just worth it.
To my berry oatmeal, I add: 1 Tablespoon brown sugar and 2 Tablespoons of whipped cream.

You can also make banana oatmeal. I cook the oats plain and add a chopped banana afterward. The hot oats warm up the fruit. To this, I add 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar and/or 1 Tablespoon of sliced almonds. Or, I skip the sugar and the almonds and add 1 Tablespoon of natural peanut butter. Yum!

Most of my oatmeal combinations are about 300-350 calories (peanut butter, of course, makes it more). If you want to cut out about 50 calories from most of these combinations, leave out the brown sugar. You don’t really need it; it’s my own little indulgence.

Another nice thing about oatmeal: Oats are cheap! But the best thing about oatmeal is that it is very filling. I never get hungry between breakfast and lunch when I eat oatmeal. Never!

So, if you want to kick-start your day, and your weight loss goals, try oatmeal for breakfast!

Do you already make oatmeal for breakfast? What do you put in yours?

Socks have become one of my most important pieces of exercise gear. I never would have thought that I would care so much about the piece of cloth that acts as a barrier between skin and shoe. But if I could go back to my first year of running, I would’ve put a lot more thought into it.

That year left me with lots of blisters on my feet. I basically got one blister per toe after each run, and then I’d get a big one on the insides of each of my soles, as well. I couldn’t figure out why, and for a while, I even came to accept it as just a part of being a runner. Then I found out that some runners don’t get blisters on their feet at all. Say what?

I had expensive socks with extra cushion in the toe and heel. The package said they were for running, so I believed it. I blamed my foot blisters on my shoes.

I tried out several pairs. I always got blisters. As my first year of running progressed, I learned that anti-chafe lubricants, like 2Toms SportShield, could be used on more places than my chafing thighs. It helped a lot in between my poor little toes. But I was still getting big blisters on the inner sides of my feet.

During my second year of running, I bought a pair of compression socks. They are thinner and tighter on your feet (and on shins and calves, which is why I got them). I wore them on a 16-mile run. Afterward, I noticed something: no new blisters. Could it be the socks?

Yes, yes, it could. Turns out that little piece of cloth between skin and shoe is very important. Are you wearing the right socks?

Go here for some tips on what to look for when buying the perfect pair of running, cycling and hiking socks.

Now that it’s been a couple weeks, the enthusiasm you had on January 1st might be wearing off. It happens. Studies show it takes 21 days to make something new a habit. But that depends on how you define a habit. I actually think it takes much longer than that. Even after my first year of running, it was still challenging for me to get out there and do it. Now, after 2-1/2 years of running, running has become a part of my life. I don’t have to think about my next run and plan as carefully as I once did.

Starting a new routine can be rough – a lot of it is mental. Here are a few tricks to help you stick with your goal through 21 days and beyond:

• Plan your workouts ahead of time. Decide what you are going to do for the week. A race and a training plan can really help with this. The Couch to 5k plan is a great way to break into running.
• Sign up for a 5k so you have something “tangible” to aim for. Better yet, get a friend to sign up with you and hold each other accountable during training.
• Don’t think about your upcoming run too much throughout the day or the night before. Get used to the idea that it’s just something you do and don’t overthink it.
• If you tend to dwell on the physical discomfort of running, try to imagine the way you feel after the workout. Running is difficult, but you feel great afterward. Jillian Michaels says in one of her workout videos, “Get used to the idea of being uncomfortable.” Of course, if something goes beyond a normal level of discomfort and into real pain, then you should stop and see a doctor.
• Don’t expect to change overnight. Be in it for the long haul.
• You can even take the pressure off yourself by keeping your goals private.

Sometimes, it helps to be inspired. Saturday is the 2012 U.S Olympic Team Trials for the marathon in Houston, Texas. We’ll find out the three men and three women who will be running for the United States at the Olympic Games in London this summer. Whether or not you are aspiring to run one mile or 26.2 (or more), it’s inspiring to watch elite athletes. Tune in to NBC from 3-5 p.m. (ET) to watch and get inspired!

For more on the Olympic marathon trials, visit the USA Track & Field website at http://www.usatf.org/.

Well, duh.

Kids need Exercise to be Healthy

Anyone else think it’s tragic that we need a study to show physical activity can improve academic performance? Don’t school teachers and board members and government officials exercise? If they do, they shouldn’t need a study to show them the benefits.

I can certainly see it in my own life.

For example, if I run first thing in the morning, I am super-productive for the rest of the day. I get laundry done, I clean, I cook – and I’m happier. After all that, I still have time (and energy) to play catch with my son or let him beat me at Hungry, Hungry Hippos. Besides the productivity, my brain is more alert. I can focus. Writing comes easier to me, which is important since that is what I do for a living.

If I don’t exercise, or even if I wait until night to get in a workout, the day goes by and I don’t get anything done. I spend too much time on the computer, I stare at the wall, household clutter overwhelms me. My brain spins itself into confusion and worry. I procrastinate. I’m usually grumpy, too.

I guess one nice thing about the timing of the release of this study, though, is that it coincides with a lot of New Year’s resolutions – people are paying more attention to health articles right now.

Hopefully, educators are paying attention, too, because the other good thing about this study is that it could help save school gym programs from something really tragic: extinction.

A couple of weeks ago, I ran the Santa Runs Tacoma 5k. My last 5k was the same race a year earlier, so I planned on getting a PR (personal record). I worked a lot on speed in 2011. The real question was by how much could I beat my old 2010 time (27:27).

Some friends were going for a 23:00-minute race. Originally, I’d planned on a sub-25-minute race, but I thought that maybe, just maybe, I could stay close to them and get a sub-24. So, I came up with three different goals:
A: Under 24 minutes (Sort of unrealistic.)
B: Under 25 minutes (Realistic.)
C: Under 27:27 (Just in case.)

It was 35 degrees and foggy the morning of the 5k. I was wearing a red Team Sparkle skirt, a tech-tee, homemade fur-trimmed arm sleeves, and candy cane antlers on my head.  A few steps into the race, I noticed that I couldn’t feel the middle of my feet when they hit the ground; my pinky toes tingled with each step. The cold was also making it hard for me to catch my breath (but at least I knew why thanks to last week’s blog post).

My 23-minute friends pulled away from me quickly. I’d started too fast and knew I would never catch up with them later in the race. With my breathing off and my frozen feet, I made the decision at about a mile in to forget my A goal and go for my B goal.
When I crossed the finish line in 24:42, I was happy (and woozy). I beat my goal and even came in 6th in my age group! If I’d only had that A goal to go after, I’m sure I would’ve been disappointed. And if I’d only had that C goal, I may not have done as well as I did.
My B goal was more realistic, but still tough, especially considering I hadn’t trained, have been eating a lot of cookies, and went out too fast since I didn’t have any sort of race plan. Shoot. I guess that would’ve been beneficial, too.

At work, from my second story desk window, I noticed it was taking most of the morning for the sun to melt the icy parking lot, so I knew it would still be cold during my run on my lunch hour.

When it was time, I actually ran out of the front door of my office because I was late to meet my running buddy. The cold rushed into my lungs and took my breath away, even burning a little. I huffed and puffed in the freezing air for the next four miles.

What is it about the cold air that makes it so hard to breathe during exercise? Could it actually be dangerous to my lungs to run or bike in colder temperatures?

“No. It’s just because the air you’re breathing is colder than the air in your lungs,” said Kara Gallagher, PhD, in a Fitness magazine Q&A column. The exercise physiologist at the University of Louisville explained the burning sensation is caused by rapid water loss. She suggests wearing a light scarf or bandanna around your nose and mouth to help “trap” some of the moisture that is lost when you exhale.
Running in the cold weather may not be dangerous to your lungs, but there are many other hazards for runners when temperature drops below freezing. Here are a few winter running tips to get you through the season:

• Wear appropriate winter running clothes and cover your extremities. Wear gloves, cold-weather socks and a hat that covers your ears. But don’t overdress. Aim to wear clothes that would be appropriate in weather 20 degrees warmer. You may need a thicker sock in the winter as runner’s feet don’t swell as much in the colder weather. But avoid wearing two pairs of socks as that could cause chafing and blisters. (See 2Toms tips to prevent blisters.)

• It’s a good idea to warm up and stretch indoors before venturing out into the cold. For two or three minutes, walk on a treadmill, jump rope or do a few sets of stairs, then stretch before going outside, advises Janna Wentzell in an article on winter running safety in Reader’s Digest Canada.

• If it is icy and you must run outside, wear grippers on your shoes, such as Yaktrax. Running in snow is usually safer than running on ice, and fresh snow is recommended over packed snow.

• Do you know the warning signs for hypothermia and frostbite? An article by the New York Road Runners club shares the symptoms of frostbite – feeling numb or turning white or blue – and hypothermia – confusion and uncontrollable shivering.

• Don’t forget to drink water in the winter. Sometimes it’s easy to forget to drink in the cold weather months, but your body is still losing sweat.

• Sometimes it’s just safer to stay inside. It’s probably never too cold to run outside, according to the article, “Too Cold to Exercise? Try Another Excuse,” in the New York Times. What’s actually dangerous about cold weather running is the tendency to overdress or stop moving, according to the physiologists interviewed in the article. So, when it drops below zero, it may be advisable to run on a treadmill or an indoor track at a gym.

• Running in snow means easier runs. Don’t try to do speedwork on snow and ice. Take it easy. Jenny Hadfield, author of Marathoning for Mortals and Runner’s World columnist, suggests in the article, “Running On Snow and Ice,” that you should shorten your stride when you go running in the snow. It will help keep your feet lower to the ground and it will decrease your chance of slipping, falling or straining muscles.

But here are a few I liked:
• Stand up and march during your favorite TV shows.
• Walk around your home, yard or neighborhood while on the phone.
• Drink lots of water at work. (You’ll stand up for refills and trips to the bathroom.)
• Hover just above your chair in a squat position for 15 seconds every hour.
• Set your computer alarm to ring hourly – stand up for one to five minutes each time it goes off.
• At home, help your kids build a fort.

The article also suggests investing in a treadmill desk, but those are pretty expensive. I recently found a desk attachment that fits on my existing treadmill and allows me to work on my laptop while walking. I bought it for my husband, but I’ve been using it a lot. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than sitting, right?

Well, I just burned 100 calories writing this article, so you tell me.

How do find ways to break up your sitting routine?

Who else likes to dress up for a race?

My next one is a 5k in December and I plan on achieving a PR while dressed like a candy cane to match my group of running friends. Last year, I snatched up a 27:27 PR at the race wearing elf ears. I swear they were magic and made me faster. It was my first race after recovering from a shin fracture.

This year, I’d like to take at least two minutes off of that time, which is another reason why I want to keep my weight in check this holiday season. I’m also hoping the red sequined skirt I’m going to wear Dec. 17th will give me power and speed…and maybe some style points.

Actually, I sometimes wonder if some race participants don’t take “costumed” runners as seriously as the ones wearing basic shorts and a singlet. But then I think, “Who cares?” Being seen as “serious” about anything has never really been a concern of mine.

Here’s what I like about “dressing up” or wearing a “costume” for a race:
• It lets me embrace my inner-child.
• I get to be creative.
• Depending on the race, it can help make it more exciting.
• It gives me another reason to shop (like I need one).

For my race in three weeks, I’ve already got the red-and-white striped socks, the red sparkly skirt and some sweet (pun totally intended) candy cane antlers. The rest is to be decided. Do I go with a white long-sleeved shirt or do I go with a white tee and striped arm sleeves? These are “serious” decisions I have to make, people!

So, what do you think about costumed runners? Have you ever dressed up for a race? What’s the most creative costume you have ever worn or seen?

Don't you just hate the scale!

Over the past couple of years, I’ve lost about 50 pounds. It’s been long and slow, but I think that is what helped me develop a healthier mindset toward food and exercise.

Except sometimes I lose my mind.

A few weeks ago, I went to Costco and came home with a pumpkin pie and two bags of white chocolate-peppermint-covered pretzels. Oops.

Now that I’m closer to my ideal weight, I can really tell when I gain a little. I weigh myself once a week and I can usually guess before I step on the scale that I’ve gained even as little as 1.5 pounds. Last week, my small gain was no surprise. Junk food plus very little exercise does not equal weight loss. (But wouldn’t that be awesome if it did?) 

A small gain is not usually a big deal to me. But this was a small gain in a line of several other small gains. The scale has been moving in the wrong direction! Now, instead of having five stubborn pounds to lose till I reach my goal weight, I have 10.

Some people might think it’s crazy to try to lose weight during the holidays, but I like the idea. Why? Because even if I don’t lose, I will probably not gain, and that is a win in November and December.

So how does one go about starting or maintaining a healthy diet during the season of high-calorie eating? And how do you stay motivated to exercise when it is superyucky outside? I’m not entirely sure. I just know that I have to burn more calories than I take in, and this rule forces me to think about what I’m putting in my mouth. And thinking about eating a piece of pumpkin pie helps motivate me to hit the road for three miles.

I went to Costco again today. I kept my head on straight and came home with lettuce, grape tomatoes, sliced almonds, feta and chicken breasts for salads. I also got broccoli, celery, and…well…somehow a bag of white chocolate-peppermint-covered pretzels made it into my cart. I swear I do not know how that got in there!

Better go for a run.

Happy Thanksgiving!