The Flourishing Experiment

126: Respecting Your Body Type and Mechanics: Running for the Long Haul

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Author Margaret Webb (of

Older, Faster, Stronger: What Women Runners Can Teach Us All
About Living Younger, Longer) returns to talk about race
etiquette, body image, and ways to live a healthier, longer running
lifestyle. Serena Marie, RD, and Kari fill the Gratitude Jar this
week and also talk about what stress and cortisol levels do to the
body. Serena recaps the
Eileen C. Dugan Memorial 5K that she recently ran, and Kari
updates listeners on her back injury.

Featured Guest: Author Margaret Webb

Kari and Margaret Webb, from self-titled Episode

48, converse about what’s going on in Margaret’s life right
now, race etiquette, body image, the top seven ways to live a
healthy life, and much more.

  • Margaret has been running in her late 20s, and because of her
    • flat feet, she was always afraid of running too long or far.
  • One day, her sister challenged her to run a half marathon, and
    • she felt she couldn’t say no since her sister is thirteen years
    older than she.
  • After her first book came out, called
    • Apples To Oysters: A Food Lover’s Tour Of Canadian
    Farm, she felt she needed to lose a few pounds gained
    while researching and going on tour to promote the book.
  • She thought she’d try her hand at a marathon, and she was about
    • to turn fifty years old, so she wanted to try to get into the best
    shape of her life.
  • She had an amazing fiftieth year, ran several marathons, and
    • achieved a personal best (PB).
  • Older, Faster, Stronger: What Women Runners Can Teach Us All
    About Living Younger, Longer is her memoir as an
    overweight smoker and couch potato to a fit distance runner. She
    also talked to long-distance female runners while writing the
    book.
  • Her largest goal was to turn herself into a runner who could
    • run for life.
  • She found that when you get into distance running, there’s
    • about a ten-year arc where you continue to build your speed and
    strength but you inevitably run into a slower period.
  • Age doesn’t disappear, and it shouldn’t stop anyone from
    • starting running at any age.
  • Find the age grade running calculator that Margaret mentions
    • here.
  • Kari updates Margaret on her experience of running three
    • marathons (and how it all started in “ Bank Of America Chicago
    Marathon Race Director Carey Pinkowski”
    Episode 88) and how she enjoys 5Ks and half marathons much
    more.
  • Margaret talks about the ridiculousness of thinking we are not
    • runners if we haven’t run the marathon distance. She thinks it’s
    useful and interesting to have trained for a marathon, because it’s
    a big goal to achieve.
  • Many women can and do successfully run marathons well into
    • their 70s, 80s, and 90s. But for most of us, in order to be healthy
    running those distances, we need to cross train a lot.
  • Margaret wants to get into distance swimming, kayaking, and
    • cycling.
  • One major takeaway is to respect your body type and mechanics
    • in order to run injury free.
  • Last year she ran the BAA 5K
    • with some of her running club friends and had an amazing time. The
    next day, she took a running tour through Boston. Although it’s
    sexy to run a big-city marathon, there are other ways to run a city
    too!
  • Margaret thinks that 5 and 10K distances should get more
    • respect. For the BAA 5K, you self select what corral you go in, so
    those runners who are least experienced go to the first corral to
    try and get to the finish line faster. In the first corral, there
    were elites mixed in with slower runners.
  • For folks in the second or third corral, they had to pass the
    • slower runners from the first corral. People were even stopping to
    walk in the first corral, which made it very difficult for the
    faster runners who had to dodge and weave around slower folks. It
    becomes frustrating and dangerous.
  • Her goal was to run a personal best there, and she wanted to
    • try and place in her age group, so she wanted the conditions for a
    fast race.
  • For someone who’s new to a 5K race, Margaret suggests the
    • following etiquette:
    • All races should have an etiquette guideline with the race
      • kit/bag.
    • For those who are on a run/walk program, during the walking
      • phase, you should make a signal before you start to walk and move
      to the side of the race course. Kari mentions that when doing the
      Galloway Method, Jeff Galloway suggests to raise your arm to say
      that you’re slowing down and to go to the side of the course.
    • Properly place yourself in a corral that matches your
      • ability.
    • Kari mentions a book called
      • Runners of North America: A Definitive Guide to the
      Species by Mark Remy that satirically classifies 23
      different types runners in a humorous way.
    • Margaret talks a bit about body image in her second book.
    • The women’s running movement is still so young and new that
      • most runners have not really experimented or understood the full
      range of running opportunities that are available.
    • The movement is fixated on the half marathon, but there are
      • many other distances to choose from.
    • One thing that women has largely ignored is the USATF Masters Track and
      • Field movement, which includes shorter distances like the 100-
      and 200-meter races.
    • You can get tremendously fit by doing shorter distances, and
      • that suits many women in terms of training.
    • What Margaret learned from the sprinters is that they built
      • muscle really well, and older women struggle to keep muscle mass,
      so it’s important to do activities that enhance muscle gain.
    • Sprinters have a bit of a stronger physique, and they look less
      • “ravaged” as Margaret puts it. The distance runners seemed to be
      more frail because of less upper-body strength and miles taking
      their toll.
    • In terms of body image, she’s spoken to quite a few women at
      • women’s-only races who started out their running careers at higher
      weights. When she started with her running club, she was 40 pounds
      overweight.
    • Margaret talks about social contagion, which is when you run
      • with a group of positive people, you will catch that positivity.
      When you run, take some time to get into a positive mindset before
      you run.
    • For runners who might be insecure about their bodies, she
      • suggests joining a supportive, like-minded group to keep you
      positive and motivated.
    • There is a movement called City Fit Girls that
      • started in Philadelphia that’s just for women runners, and their
      mantra is, “No woman left behind.”
    • Kari recently heard about Alexis who moved from Baltimore to
      • Phoenix, who went on a run sponsored by a running store, and she
      was left behind on a run in the dark, having just moved to the
      area.
    • It’s key to also find a good running store that takes you
      • seriously and respects you.
    • Margaret is hungry to get back into a regular, disciplined
      • training program soon with a few goal races but more diversified
      (like the Thousand Islands
      race series).
    • Kari and Margaret chat about mindset, nutrition, sleep,
      • exercise, meditation, being with your tribe, and being outside.
      Kari mentions giving up alcohol and sugar, and she feels better
      without both. It affects her sleep and the way she feels.
    • Going through major life changes like selling a house, moving,
      • moving away from good friends, can all be stressful. She recognizes
      that getting on a stricter schedule and focusing on the six or
      seven keys will get her back on track.
    • Kari gives a shout out to Canadian listener Malcolm Richmond
      • who got into both Chicago and New York through the lottery system.
      His wife ran the Chicago Marathon for the first time, and Kari
      tells a funny story about Malcolm shouting out of a cab window.
      When Kari and fellow TRLS listener Liz Whitteberry were talking to
      meet Serena for dinner, who do they bump into, but Malcolm!

      Thank you, TRLS listeners! “Running And Art: Turn Your Dreams

      Into Plans” (Episode
      124 with Ann Rea) has received a ton of feedback! Many
      listeners thought it was a refreshing episode, because it portrayed
      depression and anxiety in such a raw and real light. We LOVE
      feedback and show ideas, so e-mail [email protected],
      leave a note on the
      Facebook page, or reach out via Twitter.

      It’s almost here! The Delaware Marathon Festival

      in Wilmington, DE, will be held on Saturday, May 7 (5K and kids
      race) along with a TRLS dinner meetup (details to come). On
      Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 8), the marathon, half marathon, and the
      relay races will take place. Kari will be the relay race finish
      line announcer. Go to the Contact tab of
      the TRL site to let Kari know that you’ll be at the meetup!

      Gratitude Jar (Woot! Woot!)

      This week, go-to, real-food dietitian “Speedy Scientific” Serena

      Marie, RD, is grateful for science. As a dietitian, she’s invested
      in science, and now she’s reaping the benefits of science in terms
      of the different types of training she did while she was injured
      (HIIT workouts and strength training). Now she’s only running twice
      a week, but she PRed at the
      Eileen C. Dugan Memorial 5K. She’s grateful that by listening
      to science and doing HIIT workouts, she’s been able to keep up her
      endurance and speed without a ton of running the last three months.
      She was the first woman to cross the finish line! Congratulations,
      Serena!

      Kari is grateful for Serena! She talked to Serena about

      something that she was taking to heart too much that wasn’t even
      her own stressor, and Serena snapped her out of it by explaining
      things in her scientific, millennial way.

      Serena Marie, RD

      Serena Marie, RD, explains what happens physically to your body
      when you’re stressed out.

      • Don’t take on other’s issues. It’s important to minimize
        • stressors that aren’t actually your own. When you respond to other
        people’s stress, you are doing damage to your own body.
      • The hormone cortisol spikes in your body, and it sets off the
        • fight or flight reaction in your body, where your body thinks
        there’s a major stress going on, even if it’s a slight emotional
        stress.
      • When we exercise, it’s a healthy stress to our bodies, but when
        • you’re sitting in the car during rush-hour traffic or recounting a
        stressful situation to your significant other at the dinner table,
        your liver starts to put out triglycerides (sugars) and LDL
        cholesterol, which is preparing your body for that flight reaction.
        When you’re sitting down, you’re not utilizing these sugars and
        cholesterol, but if you were running and your body reacted that
        way, it would be good because your body could use the sugars for
        fuel.
      • Try to be in the present and just breathe. Visualization is
        • powerful, but it’s hard to believe until you see it manifested and
        actually happen.
      • Take a picture of what you visualize, and use the hashtags
        • #TRLS and #visualization on social media. Mindset is everything,
        and we are our own worst enemies at times.
      • Serena also chats about her BAA 5K experience, which she loved,
        • because Boston is alive with the spirit of the marathon that
        weekend. Being a part of the running community was amazing, she
        thought the starting line was well organized, and she doesn’t
        recall tripping over other runners or it being too crowded.

        Share with us what you’re visualizing for success! Think about a

        success happening and what you’ll say or feel like. Have you used
        visualization before, and how did it work out for you?

        The first week of May is National Pet Week, so in next week’s

        episode, Kari talks about how to run with dogs and which breeds are
        great to run with. She feels honored to chat with Rachael Ray’s go-to
        veterinarian, Dr. Ernie Ward. Ward is an Iron Man who talks to Kari
        about Lyme disease, how to care for a bearded dragon, and much
        more.

        Contact:

        Margaret Webb:

        Website: www.margaretwebb.com
        Book:
        Older, Faster, Stronger: What Women Runners Can Teach Us All
        About Living Younger, Longer
        Twitter: @MargaretWebb
        Margaret's Facebook
        Page
        Website: MargaretWebb.com

        Serena Marie, RD:

        Website: www.SerenaMarieRD.com
        Facebook: /SerenaMarieRD
        Twitter: @SerenaMarieRD
        Instagram: SerenaMarieRD

        Kari Gormley:

        Facebook:
        The Running Lifestyle Show
        Twitter: @KariGormley
        Instagram: @KariGormley

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