I hope you’re having a great weekend. Mine started the way I always love it to… with a run. Even though I have a week off until I start training for my tri (oh wait, I haven’t mentioned that yet? More to come), I still had an itching to get up and relax on the roads.
With all the races lately, I haven’t had just a “wow, I love to run for myself” sort of run. And let’s face it, those are the most important kind.
But I still have racing on the brain so I thought I would share with you some of my secrets to help these little feet of mine to move faster.
Don’t share them with anyone else though… I don’t want to see other runners around stealing my tricks.
Just kidding… the more the merrier!
Loud shoes
While some people might like neutral footwear I am not one of them. My college roommate was on the track team and she drilled it into my head that the more “loud” your shoes are, the faster you run. Her shoes were gold and garnet… like shiny gold.
Running with colorful shoes makes me happy and really does make me feel like a “runner”. People take notice and even though I am not fast, they might think to themselves, “wow, those are some “watch me run shoes, she must know what she’s doing.”
I don’t want to let my shoes down, so I run faster.
Obnoxious nails
Similar to shoes, I want to make myself smile and be happy while racing. When I look at my feet, I smile and when I look at my hands I smile.
I began painting my nails about a year ago for races. We’re not talking painting them pink, red or with a classic French manicure… I’m talking blues, greens, and even yellows. Whatever mood I am in. I feel like Jackie Joyner Kersey or something when I see my obnoxious nails and I can’t help but to smile.
That silly grin on my face allows my body to relax and I let my feet move a bit more effortlessly. Crazy? Probably, but try it before you knock it.
Pippi Longstocking
See a trend? There is a reason to this, promise. I started growing my hair out last summer, it was fine at first but as it got longer running with a ponytail got harder. I finally said screw it when it seemed as if an entire family of squirrels decided to jump out of a tree during my run and make a nest in my hair.
It took about 20 minutes to get the tangles out. Since then, I prefer to sport braids. No fear of tangles or little squirrel families means I can run worry free.
Survivor
Ask my boot campers and they’ll confirm what I am about to confess.
I have perhaps the worst taste in race music.
While most people jam out to fast genres like rap and heavy metal, I have songs such as: High On You (Survivor); Say You Love Me (Fleetwood Mac) and even I’ll Remember (Madonna).
Okay, I do have some classics like Thriller, Eye Of The Tiger and We Are The Champions but it’s the ones above that do it for me.
I can’t really say why. I have heard that really fast songs can actually hurt a runner because the sudden start of the beat can unconsciously startle you and cause your heart rate to increase faster than it would.
Maybe that’s it, all I know is that if Mandy Moore or Phillip Phillips comes on, I am one happy runner.
So there you have it. I feel liked I just removed a layer of onion and revealed a bit more about my crazy self.
Now it’s your turn… what’s one thing you do that might be perceived as silly to perform/run better?