This is Marci’s second contribution to the Foultips.run blog. She wrote “The Journey of the Fat Runner” back on March 30th, which is by far, the most read post in the history of this blog.
\”It\’s not a workout if it\’s not at least 3 miles.\”
\”I have to hit the gym for an hour, at least.\”
\”I run every single day.\”
\”If I don\’t work out for 30 minutes, it doesn\’t count.\”
I\’m guilty of thinking and doing all these things in the past. How about you?
10,000 steps a day is an arbitrary number set by a marketing ocmpany (Photo: Blue Bird, Pexels.com)
Did you know that 10,000 steps is an arbitrary number picked by a marketing company, not by science? 4,500 steps per day is the number found to make a difference in overall health, and the benefit doesn\’t increase much, the higher your step count.
American lives are busy. Our culture doesn\’t value rest, so we are constantly driven to be productive. We keep our kids in every activity imaginable, we work full time, we are expected to have clean houses and manicured yards, cook \”healthy\” meals, and, oh! don\’t forget self-care! Not to mention, our bodies are held to a physical ideal that most people will never match, no matter how much time we spend in a gym. But we must look like we\’re trying, so we add in working out regularly to the list of other productive things we must do each day.
No wonder we\’re all exhausted.
As a running coach, there are two questions I get more than any others. One is, \”How do I get rid of shin splints?\” (not covered in this post). The other is, \”How do I stay motivated?\”
And it\’s no wonder that people feel the need to ask that question, because our lives are so full and so busy that fitting one more hour-long workout into our days can sometimes seem like a herculean task. We forget all the other things we\’ve been motivated to do all day and feel worthless and exhausted at the end of the day because that workout just didn\’t fit into all of it.
Have you ever considered doing… less?
Fitness isn\’t a look, it\’s a lifestyle. It\’s movement, which our bodies are designed to do naturally. And if you\’re one of those people who never has a problem with motivation and gets to the gym or hits the road every day, like clockwork, and never feels a lag in your desire to do so, great! But I\’d be willing to bet that something else in that list of societal expectations will suffer sooner or later. Because our bodies need rest, and our societal expectations are waaay too high.
There are a few things I would suggest to help change that.
If you find yourself constantly saying: \”The workout doesn\’t count if it isn\’t ___.” But then you also find yourself skipping workouts because you can\’t fit another ___ timeslot into your day, you might consider changing your outlook on fitness. Our bodies are designed to move, but that movement doesn\’t have to be in prescribed timeslots or for continuous periods. Fitness should be a lifestyle, which means movement every day WITHIN our days, as a part of our days, naturally.
You can always fit in movement into your office hours if you plan it properly (Photo: Andrea Piacquadio, Pexels.com)
Small bites work. Doing a mobility exercise for two minutes after sitting at your desk for an hour has measurable benefits. Keep a list of easy exercises beside your computer and take 2-5 minute breaks throughout your workday, and you\’ll have completed a 30 minute workout by the time you go home. You will feel better in your mind and body, plus you\’ll have freed up a 30-minute period to cuddle and read a story with your kiddo.
Other things like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or parking further back in the lot help, as well. Setting a reminder on your phone or watch is helpful. Taking a walk or run on your lunchbreak can be beneficial, but please, don\’t skip the meal if your body is hungry (looking into intuitive eating would be a good thing, too).
All these things help to take motivation out of the equation, because the movement becomes a habit, not a requirement. Even running can be done like this (unless you\’re training for longer distances, then please follow your coach\’s plan). A 5-minute run is better than no run. And you may find that you feel just as good after a quick loop around the block in the middle of the day as you would after an hour-long run after a busy day.
What I\’m saying is, be gentle with yourself. Take small bites. Of life, of fitness, of society\’s expectations. Start small. You may find that it leads to larger things, but if it doesn\’t, that\’s perfectly okay, too. We all have our responsibilities – do what you can to fit fitness into your life in a comfortable way. It should never hurt, and you should always feel good about it at the end of the day.
*Maci is a RRCA Certified running coach, who runs “The Fat Athlete” website. If you want more information on her groups, you can request it by emailing coach.thefatathlete@gmail.com; or you can follow her in Instagram @The_Fat_Athlete.
Note from the Editor: I am subscribed to the “Running and Schmidt” blog by Coach Shelby. A few weeks ago she wrote a funny post. It was funny only because it was real, and somehow reflected the true nature of every morning runner out there. Every runner will be able to find a little bit of him/herself in these random thoughts. I am publishing her post with her permission.
Feel free to contribute with your own thoughts in the comments section. Enjoy!
There are countless tihngs that go through the mind of morning runners. Some, funnier than others (Picture by libreshot.com)
If you wake up at ungodly hours to run countless miles, you can safely fall into the category of \”crazy morning runner\”. You know them, you see them, you are them: we are the ones with headlights, neon vests, half opened eye lids and enough coffee in us to fuel a small rocket.
Most of us don\’t run with headphones at that time of the morning, for safety, so we have A LOT of time to think. Have you ever run more than three miles without headphones? I don’t love it. It allows me to have WAY too much time to think and my mind is like black hole with no end in sight.
While my endless thoughts just won’t stop, every once in a while, I come up with some gems that I can’t help but share.
So, with that being said, I present you:
Internal Morning Running Thoughts
WHY am I up this early!?!?
When does the time change for it to be brighter earlier? (Then repeats “spring forward fall back” and try to do math at 5am to what time it would actually be).
Passing the same house you did earlier but now they have lights on: “Ohhhh look who’s awake now.”
Seeing someone’s garbage/recycle full to the top: “Damn! did someone have a party?”
When you see another runner like you crazy enough to give up sleep: “Did we just become best friends?”
Seeing a dark object that I can’t fully make out: “Is that a human/dog/ wild animal.”
When a car seems to be slowly coasting along past every house: “What is that car doing? I’m gonna break out my ninja moves—watch out!!!!! Oh it’s just paper delivery l, carry on.”
Literally, every time I bump my pepper spray against myself: “Please don’t let me pepper spray myself.”
Passing houses with lights on: “Doesn’t anyone sleep around here!?!”
When there is a mound of tree clippings taking up half the sidewalk or road: “Do they have any trees left?!?”
When anyone comes around a corner, otherwise of the street or basically into existence remotely near me: “Stay awayyyy!”
I know I can’t be the only one to have these thoughts and I’m sure that everyone has their own!
What are some of the thoughts you have?
*Shelby Schmidt is a running coach certified by RRCA. You can follow her in Instagram at @runningschmidt, and read her blog at https://www.runningandschmidt.com/
Editor’s Note: This is a posting from Mr. Reed in our RCAA Coaches Group. I requested, and obtained, his permission to repost it here. I believe it shows the power of remaining constant and relentlessly moving forward towards your lifetime goals and its compounding results.
Life-Long Goal Setting: Maintaining a three miles per day in average.
The Great Wall Marathon, China (Photo courtesy of Anthony Reed)
Many runners focus on various goals, such as running 100 miles per month. Today (6/6/21), during a 15-mile run, I finally logged over 47,000 miles over 42 years.
In 1976, I set a lifetime goal to average three miles of running per day as a way of avoiding insulin. My primary goal was to run about 90 miles/month and the secondary goal was at least 100 miles per month. Also, I only wanted to run only three or four days per week. I’m a very firm believer in “everything in moderation”.
I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic in 1963 and was told that I’d be on insulin by the 1970’s. I started running as a way to avoid this prediction. In the mid-1970’s, a co-worker lost his sight due to glaucoma, had his foot and leg amputated, and died to complications from diabetes. I don’t believe he was more than 50 years old. I was scared to death.
I’ve maintained a handwritten running journal since 1979. The detailed, monthly data is summarized in an Excel workbook. Here’s a brief analysis of 509 months of running.
RUNNING DATA
– Averaged 3.03 miles/day over 509 months.
Antarctica Marathon (Photo courtesy of Anthony Reed)
– Ran 5,359 days (34.6%) out of a possible 15,496 days. As a father and husband, I wanted to keep running simple, fun, flexible, and injury-free. Thus, I felt that running everyday would put undue pressure on me. So, I opted to run only 3 or 4 days a week.
– I was not perfect. I failed to reach my primary monthly goal 40% of the time, including 29 months of not running a single mile. However, I never lost sight of my goal AND my reason for achieving it. I wanted to live past 50, keep my eyesight, not have any limbs amputated, and not be on insulin. The money saved from paying for insulin was used to travel around the world and finish marathons on seven continents (completed in 2007) and fifty States (completed in 2013).
– Longest streak of reaching at least 100 miles per month was 21 months; from June 1985 through February 1987. Averaged 148.7 miles/month.
– Longest streak of not reaching primary goal was 29 months; from August 1990 through December 1992. Averaged 60.74 miles/month.
– Maximum miles in one month: 200.13 in January 1986 over 17 days of running.
RACING DATA
– Fastest races: Marathon – 3:36:45 (1984); 20-Miler – 2:35:54 (1987); Half marathon – 1:34:11 (1985); 10K – 41:31 (1983) [BTW – These PB’s were run while weighing about 195 pounds at six feet tall, which wasn’t easy.]
– Completed 226 races between 1979 and 2018 (averaged 5.3 races/year).
– Averaged 2.3 marathons/year between 1982 and 2000. Only one marathon (Chicago) of my first 42 marathons was outside of Texas, which included 15 Cowtown Marathons (Ft. Worth) and 15 Dallas Marathons (formerly White Rock). You have an entire lifetime to run marathons, so take it easy on the racing, especially if you\’re just beginning.
– Completed 131 marathons between 1982 and 2018 (averaged 3.5 marathons/year).
– Longest monthly streak: 15 marathons between February 2012 and January 2013.
By keeping focused on a lifetime AVERAGE, it took the stress off everyday living and goal setting. Next month, I’ll turn 66 and am still not on insulin.
* Anthony Reed is the National Black Marathoners Association Co-Founder & Executive Director. He is the author of the book “From the Road Race to the Rat Race” which was published in September 2020.
The National Black Marathoners’ Association (NBMA) is the country\’s oldest and largest, not-for-profit organization of Black American distance runners. It is open to everyone, regardless of athletic ability or previous marathon experience. Objectives are to: · Encourage Black Americans and others to pursue a healthy lifestyle through long distance running and walking. · Serve as a vehicle for Black American distance runners across the nation to meet in mass at a single marathon. · Recognize the accomplishments of Black American distance runners. · Provide scholarships to deserving high school boy and girl distance runners.
For more information about the National Black Marathoner’s Association, you can click here.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Patrick is a 66-year-old runner who participates in both of my running groups in the Fort Lauderdale area. Last year he decided to extend his running into an everyday activity, putting together a streak that now covers 365 days and counting. What follows, below, is his own account of his start in the sport and how he became a streaker. As someone who has ran hundreds of miles with him, I can attest on how much he has improved during this last year, proving that a well-managed life can allow for this type of endeavors.
Hello from a fellow runner who has not missed one day of running in the last 365 days. My name is Patrick O\’Dea and South Florida has been my home since 1979. I grew up in Ireland and graduated from college there. I followed my brother Stephen to Miami, and I am still here. Why? You can only handle so much wind and rain in one lifetime. Ireland may have 40 shades of green according to Johnny Cash, but it takes lots of rain to keep it that way.
Back in November 2020, Patrick, Nohra and Ted (all in the red singlets) ran the Virtual Marine Corps Marathon during a Hurricane Watch.
I came in search of sunshine and adventure and I\’m glad I did. I spent most of the last 40+ years as an educator, especially at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, here in Fort Lauderdale.
Now I am enjoying a slower pace, learning a little Spanish and Irish, serving on my condo board, and on the board of two Irish cultural organizations. I volunteer at St. Sebastian Church and I just finished a Leadership program with the City of Fort Lauderdale. I also run every single day.
I got seriously involved in running about eight years ago. Three factors got me going:
1 – My friend and school colleague Orestes, needed runners for a faculty team for the Mercedes Benz Corporate Run. 2 – Orange Theory just opened a gym in my backyard. 3 – New Year\’s resolution.
All three kicked in at the same time, and I am still running.
What has kept me going is the wonderful community of runners that I am privileged to be a part of four times a week. Every Tuesday and Thursday, we meet at Runners Depot, our local running store, for a 5-mile run, or we run bridge-repeats over the 17 Street Causeway Bridge, “our local hill” in a flat area. On Saturdays and Sundays, we meet at our favorite Colombian bakery and we run the Hollywood Broadwalk. I have also run with several local groups, which motivates me to run faster.
So far, I have finished 3 marathons including the Marine Corps virtual last year with Norha and Ted, during a Hurricane Watch, no less. Yes, we are crazy! I also ran the Marabana, with Orestes and a handful of buddies, during a torrential downpour in La Habana, Cuba. Maybe the rain is following me from Ireland. Both are memorable events in my running career. I would love to run the real Marine Corps Marathon, one day. It’s a cool way to see a great city.
Patrick with his 2020 1K Medal at his favorite Saturday Morning post-run breakfast joint.
I have met my 365 goal, already but I want to achieve 1,000 miles this year ASAP. I am amazed by runners who have already done it in 2 or 3 months! Unbelievable!
What really keeps me running every day is my local running family, where we are there for each other in good times and bad. I appreciate their support and encouragement and I am blessed to be part of an amazing group of people who talk the talk and walk the walk. That is what gets me up before dawn every Saturday and Sunday.
During my 365-day streak, I felt a great sense of accomplishment, and I am proud of my achievement. I never felt like quitting as I had come too far to throw in the towel. Even now, I run every day and want to continue as long as I feel good. I am blessed that I have no pains and aches as I run to keep up with my younger friends. I have no special diet and I take a handful of vitamins every day. My advice to aspiring runners: Just do it! Lace up your sneakers, put one foot in front of the other and let’s go! See you on the asphalt.
I’ve been a distance runner for years, so when lockdown started in 2020, I was still in my element, as running outdoors in Germany was still allowed and encouraged. I found myself kind of tired as the year went on. I attributed it to the pandemic fatigue so many of us were experiencing, as I was unexpectedly homeschooling my 4-year-old twins and confined to our tiny neighborhood. I completed my birthday run in July, starting my 32nd year with 32 miles and a renewed attitude.
Before her last cycle of chemo, Annemarie set out to complete a half marathon.
Shortly after that, I started having some mid-back pain. Within a few weeks, I noticed my toes were numb. I was having ascending weakness when I was exercising, and then I began to fall. I went to see a German physiotherapist, thinking I had a herniated disc.
He did an assessment, and then sat me down and said: “Annamarie, do you ever have night sweats?” I knew then that there was a chance something bigger was going on. He helped me navigate the German hospital system, and I was able to get an MRI in early October. The radiologist came to get me afterwards and broke the news that I had a tumor on my spinal cord. He recommended I have surgery immediately, or risk permanent lower limb nerve damage.
I went to the American hospital at Landstuhl but was told they were not comfortable performing the surgery. I would need to take the next medevac flight to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. In one of the hardest days of my life until that point, I left my husband and children and flew to back to the US for a hemilaminectomy.
The surgery was a wild success. I woke up and was walking with full feeling in my legs and feet within the hour. I was elated and asked my neurosurgeon when I’d be able to run again. He laughed, but was supportive of my enthusiasm and, when I left the hospital a few days later, while I waited for the pathology results, he told me I could walk as much as I wanted and to be as active as I could without putting direct pressure on my scar.
The next week, despite feeling good enough to be walking 8-10 miles per day, my world was turned completely upside down. I was diagnosed with lymphoma. The next few days felt like I was in a wind tunnel of information, learning everything I had never wanted to know about cancer. My oncology team was wonderful, and incredibly supportive, from day one.
Within an hour of her surgery, she asked her neurosurgeon, when would she be able to run again.
I underwent a series of invasive and painful tests and then got a port placed to start chemotherapy. My doctor told me that his patients that manage chemotherapy the best are those able to be the most active throughout.
Feeling beat up, alone, and nearly unrecognizable, I had my first chemotherapy infusion the day before Thanksgiving. I knew that the person I was before cancer was gone, but that I could hang onto the elements that made me feel most like myself, so I got up and walked a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. I started counting down the days (30 more) until I would be allowed to resume running, rotating among long walks, bodyweight strength training, and indoor cycling.
A few days after Christmas, and in the middle of my second cycle of chemotherapy, I got out and did a 3-mile run/walk. This felt as big as any other running accomplishment I had achieved—however small and inconsequential it seemed to anyone else. I began running every other day, not worrying about my pace, just focusing on how my back and tibia felt. I enjoyed the movement and the normalcy. Within a few weeks, I was running almost daily, free of any post-op discomfort.
I set a secret goal to run a half marathon before my last cycle of chemotherapy, scheduled for the first week of March. I found that, no matter how tired or sore I felt, running gave me relief. I felt normal, I forgot that I was bald and bloated and nauseous and a shell of myself. I felt normal, alive, even powerful.
On March 6, 2021, the Saturday before my final cycle of chemo, I set out to run a Chemotherapy Half Marathon. Just over 2 hours later, I finished in front of our new house, smiling and sweaty (such a familiar, proud feeling), noticing that the light in my kids’ room was on, knowing that I had managed to exceed my own expectations, and that I would get to walk inside, a finisher of my first and only Chemotherapy Half Marathon, and be a mom to my kids. A mom who been carried through chemotherapy on a pair of running shoes and a lot of endorphins.
Coach Annamarie McCormick-Howell is an RRCA Certified Running Coach and an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer . She lives in Fort Meade, Md. You can follow her at @amcchowell on Instagram or reach out to her via email at amccormickhowell@yahoo.com.
I am Marci Braithwaite. I am a runner. I am a marathoner who has also completed many halves as well as nearly a hundred races of many distances, both virtually and in-person, over the last twelve years. I am an elementary school teacher, and I am a mother of two teenagers. I am a chapter leader of my local, 900-member She Runs This Town running group. I am the leader of a virtual community of new runners, and a USATF certified coach.
I am also fat.
I use that word to describe myself because it is simply that – a descriptor (Photo by Patrick Krohn Photography.)
I use that word to describe myself because it is simply that – a descriptor. The word itself often causes an immediate reaction. When I use it, the occasional person will smile and say I’m brave. More often, people cringe and ask why I use that term: it’s an insult used by many to demean and diminish. To them I ask, “Why is fat demeaning? Does the fat on my body make me lesser than you? Does it diminish my accomplishments in any way? What about my fat makes you better than me?”
Twelve years ago I started my running journey the way so many of us do, to lose weight. I thought my weight was the cause of my back pain at the time. It wasn’t (two pregnancies producing ten-pound babies tend to mess up your lower back). I did lose weight back then, but in the time since, and even through marathon training, running more than 40 miles per week, I gained it back. I’m at the same weight I was 12 years ago. I no longer have that back pain, which I attribute to strengthening my core and cross training. After more than a decade of consistent running and literally thousands of miles on my feet, I’m still fat.
Through all that time, I started to notice something. People seemed to think that what I was doing was revolutionary. Running while fat? That’s not allowed. Fat people are sent that message every time someone yells, “Go faster, fatty!” when they’re on a run or walk, or made to feel uncomfortable, or that they don’t belong at the gym. The prevailing message is that fat people shouldn’t show themselves in the fitness arena, because you should only be visible if you’re thin and have an “acceptable” body type.
“I want people who look like me to realize that they do belong. That the shape of our bodies does not define us or our abilities (Photo: Marci Braithwaite)
Then I discovered Mirna Valerio. She is an ultrarunner and public speaker, a blogger, and the head of her own FatGirlRunning online community. One day I discovered a video she had made for REI, about an email she read while she was running a multi-hour endurance event. The email accused her of lying, that she wasn’t really running, that she didn’t actually finish the ultramarathons that she claimed to have finished. As I watched this video, which, again, was filmed while she was completing an endurance event, I realized that what she was doing, simply existing and doing incredibly badass things in her fat body, was exactly what I wanted to do, too.
We don’t see fat runners on the roads and trails very often, do we? Why do you think that is? It’s definitely not because they don’t want to be there. Nor is it because fat people are inherently lazy. It’s a matter of access. When people like Mirna, a fat black woman, receive criticism and accusations of dishonesty for simply participating in an event that many thin people joined without a second thought, it should give you pause about the inclusivity of the running and outdoor community.
I want to change that. I want people who look like me to realize that they do belong, both in the outdoors and in the running community. That the shape of our bodies does not define us or our abilities. That there is no definition of the word “runner” beyond “someone who completes a movement that involves both feet in the air at once during a stride.” There is no weight requirement, no speed requirement, or any definition that anyone must fit into for someone to be able to enjoy the outdoors and the running community.
I’m Marci. I’m a fat runner and a fat running coach. I want you to join me on my running journey.
For more information: Facebook: Request an add to the group Fat Athletes Instagram: @The_Fat_Athlete Website: http://www.thefatathlete.biz Email: coach.thefatathlete@gmail.com
EDITOR’S NOTE: The day before this entry was scheduled to post, Mirna Valerio, plus-size ultrarunner, author, and spokeswoman (mentioned earlier in this post), announced her partnership with Lululemon clothing, using the slogan, \”Running is for everyone who has a body and wants to run.\” Click here to see the announcement.
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