10 Ways To *Almost Ensure Success On Your LONNNNGGGG RUN

I won't go into WHY you should be doing a long run in this post. That's for later. But here are a few ways to make sure you experience some success!


1. Lay out your running clothes the night before and admire them.
This is a special ritual for me. For someone who does not dress very well during the day (ask my friends, they'll tell you straight up that it's true), it's hilarious that I spend so much time picking out my running clothes. For one, they have to go together in terms of design. They also have to fit well and not bunch up between the legs or sag or roll down my side rolls because that's annoying. Most importantly, I have to feel like a badass in them, no matter how long or hard the run will be. Really, this is all about badassery.

2. Communicate with your spouse, significant other or family member. Or dog.
If you are concerned about spending so many hours away from your family, make sure that you have worked something out with your significant other and communicated your needs. When we were living in New Jersey and I my son was much younger, my husband understood that I needed to do my long runs (sometimes WAY early in the morning) before he got to do his weekend. Wifey must always be happy. ALWAYS. I expressed it as a need, and he understood.

3. Scout out your route the week leading up to the run. Daydream in a boring meeting if you must.

This is one of the most fun things for me to do. All week I imagine what new roads or trails I'll explore in my quest to test myself even further. This weekend, for example I'm looking to do upwards of 30 miles and I am EXCITED about it. I've never done this many miles unsupported so it'll be a new challenge to put together often trod running routes and explore new ones.

4. Make sure to let someone know exactly what your route will be.
This is purely a safety issue. Leave a note on your computer. Text a friend or relative beforehand with your exact route and when you expect to be home.

5. Get excited. Create a new playlist. Pump yourself up! (Sorry, this is three in one)
Imagine how you will feel mentally hours after your run. You may be tired and you may be sore. Heck, you may even be mad at yourself for cutting your run short a mile or two. But at the end of it all, you will have gone for a run. Nuff said.

6. Listen to your instinct/follow intuition.
If it feels weird, then it is. Trust yourself and your heart. Head back home.

7. Eat well and hydrate the day before.
It is important to have a good meal the day before. It is also extremely important to hydrate sufficiently. Your body will thank you for that during the run and during recovery! Find a carb-protein ration that works for your body. It may take some trial and error, but since everyone's body is different you must tune into YOUR body's needs.

8. Eat well DURING and AFTER the run. 
If you are doing a really long run, you may need some actual food beyond gels to maintain your energy and endurance. Again, this is trial and error. Find food and hydration that works for you. My current favorite long-run real food item is Clif Bar Sweet Potato with Sea Salt Organic Energy Food with sunflower seed butter and other non-sweet yummy things. The electrolyte mix that works best for me is Tailwind. This has kept me going on a number of long runs. Experiment with real food...just stay away from the fiber. I have many stories...

9. Invite someone to run the same route with you-keep yourself and your friend accountable.
I run a lot more slowly than virtually all of my running friends, but many times we still start out our runs together, all of us at different paces. This is ok, unless you have the keys to the only car at the park or trailhead. Although I really enjoy running alone especially during my long runs, sometimes I enjoy the company of a few friends, even if we're running at different paces. It's nice to know that there are others out there struggling! Not like Schadenfreude, but more like, YEAH-WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER!  Also, it's an added safety measure.

10. DO YOUR LONG RUN! 
If you're training for a short or long race, it is always beneficial to do longer runs. This trains your body's aerobic system and allows for endurance to happen. I won't get into the science of aerobic conditioning and the oxidative energy system, but believe me, it's a thing. Just get out there and do it.


*There will be some runs that are simply not awesome. This is a fact of life. But you will never regret that you went out there and did it. (Unless you are running with the flu and that's a completely different thing. Been there, done that. Stupid decision. I got my run in, though.)

I Am Training For Life

On Black Balsam Mountain after a VERY long day of backpacking uphill for many hours. Photo courtesy of Yan Luss.

Life is hard, and it may or may not be short.

Before I started this last and longest lasting exercising streak of mine, I would start amazing and creative endeavors with loads of energy and focus, plateau and then stop. The energy would fizzle, my mind would be numb from exhaustion, and my heart would be let down yet again.

So how is it that I am able to run marathons and ultra marathons, now? How do I stay committed and focused?

Any long-distance running (or any sustained physical endeavor) requires patience, discipline, and the ability to

• entertain yourself for HOURS,
• be in one's head for extremely long bouts of time,
• talk yourself off the ledge several times over several hours (or the edge of a crevasse), literally,
• separate mind and body, converge mind and body, eat and drink when you REALLY don't want to,
• drop your pants, pee, shake it off and keep running like it's normal...

In life you have to do the same sorts of things during hours-long boring and pointless meetings in which people talk just for the hell of it. During these meetings, you should be able to

• entertain yourself for hours (in your head while pretending to listen)
• talk yourself off the figurative ledge every time someone different starts talking
• separate mind and body
• talk to people when you really don't want to
• Ok, so you don't have to drop your pants and pee and keep running like it's normal, but pretending like what someone has just said is brilliant is pretty similar.

There are many other aspects of life that require sustained, unwavering focus over a period of time. And long-distance running, or any other physical pursuit that requires the same sort of consistent energy is very REAL but also a metaphor for every time something in life requires indomitable and unflappable spirit.

Sunrise and fire smoke at Farlow Gap, Pisgah National Forest

What keeps me going on those super long runs?

I think, I plan, I arrange music, I zone out, I sing in my head,  I am in my head, I imagine that I am Scott Jurek on the hills and Lolo Jones when jumping or tripping over roots and rocks. I rejoice in the fact that I am surrounded by stunning natural beauty. I become completely engaged in the process and look forward to achieving whatever goal it is that I have set. I become present.

When doing long runs, I became acutely aware of where I am, who I am and why I am. I become tuned in to the fact that I am living, and that in order to keep living I have to make an intense effort to keep living.

This is what training for life is.

How do you stay committed and focused? How do you train for life?

I Spoke with Dr. Pamela Peeke of US News And World Report Today! She's Pretty Awesome!

Here's what she has written on her Facebook Page. It should be an interesting conversation. Challenge accepted!

Mirna Valerio is blowing people's minds, including my own. I saw her on national news last night, pounding the dirt...
Posted by Dr. Pam Peeke on Saturday, September 19, 2015

I WAS ON TV!

I WAS ON TV!

This evening, NBC Nightly News aired a segment featuring my running life, my son, my students, and my running besties. This is so exciting and unbelievable.

Here's the story that they posted the night before it aired. There have been over one million views of the video. OH MY GOD!!!!

I'll post the actual broadcast piece as soon as I can!

Basically since early February, my life has been turned upside down in a GREAT WAY.

First it started out with a piece in the Wall Street Journal titled "Weight Loss or Not, Exercise Yields Benefits" by Rachel Bachman. 

Then, John Brant of Runner's World picked up the story and did a TWELVE-PAGE  FEATURE on my running life. Now, it's even available in a legit, non-plagiarized Spanish version! I even made the news in HONG KONG

After RW things picked up very quickly!

How cool is it to be THAT GIRL on the trail in the middle of the woods Upstate, NY?
How cool is it to be the object of "OMG NO WAY I THOUGHT THAT WAS YOU HOLY CRAP!"?

It's pretty cool guys!

But it doesn't end there.

I have also been invited to participate in some running podcasts, radio shows. There are some more in the works, but here are the ones that have been posted:

Connect Run Club--This was the first podcast I recorded. These guys are funny, probing, and honest. I loved chatting and laughing with them!



And then I got to chat with Sarah Bowen Shea and Dimity McDowell, authors of the popular running books Run Like a Mother, Train Like a Mother, and Tales from Another Mother Runner and hosts of the Another Mother Runner Podcast Series. We talked about plus sized runners actually existing and being. Granted, I think I talked too much, but it was super fun! 

Here is that podcast!
​

In August, HuffPo Live came calling and I had an incredible opportunity to chat with Alyona Minkowski, Jessie Sebor, EIC of Women's Running Magazine, and Erica Jean Schenk, Model Featured on the cover of WRM, and fitness expert Joe Holder:


There a few more podcasts in the works and some REALLY cool projects I'm working on so stay tuned!

Wow! I'm so tickled and honored to have so many running friends and supporters. I am super stoked to have had the opportunity to participate in the running community and be noticed for it. That is a huge honor and I hope to be able to continue SPREADING THE RUNNING AND BODY LOVE! There is enough for everyone.

Happy fit life!

Oh Pisgah, My Pisgah!

For five days I had a third opportunity to travel with a group of 10 sophomores from my school and two excellent outdoor educator-leaders, Kelly and Yan, exploring some pristine sections of trail in Pisgah National Forest in Western North Carolina.

Our fearless guides, Kelly and Yan consulting the trail map near Farlow Gap

If you are not already sold on being in the forest or in the mountains if even for a MINUTE, check out these photos. The views were EPIC, the temps perfect, and the terrain perfectly suited for hiking boots and trail running shoes..

We started at the Fish Hatchery in Brevard and hiked only about 2 miles to our first campsite. It was perfectly suited for this group of first-timers: water, many big facili-trees to choose from, and a cozy fire-ring in the middle of it all. That night, a steady rain fell, cleansing the air and our spirits. In the morning we awoke to fog and a slight nip in the air.

The second day, we hiked about 4 miles UPHILL to a second camp ground that had a gorgeous view of Davidson River. By the time we reached camp, the skies had cleared and the sun warmed us enough to play in the ice-cold swimming hole.

Davidson River

The third day would be our hardest yet. It was particularly difficult for those students not used to, well, being outside like this. We climbed from below 3000 feet to about 4500 feet on the Daniel Ridge Trail and Farlow Gap Trail , all with 40-70 pound packs. 

On the Daniel Ridge Trail

This year, I had poles and WHAT A DIFFERENCE THEY MADE! How did I ever do this without poles? I dunno...

Black Diamond Distance Z-Poles, Keen Hiking Boots, Osprey Pack, REI Hiking Pants

That night we stayed at a really sweet campground right under Pilot Mountain, near the Farlow Gap and Art Loeb Trail intersection. There were lots of laughs and teenage shenanigans that evening. Our amazing guides hiked all the way back down to where we had stopped for lunch to fill our Nalgenes with filtered stream water, and for their service the students prepared tuna melts on pita over the fire that they had started and kept burning, collecting firewood for hours. 

Young people can be so generous and awesome when it comes to service and humility. Please remember this! 

One of the many fires the students started and kept

That night, they bedded down in their tarps, I in my fancy Marmot tent and inflatable REI sleeping pad (because I am too old!) It's amazing how much sleep one gets in the forest. When there are no TVs, cellphones, tablets, or iPods allowed, a lot of restful sleep can happen.

My hotel-room like Marmot Tungsten 2P tent. Compared to a tarp, this baby is HEAVEN on earth.

Our last full day of hiking was exactly that, A FULL DAY of all uphills with the end goal being to summit Black Balsam Knob at 6214 feet. It was a slog, but a faster one. Stronger legs, better spirits, and a well-oiled team with student leadership was what was necessary in order for our group to persevere through a few thousand feet of elevation. The scenery changed constantly, from deciduous trees to conifers, to rocky outcroppings and bales with gorgeous views

View from Silvermine Bald on the Art Loeb Trail

to wildflower filled alpine meadows.

View from the intersection of the Flat Creek Trail and Sam Knob Trail, on our way to Black Balsam

The students posed for an east-facing photo before the sunset. I love this group!

We climbed up to Black Balsam Knob to watch the sunset after hastily throwing our packs down and donning our headlamps for what would be a dark descent. There aren't enough photos to capture the stunning sunset. I tried...

Our fearless guide, Kelly taking a breather from our energetic group.

No words.

It was cold and chilly up on the mountain. A group of Asheville hippies in tunics and colorful blankets serenaded everyone with Simon and Garfunkel turned Van Morrison and the Fray type ditties with the ukelele.

After we began to shiver and our bellies began to speak, we headed back down to where we would camp for the last night. We set up our tents in the deep forested dark, and cooked the last bit of our food on our camp stoves. It felt as if we were at Everest base camp, albeit without the snow and garbage.

Gluten free tuna mac never tasted so good!

We bedded down for one last night, this time up at 5800 feet. It was cold and white-noise windy. Sleep came in fits and starts, but still I felt rested and re-set in the early morning.

After packing up hastily and silently, we packed ourselves and our packs in the van and trailer that had been left for us in the parking lot, and watched the sunrise as we drove along Blue Ridge Parkway.

Thy Whole Self Beckons

I love writing haikus, and I love writing haikus about being outside, running, and getting my nature on. Being outside any time of the year, in any part of the world inspires such joy and freedom that sometimes I just have to write a poem about it. And then take pictures.

Here's one I wrote while huffing and puffing at altitude in Colorado Springs this summer-


Hot sun, face beaming
rubber sole on gritty stone
thy whole self beckons


Here's another one that I wrote after zip-lining in the Costa Rican Jungle through the mists of Monteverde. In a thunderstorm. Yeah.

Monteverde, Costa Rica Summer 2007, pre-recommitment to running

Pura Vida

Airborne as if winged

in saturated air

harness hurting

the rhythmic meeting of

cable and carabiner

the rhythmic meeting of 

cable and carabiner

over verdant

impenetrable forest

pure life

Do you write poetry about running? Or hiking? Or swimming? Or ADVENTURES? Share in the comments below!

Let's Step Into the Zone of Discomfort, together!

The current state of my living room floor. Way too much stuff for 5 days, but I'm learning to pare down...for the next trip.

I'm going on a backpacking trip this weekend with students, none of whom I know very well.

I love backpacking and I love students-- even if they're not in my chorus, in my Spanish classes, or on my cross country team.

As much as I adore backpacking and hanging out with smelly tenth graders for 5 days in the woods far away from a cell-tower, bathrooms, other people...and too close to bears, snakes,  nightly rainstorms, and lots o bugs--I am always a little bit scared and nervous. Every backpacking trip is a pretty big step out of my comfort zone.

Backpacking is a big set of WHAT IFS, MAYBES, POSSIBLES, and UNXPECTEDS...

What if I break my ankle (again) and I have to be medivac'ed out?
What if I didn't bring enough clothes?
What if I don't like the guides? What if they don't like me?
What if they think I'm too fat to do this?
What if I get cold?
What if the students hate me?
What if I get hot?
What if I can't get up that stupid mountain (pick one) without someone helping me? God forbid it's a student!

OMG maybe I should just stay. Maybe I should just do something that doesn't require me carrying my own toilet paper and and trowel.

BUT NOPE. Every year I decide to go. I decide to lean into that discomfort because it's the only way for me to grow. Also, I hope that my students see me simultaneously dreading and enjoying the trip, learning something new, and ultimately becoming a better, more complete person with a host of different experiences under my belt.

We'll see starting today!

HOW DO YOU STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE?
Do you lean?
Do you jump?
Do you tip-toe like a ninja, body flop?

What crazy things have you done, fitness-related or not, that have made you grow exponentially? JOIN THE DISCUSSION IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!