Episode 6: Overcoming common excuses not to run
Keith and Shawn discuss their impromptu New Year's Eve marathon attempt before diving into a laundry list of common excuses not to run. They provide myriad motivational techniques to overcome those all too inviting excuses.
Transcript
SHAWN
It's good to be sore it's good to you need time to recover. But if you are sore from that workout yesterday that you did or you're sore from that super long run that you push yourself. That's a sign that your body is actually improving and it's okay to go out for a run and hello and welcome to the final turn and upbeat podcast about all things running.
KEITH
I'm Keith a forty-year-old currently running 70ish miles a week and ever building a currently 189 consecutive days fronts. My co-host is Shawn.
SHAWN
How's your streak Shawn? Nowhere as near impressive as yours is I just closed out on a 50-day run streak a couple days ago. And since then I'm taking a little break from running. So this is day two off of running. And as I said in previous episodes, I was going to take the beginning of 2021 to relax and stretch and get better and I'm two days in and holding myself to it though. I've been on the Peloton for the past two or three days which kind of defeats the purpose prong.
KEITH
Probably okay. That sounds like a zero-day run streak to me.
SHAWN
So, all right.
KEITH
So on today's show we're going to cover common excuses people use not to run and how to overcome them. But first you can find us on Twitter at @thefinalturnpod and you can check out our newly launched Running Blog at the thefinalturn.com. I know it's confusing that the Twitter handle is at @thefinalturnpod, and the website is just thefinalturn.com, but hopefully We explicitly saying that can alleviate some confusion.
Okay, Shawn enough of the formalities. Normally I would ask you if you ran today but sounds like now no, it's it hurts me to say that I didn't run today.
SHAWN
I always feel like when we record these podcasts I have to do a run or at least some semi impressive run to feel good about it. But yeah, I didn't run today and I'm not planning on it. I know you did. So what did you do today?
KEITH
My run today was pretty unremarkable. I went 5.0 for miles around the mission here in San Cisco I tried to get out before the rain came, but I did not get a pretty thorough soaking at the end. But it's one of the that might be the first time in months that I've run in anything that resembles even mildly adverse conditions. So the first couple times are actually kind of nice it's new.
SHAWN
Well, one of the topics we'll be talking about of why people don't want to go out and run as bad weather and we're a bit spoiled in San Francisco and in Northern California of not having to experience it too often, but for you and I growing up we've definitely definitely had that experience and there's there's many others in addition to the bad weather.
KEITH
Yeah. It's a little hard to Hero posture overcoming a steady drizzle for the final pile but in January, but yeah, I did it I did it today.
SHAWN
Should we talk about our marathon on New Year's Eve? Yeah, that would be great. I was just going to bring that up.
KEITH
So why did we decide to do that?
SHAWN
You texted me saying you're thinking about running a marathon in a couple of days. And I said do you want some do you want some company? I don't know why I offered. I wanted to be nice because you know know who wants to run 26 Miles by themselves. Let alone on New Year's Eve and whatnot and I wasn't planning on I was planning on running a 5k and somehow that 5K turned into 26, but I thought it'd be fun to kind of get some bragging rights and feeling good about eating some cookies and ice cream and drinking some wine on New Year's Eve, but what I mean?
You you wanted to do it. So what was your we never really even talked about this.
KEITH
I don't know exactly. I mean, I hadn't run a marathon since 2011 and like my last 7 or 17. I don't even know how many marathons that I've signed up for or you know, at least tentatively planned on have not happened for various reasons. The last one being it was cancelled due to covid my last two or three in particular had been really disappointing. I've been completely ready. and then either had a mild injury or covid and so I thought it would be nice to just sort of put a stamp on the year and my biggest training your mileage wise with a marathon and you know, I decided to do it I think three days before and then I think I told you that I would like some company I think two days before so we weren't exactly tapered down and I I told you I wanted to run like 8:15 to 8:30 pace and that your reason I agreed to do it.
SHAWN
Yeah, so I only have to do it runs slow and then you know in natural fashion that you and I both we went out. I think I ran over to you at like 7:30 7:45 pace and I was like this is too fast, but it felt good because it was slower than we normally run together, right because you live two miles away from you.
KEITH
So you had to go to run to get to me.
SHAWN
Yeah, and what do we We end up like just just doing like 737 15 s kind of like back to back and we kept saying oh we need to slow down. We need to slow down and we just we didn't.
KEITH
Yeah, it was it was a beaut for the first half right? Like, oh ha ha we are going too fast and then predictably the pain came.
SHAWN
Yeah, but you know, it really made me mad is the fact that your last two miles after I left you were fast and you like what ends up seven on those and I'm really mad that I should have I didn't Do it because you would have had to run, you know, four miles sub 7 or whatever it was but there's a little bit of regret and me the fact that you ran those last two miles faster than Iran any of the miles, right?
KEITH
So yeah, so Sean lives two miles away from me and we did a loop so he ran two miles here and the two of the 27 miles at the start and I ran two more miles after dropping him off at his house and I ran my final two miles faster than you've rainwater first two miles.
SHAWN
I want to know what you how you found the route because we didn't we didn't talk about this either but then the route ended up being 27 miles for me. So not only did and for you too. So not only did we like do this random marathon with no taper like basically no heads up. It was like we had to do that extra mile, which was which is hard.
KEITH
Okay. I wanted to I wanted to hug as much of the San Francisco Coastline as possible. So we sort of started in the middle of the city. We went due east until we hit the San Francisco Bay and then we ran along the bay. Yeah. They yeah, this is San Francisco. On a peninsula for those don't know so we ran along the east side of the peninsula and then the north side and then the west side and then yeah, we'd sort of connected the dots.
SHAWN
I don't know.
KEITH
I thought it would be nice to see a lot of ocean and you know that God is pretty close to 26. I think I could have done look I didn't want to get to a point where like I'm pulling back into my house and I'm at like 25.8. So I wanted I wanted to make sure that there was like a little bit of buffer but I overachieved on that a little bit and yeah, I think I finished it like 87 and a half or something.
SHAWN
Another thing that I met at you for is going like I think it was like a quarter mile longer than I did.
KEITH
You have a chant all of these things were intentional right? Like I would faster at the end because you yeah you like I don't know if you remember but I was very interested in your first two mile space.
There was a reason for that and then yeah the extra distance was it that was it explicitly degree few? Although that was a nice side effect. I'd never run over 27, so I wanted to make sure I get 27 and it's fair then but for me remember those last two miles, you know are pretty downhill.
SHAWN
So am I last two miles or uphill so and poor baby is also it was awesome. Nonetheless. It was a very like similar to you is a great way to cap off like my longest distance here. Probably just overall the most dedication. I've given to running even though there were no traces and I didn't really do much speed but in terms of distance and dedication and help me close out the one thing I am I'm proud of I actually ended up beating you on total total mileage for the year. So yeah that I've got to hang over you for a little but once you do, you know what your exact number is like 2607 miles for the year.
Yeah.
KEITH
Yeah, I can't. Well, let me pull this up on strawberry really quickly. I know I was over 2500. I think it was I don't actually I don't know how to do this quickly. It was like 2540 I think so. Yeah, you beat me by 60 65 miles. But yeah look. 2021 is a different year. You better bring it.
SHAWN
Hey, I haven't random two days. So you're already you're already ahead of me.
KEITH
Yeah, how does that feel in your heart? Are you getting anxious?
SHAWN
Yeah, I think you know I shouldn't be doing anything with my legs outside of like strength I want to do I did yoga this morning. I want to do like a lot more hip strength and all these different things like we talked about with Jason a few weeks ago, but I need that level of like cardio. I feel like I need some level of cardio and the only way to really do that right now because gyms are an open so I can't go to a pool as a bike.
And while he like a bike you use different muscles and everything within your within your legs. It's still using your legs which kind of defeats the purpose but I just I need eat ice cream or cookies or something and I feel like if I don't do some level of cardio, it's it doesn't work out.
KEITH
So yeah. Yeah, I think I mean it is still like muscles but it's a completely different kind of strain The Joint abuse is much much much less and My understanding is a lot of your mechanical issues or sort of hip related and upper leg related. So I would be surprised if you're actively doing harm with with the biking.
SHAWN
Yeah, and it's likely it was pounding which is good. Yeah, it's funny kind of defeats the purpose of our topic today of you know, I have to find my find ways to motivate myself not to go out and run versus today. We want to talk about why people don't want to go out and run like where their excuses and My excuse is a bad one is I'm trying to stay healthy for a little bit.
But what like overall if you think about it? What is a good excuse Sean?
KEITH
Like you're allowed to take some time off. I know I've liked Roland you here, but like it's good. It's good.
SHAWN
It's needed. So when you what have been like when you don't go through a run when you're not going trying to do a run streak for the past two years of your of running what has been like one of the most common excuses. You've kind of told yourself or given to to not going out on a run.
KEITH
Yeah. I think sometimes I get in a place where if I get D trained a little bit like maybe I get sick or if I have a minor injury, it's really easy. I start looking at what it's going to take for me to get back to where I was and it just seems like this enormous mountain to climb, you know, so especially if I was like really well trained before an injury, you know, it's like man, it's going to take me weeks or months just to get back to where I was, you know before I can ever hope to Are getting better again and that that can be tough. But you know, that's not the right way to look at it. Right like every day. You don't run you're digging the hole even deeper and you know, you don't always have to be perfect. Right like something is almost always better than nothing. And so Yeah, and then and then once once you get started again, you know that can sort of have its own momentum and inertia and then they can carry you along. How about how about you like a do you have like a weakness? You think and your motivation regime?
SHAWN
Yeah. Mine lately has been When I don't get good sleep, especially I think just during covid and last year and obviously coming into this year. Everyone's routines has have changed quite a bit. You know, I used to wake up extremely early. And the first thing I would do is get up and go out and run either run to work or I would go out and run in the Park or wherever and now that it's kind of changed and shifted where I don't have like a destination to be by 7 a.m. Or 8:00 a.m. I can have a little bit more flexibility.
I've actually been like sleeping worse and one of the I'll just when I don't have good sleep now. I'm like, oh I'm not going to go out and run because I just didn't get good sleep. And even those even though running really helps me wake up in the in the moment. It's really hard for me to kind of go out and run because it just feel like really tired and I'd rather just drink a cup of coffee to wake up, but then typically, you know six hours into the day. I'm like, oh I need to go out and running because I'm getting like jittery.
So I think I overcome those. Ways of kind of giving myself an excuse of oh, I'm too tired or a lot of it's like I'm injured or I don't feel great today, but then eventually I think I just kind of overcome those as a day goes on because I just feel I noticed that the reward of running is greater than not running and you feel really good about yourself and I know we'll talk about this in a little bit but I don't know if it's a great excuse. I think it's just sometimes I get tired, you know?
KEITH
Yeah for one. Yeah. I mean, you know people could be tired for various reasons. We're going to cover that is one of our sort of big things here trying to figure out where we should start. Let's start with.
They're sort of the constellation of things here that are similar but something like you're bored with running, you know, you're lacking in motivation, you know, there aren't any races or you're not hitting goals how you want this sort of collection of things where you know, you're struggling to find motivation.
Gosh, we have we have like 20 that the 20 different things here. So yeah, you want to see what to start with one of them. Just pick one.
SHAWN
Yeah. It's interesting because last before I moved to this Out of San Francisco where I would run the most is actually a launch the flat a flat course and it'd be the same thing. I'd run every single day and some days I would just go out a little bit longer and then turn around at a later time and then come back and when I woke up in the morning, I didn't want to do that. I got I was like I was bored of running and a lot of it was because of the route and what I ended up doing and you're really good at this and I should pay you to make me routes on a weekly basis, but one of the things when I was living at that part of the city, but also where I live now is I've really focused on how do I switch up the route. So every time you I have a couple like two to three go to 10K routes to two three go to 10 Mile routes excetera.
So for me to like really overcome the boredom of running the biggest thing for me has been just switching up the route. I would say.
KEITH
Yeah, I can't emphasize that enough. I hate running the same route and I obsess over over. King new ones I did something that just seems so stupid the other day. But yeah, I ran something counterclockwise and I almost always run a clockwise and like yeah, I mean it just some whatever you can do to create new stimulus for your mind can really help dig out of like like boredom Rod. So, you know another one we have here and this one is a little bit controversial but not really as you can.
Listen to music or ideally this podcast but you know, if you listen to all of our episodes 10 times each, you know, we understand that, you know, maybe maybe basal level time. Yeah, you know, it's time to change it up. But yeah, you know and the reason why its controversial is I think some people judge Runners who use use headphones and I use them sometimes and not other times.
I used to be one of these people that that really I don't know if yeah, I guess I I was I was pretty judgmental.
Well, you know what? I didn't and it's easy to be sanctimonious when you don't when you don't do something.
SHAWN
Yeah. Well the one that's actually really helped me to run further. So on my long runs, it's like oh I want to go out for like a 10K but I really should maybe do eight or ten miles today. If I'm training is actually listening to podcasts either like news like podcasts and entertainment podcast or a news podcast. And what's really kept me going as oh, well, there's 15 minutes left in this podcast.
Cast I don't want to like not finish it right now. I don't know when I'm going to have the opportunity to finish it and I'm not going to remember to come back or I'm not going to remember the whole episode. So I'm going to run 15 more minutes. So I find these podcasts that are kind of the length of how long the run is that I want to go on and it works out really really well.
There's there's been a couple of three our podcast that I've come across then I'm like, well not going to listen to this one on a run or it's going to take like three three runs to get through but I think that's been like really Full because music is it's so easy to turn the music off, right? It doesn't matter if you if you don't finish that playlist or whatever but that podcast or that the news for the morning or whatever. Maybe is you want to finish that story you want to finish and get to the end and if you go out and run it kind of pushes you to go to little bit further.
Yeah.
KEITH
I mean, I'm 40 years old. I didn't really use headphones other than on a treadmill until last July and I had had a minor injury two months prior and hadn't been running for a bit. But I was definitely over the injury, but I was sort of in a little bit of a rut. I was like, you know what I'm just going to get over by my self righteousness and I bought some some of those wireless earbuds. And yeah, I mean, it really gets you get you out the door sometimes, you know, especially if it's a podcast you're excited to listen to or I've built some playlists that like have some songs that like, I'm really excited about and yeah, I mean, it makes a difference it's it kind of goes To like buying new things.
SHAWN
It's not always the best way but if you buy new things buy a new pair of shoes buy a new running watch by a new t-shirt or whatever it is it weirdly. I don't think it's weird. It motivates you to want to go out and run. I remember when I bought a new pair of shoes that I've tried a new brand. I think I moved over like Nike for a little bit and I was like, I want to run in these Nike so bad and then I went out and did it when I got my new watch same exact thing. It's yeah these like new things that like you want to Try it out and like that motivates you to go out and try something either try do the same thing again or try something new and see how that new thing that you just purchased actually works.
KEITH
Yeah. I like buying running shoes that are super bright colors because you know, you put them on and you just sort of feel like a runner in that moment. And you know, it's just nice to go out there and give him a shot I think. Just to wrap up like the routing the routing thing finding routes can be a little bit challenging like this, especially if you're new to a neighborhood or you know, some people are a little directionally challenged but there are some good tools online for making routes. So map my run.com has a route route finder or route generator. I think they call it where you can put in the distance you want to go and give it a starting point Strava has the same thing Straub has routing tool.
I'm not sure if It's I pay for service. I'm not sure if it's behind the paywall or not. But the one that I have access to you can say whether you want to do Hills or not and it'll it'll suggest like three routes when you give it a distance. It's pretty cool.
SHAWN
But it takes you through known on trespassing routes. It's done that to me twice.
KEITH
Yes. I saw a couple of years drive a post that yeah, they're tried to get you to commit Federal offenses and it goes like private property.
SHAWN
That's the other week as a 12-foot fence. I'm not going to climb over this thing.
KEITH
So I had to run an extra to pause it and it's what are those relays where people do like the top monitor things that yeah.
SHAWN
I did not just like that other on the options.
KEITH
Yeah, Garmin has a route finder to Ivan experimented with there's lately, but maybe we should do an episode where we sort of do a yeah, that'd be Miss punishment.
Another tip I have is sometimes I'll mix a tiny bit of speed into into and run that I've done it. bunch of times so, you know, maybe whenever my GPS watch takes over one mile or if you're not wearing a GPS watch whenever whenever you think it just speed it up for 30 seconds, you know 30 seconds a minute 15 seconds going to whatever feels right and Yeah, it just gives you some some focus and something to look forward to her to dread as you're going through run but regardless what it is is you're creating like a different mental pattern and this notion of boredom is I think when you just keep applying the same stimulus and it can be hard to get generated excitement response to that at the FBI will find a sustained.
Yeah. So if you do something different if you change anything up like a little bit of speed maybe you go a little bit slower like sometimes Well look, okay. This is the thing I aspire to do. Sometimes it would be nice to try to run around like, you know, like let's say normally your long run pace is you know, nine thirty miles. Well, okay go out and try to do 10 30 miles for you know your recovery day. And if you go over if you go faster than that like you failed but like, you know challenge yourself to go slowly, you know, and you know that can also, you know be a new stimulus.
SHAWN
Yeah, one of the interesting things that I've done is I go back and look at like Strava segments. And if I know that I want to be doing a certain route that day and I know that I've always been trying to like beat my last time on a Strava segment or you know number 100 on the thing. I want to be top 100. I'll kind of plan my runs sometimes to say I know in this segment that I just want to go and like crush it and then I just go back to my normal Run for the rest of the time. It's kind of like cheating because I don't like people who like do that very much. I've seen people's Strava is like, oh I did this just to get the king of the mountain or whatever it is. I'm like, oh frustrate me.
But it is a good way to stay encouraged especially if you you know, some some folks are limited in where they can go and run right just geography and place and whether as well, which we'll talk about and sometimes it just helps yet thinking about. Can I run this piece this route faster and I run this segment faster and yeah Change-Up change with the output is even though the input might be the route might be the same.
KEITH
Yeah. We have a couple GPS watch related things here. So yeah thing one is you can leave your watch at home. And I don't even know look I have this ridiculous tan line where my watch is. I think the last time I took it off was like sometime in the you know, 2010's and but aspirationally yeah, like going for a run without your watch can be can be I imagine can be freeing and liberating and you know, that's another thing, you know, instead of, you know, having the pressure of holding yourself to it to account. You can just go out and you know, remember that running can actually be sort of fun.
Fun, and yes, you know that can create help you with some boredom stuff.
And then the other GPS related thing is and I've been doing this more over the last six months. I don't know if you've noticed, but you can draw something with your pattern. So, you know, I drew that look. I'm awful at drawing, but I tried to draw a Christmas tree.
SHAWN
That's pretty good.
KEITH
Thank you. Thank you. I mean suppress your paid to say that so thank you, but But you know you can you can draw, you know, I don't know someone's initials or you can you can draw, you know, there's some people that get really elaborate with their but there's drama drawings but people drew like turkey's yeah for Thanksgiving and a lot.
SHAWN
I've seen Chris like other Christmas trees not as good as yours, but other Christmas trees out there and I've spelled some stuff out in the city before it's very it's really cool, but it's mentally taxing it.
KEITH
Is yeah, I did a I did a spiral and it was seven miles in the mission and you know the missions on a grid so, you know was like 10 blocks up ten blocks, you know over and then nine blocks down and nine blocks over eight eight, you know 77662. Yeah. Oh my God, and then oh my gosh, I missed a turn by half block and almost have like a mini heart attack.
SHAWN
Yeah.
KEITH
I bet I was not pleased with myself that ghetto messes up the pattern a little bit but In any case. Yeah, it can it can be both mind-numbing and sort of exhilarating to to draw something.
SHAWN
I think it's like the most common one and we touched on this a little bit earlier was you know, I'm tired. I'm sore. I'm hungover. You know, it's not only are you bored. It's that's probably the you know, that's for someone that has I feel like his continuously run some that's on a run streak or they haven't really taken a break in their training a good to kind of cap. That one is I'm really excited to take a little bit of a break from running because I feel like I'm going to re-fall in love with running because I've I'm going to You know two weeks off hopefully and I'm going to see you on Strava. I'm going to see people outside running people on Twitter and it's going to give me more of an appreciation to go back but for folks that you know are having challenging challenged kind of to get into the groove or really just get started. It's very common of saying I'm so sore. I'm tired. I'm hungover, you know, especially for like if you want to go out for runs on the weekends, which are great great time because you have more time than you do during the week, but Folks go and have a couple drinks on Friday and Saturday and I think for the soreness is your think you and I have very similar thoughts on this and it's you know, there's a really there's this difference between a I am sore or I have a shooting pain or there is some pain in my body and therefore a lot of a lot of people equate them as the same say soreness equals pain and therefore if I have pain I shouldn't go out and run, but, you know sort us is totally fine, too.
Through right. It's it's good to be sore. It's good to you need time to recover. But if you are sore from that workout yesterday that you did or you're sore from that super long run that you push yourself. That's a sign that your body is actually improving and it's okay to go out for a run and you take a couple of Miles typically and it allows you to Get back into it at least for me, right? It's yeah.
KEITH
Yeah, I mean look, you don't want to run through an injury. But if I didn't run every time I was a little bit sore, I would never run like, you know, I have this ridiculous run streak. I'm working on I haven't not been sore since last July and so, you know, you can't Yeah, getting your running is a sort of a it's a bit of a mental battle to figure out when you're actually injured and when you're just sore but yeah soreness is totally natural. It's a part of running. It's a part of you know, any physical stimulus to your body and it's okay to run through that and if you're really sore your body will adapt to then you'll run a little bit slower and you know if you're a little bit sore like you Said I often find like after one or two miles.
I've sort of forgotten that the soreness was even there and getting all that blood flow can actually help with soreness, right? It can help flush lactic acid out of your system, which is you know, the root cause of soreness. And so yeah, if you're if you're sitting there it's 2 p.m. And you know you wanted to run that morning and you know, you were thinking I'm kind of sore, you know, make sure that it's not just sort as like me. Yeah it look if you have some sort of a pain in your knee or you know, you're limping or you have something like that don't run but you know, if your hamstrings are a little tight, you know, give it a shot, you know and see what happens after the first mile.
Yeah.
SHAWN
Yeah, get out just get outside. I think a lot of this is to motivate yourself is just put one foot in front of the other. Once you start putting one foot in front of the other you will keep going. It's really hard to do those first 10 20 30 steps and once you get that you get excited and you can go And it's a lot of this is just about getting started and you know for the folks that are hung over, you know, you should hydrate while you're drinking that's that's thing. Number one.
I would say is you know for what's the classic thing of like for every drink that you have you have like a glass of water.
KEITH
But yeah, I who does this corner store text my house and they sell these hangover pills and they say like, oh the night before while you're drinking, you know, drink a pint of water in between every drink and it's like well, okay that The Hangover pills have to anything it's just see the water perfectly hydrated, but yeah water water during and then you know, if you didn't drink water during definitely, you know, maybe before you go to bed and then yeah and you know in the morning just camel up drink some water and look it's not going to make you're not going to go from you know, totally hung over to a million bucks just from drinking a cup of water, but that that's a good start to the delivery it really for me every time I feel Little bit hungover.
SHAWN
It's I go out for a run. And that's how I actually recover from my hangovers. Like it gets rid of the headache. It gets rid of this soreness or whatever. It may be from the night before and it's actually a really good way for me. I did a lot of I used to work out a lot after which was I think lifting weights is way harder than running after when you're hungover.
So if you're debating between the two just go on go out for like a 20 to 30 minute run and you'll feel at least least 80% better.
KEITH
Yeah, I 80% is like I always feel better after after a run. And I don't know if it's because I'm addicted or if it's something about the way it gets your blood flowing that helps do something with I'd like I don't know how hangover it's work presumably there's some sort of toxin in your body or something or you're dehydrated or whatever but increased blood flow helps a lot of things to help soreness. It can help injury recovery and it can help with hang on.
And I just feel better always after a run and even if it doesn't physically Help The Hangover, it'll mentally help you because you'd be like, all right. Well, at least I did this thing today and go to some of that serotonin depletion could can be be made up for with the endorphins you get from running.
I wanted to say something about fatigue so you know if you wake up if you didn't get good sleep tonight before so this is sort of related to a hangover but You know a lot of Runners try to get fatigued, you know, so Pros will Fast themselves. They won't eat anything or they'll they'll do like a big weight workout before they go out for a run or they'll do two or sometimes even three runs in a day. And what they want to do is they want to get they want to get fatigued so that they can do a run where their body is fatigued and they can sort of make some adaptations that help them run when they're fatigued.
Well if you're fatigued naturally, it's just because you know, you party too hard the night before Just you know because they're anxious times and you didn't get very good sleep. Yeah, you're probably not going to go out and set, you know, a new hundred meter world record, but getting out there when you're a little bit fatigued, you know, first off you'll probably find your once you get going. It's about the same as always and even if you don't you're teaching your body how to deal with, you know, I don't know if inconveniences the right word your you're teaching your body how to deal with stimulus and might not often get which in this case.
SHAWN
It would be fatigued. Yeah, I agree and over that really helps you at the end of a race when you're very very tight very fatigued and knowing that you can run through the that fatigue and that you have before is a not only a huge physical boost, but also a big mental boost you felt like you've been in this state before you're able to push through it and continue going.
KEITH
Yeah. Just caffeine help you. Do you drink caffeine before you run?
SHAWN
I never do I I use caffeine as my reward. So that's why I typically like to work out in the mornings because it wakes me up, you know any type of physical activity in the morning wakes me up. I actually once I get out of bed I drop and I do push-ups. It's like my way just to kind of get my get my body going more into it does.
Yeah and just having coffee just that's like one of the motivations for you to work out in the morning and go out on a run is just that thinking about that hot cup of coffee that I'm going to make when I get back totally worth it and I typically wait like three hours after I wake up and to drink Coffee.
I read some headline eight years ago. Probably that scientifically waiting three hours to drink coffee is good for you didn't read the article sounded like about right.
KEITH
Just kind of been with whatever that was. The core rule that I live by. Yeah. I don't know if we're going to find that in the New England Journal of Medicine, but I know a lot of people look I don't know what percentage of people drink caffeine in the mornings, but it's high and I know a lot of people Needed before Reyes. I think it helps them with their bowel movements.
I think it helps them, you know get up and get going. I haven't I don't drink caffeine. And so I don't know how it effects effects running much. I mean, I you know, I know what I've read I did take on our marathon last week a girl that had some caffeine in it and man I was hyper for like four or five miles after that. It was a weird. It was weird like how quickly I felt it.
I don't know if that's psychosomatic if I was just imagining it but I mean I definitely felt it whether it was real or not. I don't know.
SHAWN
I think we change topics every like 45 seconds.
KEITH
Yeah, sorry discussion topics. I mean, I'm chatty and the worst of Tyra the best of times let alone when I'm on a little bit of caffeine. So one other thing on this like tired sore hungover thing, I think.
if you can commit to yourself to at least start the run, so go through the motions of You know putting it putting your running clothes on, you know, tying your shoes and just getting out there for a few steps. Once you get going look if once you get good, maybe you can make a deal with yourself as something like this. Look if I get going and I feel awful, you know, turn around after two blocks and go back home.
But at least try and I think in the majority of cases, you'll find that.
You're okay. Like, you know, you can continue and and you'll feel better after yeah, one of the things that I do for this is I put my running gear my shoes my shorts and my shirt at the front door.
SHAWN
So it's already out of my dresser. It's already ready to go. All I have to do is put it on put on my clothes put on my clothes put on my shoes and I'm out the door relatively quickly and also it's an interesting way of you see it in the corner of your I if you didn't go out on a run in that that morning is so it's just sitting there waiting for me. Like why didn't I do anything with it and hope you had a bag it does exactly so it's that's how I've always said. Okay, if I put these clothes on that step number one if I walk down the stairs at step number two, I open the door, that's three and then I'm gone and that's that's typically it's three steps to to get there. So yeah.
KEITH
All right, so that's that's tired fatigued sore hungover. This one's a little bit different. I think some people feel a little bit self-conscious when they run and they're worried that you know other people will will judge them or think of them or you know, maybe maybe folks like us will think they're too slow or something, but well, I don't I don't think that's those are things but do you want to start with this or do you want me to Go ahead.
SHAWN
Yeah, I hear this a lot. Especially with folks that think about that. They want to start running or they've been running a little bit and I always offered a run with anyone. I enjoy company when I run. I don't have to be running super fast. I just really enjoy getting out there and being with people and a couple of my friends during the pandemic started running and I asked hey, I'm happy to join you like we can go out and just I'm happy to kind of train you and teach you this is something new for you.
And they're like, oh, I'm too embarrassed. Well, I always asked why they said, oh, I'm too slow for you. I'm not going to go like far enough all of this. Yeah, and I said, that's but you need like I'm here to help you. I'm here to start like I'm okay running at ten thirty mile. I'll probably run a little bit more after but in the end of the day, it's I don't know. It's this when you see people out running, I don't what I see anyone running regardless if it's a 12-minute mile if it's a five-minute mile if it's you know, 20 minute mile, you're getting out there you're doing something and the people That are like judging you or the people that you know, they're probably jealous of you shouldn't be embarrassed about that.
I was definitely embarrassed when I started running because I was a bit overweight. I was wearing basketball shorts and like, you know, very large shirts that no one it's not how like Runners really look and what the clothes that they wear. So I was felt really embarrassed because I actually did have the right running gear and that's actually what happened me when I started cycling to as I didn't have the right cycling gear. So I felt really embarrassed to go out and go on the road.
And so I think what ways to get over that is just you know, the nice thing about running it's cheap. So get the right gear and you kind of feel better about yourself and that's kind of goes up to our first topic of like getting something new encourages you to go out. Yeah. Yeah.
KEITH
I mean look, this is a lot easier said than done but it's best to try not to worry what other people think and of course. Yeah that that's like one of those pieces of advice that people always give but it's sort of hard to To feel but short of that try to internalize that other people are like I know at least me and and almost every Runner I know don't care what other Runners look like.
I love seeing like all shapes and sizes of people out there when I run like one of my favorite moments and running is when I first get into Golden Gate Park and you know during covid and on weekends in non covid times, they close the streets there and there's just this like You know River of Runners going in all directions and you know, some of them have strollers and you know some you know, there's just people of all ages and abilities and it's just I feel like I'm part of this like community and it's just yeah, it's just great to see everyone out there and I don't know like it's hard to imagine.
Look I could be snobby about certain aspects and running but somebody being out there that that's not you know, an all pro does. It is not is not one of those things. Like I always I always sort of think to myself. That's awesome that they're out here like, you know, you got to start somewhere and you know good for them.
SHAWN
We all yeah, we all started somewhere and no one started running five minute miles out of the out of the womb or you know at the age of 8 or whatever it may be so and it's getting out there. It's like really encouraging especially when you go to races and just see all these different types of people like with different goals and going effort. It's encouraging even even if I'm faster than them or whatever. It may be.
It's really cool to like I always enjoy like seeing what shoes will where I know like you and I are big like shoe for running shoe. So it's always like really cool to see like what are the what other types of shoes people are wearing? And yeah, I kind of get some like encouragement from that of like man. This guy is like your this this person man. Those are awesome shoes like the the bright color choose a my I didn't know those existed. So I like it to look learn and go on the internet and I have to find them because I'm embarrassed that I don't have those shells.
KEITH
I definitely feel like a shoe voyeur and yeah, it's sort of fun like especially sometimes I mean this is not related to to beginner Runners. But yeah, I'll see people in Vapor Flies or something and I'll be like yeah, I choose them and you know, they they know what shoes they're wearing and they know I know and it's just sort of a cool shirt moment.
So, okay. All right. How about dealing with a blister? So this one we don't have to spend too much time on this but I think blisters the reason why I put this on here is I think blisters are a sort of tailor made excuse to be like, well, I just can't run and I don't think that's true. Like I I think look if you're like profusely bleeding from your foot like all right, maybe maybe take a day off. But you know you can you can use a needle sterilize it of course to puncture the blister and you know, get a Moleskine or some sort of bandage so that it's not rubbing and just again get out there and try going for two blocks and the body is remarkably adaptable.
And if you if you're running on on blistered skin, you're you know, you're helping to build the callus on. On the new fresh skin that was underneath the blister. So, you know your sort of speed in the recovery process. And again, look, there's limits to all this stuff. Like we're not saying, you know, if your legs amputated to go out and locate start, you know, go run a marathon but you know, a lot of people look for you know, it's just any little obstacle that can come up can can stop them from running and you know, I've been there myself but yeah blisters are one of those ones that I think are super easy to be like, yeah, you know, I'm not going to do it.
SHAWN
But yeah, yeah personal experience is just keep running. Through the blisters and then they turn into huge callous and then your entire all of both your feet are completely callous. So you never get blisters again. I haven't gotten blisters and years because my feet are just raw.
KEITH
Yeah, my feet are yeah. My hands are super smooth since I never looked away. It's yours are probably callous from all the weight lifting. But yeah, my feet are not influenced by thick skin.
All right. Let's see here. I mean we've we've got sort of two major ones here left. The first one is injury in the second one is whether so let's do injuries first. We've brushed upon some of the stuff already, but let me just tell like a couple of anecdotes about injuries I've had so I've had basically every standard running injury. There is a bit plantar fasciitis. I've had various kinds of of any pain I've had shin splints.
I've had it band stuff and I've had both quad and hamstring stuff. I haven't had some of the hip stuff but you know, all of these are injuries that are mostly related to repetitive stress and it's it and if you and if you see a doctor this is like long been a frustration of mine but a doctor just like oh well, yeah, you should just run less and it's like well, okay, what else?
All right, and you know again if you have some sort of shooting pain or sheep torn something you don't don't don't get out there and run but You know, for example with plantar fasciitis or various kinds of knee pain. Running a little bit and getting that blood flow going can can help spur recovery. So, you know like all right. So when people get patellar tendonitis, you know, they can do various things that can give you a cortisone injection which reduces inflammation but sometimes what they do is they go in there with an eel, and they poke a bunch of holes in the Flasher to try to inspire blood flow to the to that area. Well, you know much cheaper and less invasive way of doing that is to actually go for a run and I'm not saying that you know, you should continue your normally scheduled hundred-mile weeks after you have like a newly-developed soreness, but it's into its it can be interesting sort of probe the edges of the pain and and seeing seeing what you can do without totally giving up.
SHAWN
Yeah. Yeah. It's a lot of people think that when you get injured you have to go to zero and some in some cases you do. Sometimes you you know, I've torn, you know hip like one of my hip flexor muscles like I couldn't I couldn't like barely walk all these things you have to go to 0 but sometimes it's you go from 50 miles a week to 10 miles a week. So it's at least like still going through the motions as you're keeping some level of one motivation to some level of fitness and you're doing all the things in addition to help you recover. So I'm a good example of this. I have this like hip issue.
It's like an injury for two years, but I continued to run through it's just gotten worse. First so now I'm taking this time to not stop I'm stuffing running but I'm still on the bike and I'm doing all these like different exercises and everything to strengthen it so I can get back but I'm not just sitting on the couch and waiting for it to recover.
I think that's like one thing that a lot of folks should what should think about and talk to their PT or talk to their physical therapist talk to their doctors about is what can I do to stay Physically Active that may not be directly related to to running. Maybe it's less running or maybe it's swimming is a Huge a lot of people recommend swimming too.
Yeah.
KEITH
I mean, I think I don't know. This is backed up by Medical Science. But if you just sit around waiting for something to get better, I don't think that's the best strategy. So at least get out and go for a walk like just do something that you know causes a little bit of stimulation or sore or stress to the problem areas and I think that at least in my experience like all My entries like when I plantar fasciitis, I just got totally bummed out and I stopped doing anything and it didn't get better and then it was when I first started doing a little bit of running that it really started to get better and it's the same it's been it's the same with IT band stuff. Like if I just shut it down and don't do anything it if anything it just sort of Treads water it gets a little bit worse as because your body sort of gets used to it. I guess I wanted to say one more thing about about injuries. Sometimes when I get an injury or a new Injury, I'm almost afraid to look it up on Google and like the analogy I wanted to make here is like sometimes like when the stock market is doing certain things people will be like afraid to look at their their portfolios.
Yeah. I don't even want to look and that's like the worst possible thing you can do in that time and with injuries. Yeah, like let's say you have like a new developing pain completely. I like I'm almost afraid to look this up. Like I think it's going to tell me, you know something I maybe I should stop running or whatever. But yeah, like look it up like figure out Try to be informed about about what gather all the information you can and then make a decision don't potentially sequester yourself from information.
So, alright, the last thing here Sean is bad weather. So it's cold. It's raining. It's too hot. You know, what how do you were spoiled living in San Francisco? So, you know, we're we're guessing a little bit what this might be. Look. I'm sure you've been to places with bad weather.
SHAWN
So yeah what You do I mean it growing up in the midwest you you had the opportunity to give every excuse in the book. It's too cold because it's minus 10 degrees and it's a snowstorm to it's too hot. It's a hundred degrees with 90% humidity. There's never you have like three months of like perfect to running whether growing up in the midwest. I feel like and you know, if someone is one of our listeners is from the Midwest and I'm wrong, please please let us know and I used to live in Dallas actually. So this was a big problem as by 7:00 a.m. It's a hundred, huh?
Degrees outside so not many people want to go out running in a hundred degrees your dripping sweat all over it's very tiring, but I think depending on the type of weather. So if we kind of like shift, you know, it's January right now. It's cold and most places around the country around the world is, you know, maybe throw some money at the at the problem of saying hey, it's too cold outside. It's you know, 20 degrees outside. I don't want to go running because I don't wanna get my hands are going to be too cold. My feet are going to be too cold.
You know, there's a lot of great. Gear and everything out there that I can't list off the 5 best running gloves because I haven't worn running gloves and a long time. But look what I did go out and I was running, you know growing up in these these very cold weather conditions was a really nice pair of gloves and a good hat and like pants just made the running experience that much better because once you got moving once you're in mile Two Mile Three, you felt warm and you started like sweating and sometimes I would actually take my gloves off so it's like if you invest Good gear.
Its it makes it less painful.
KEITH
I guess if you think about the cold weather I kind of like that juggling in the cold of taking the gloves on and off right like, you know, because it's if you have good gloves, you know, it gets it gets hot in there and then you know, you take them off and you know, you can see the steam coming off your hands and then you know 45 seconds later. They feel like they're frosted frosted a so you think that would be that guy but you know, that's the thing yet. I haven't had to negotiate with Much lately and I miss that a little bit.
Yeah, I mean it is important to have the right gear. If you if you don't have the right tights or you know, breathable stuff. It can be tough as for running in like the rain or the snow rain people have different opinions on rain some people love it. I don't love it. But what I find is You know just like so many things with running if you just why don't you why don't you love it?
SHAWN
I don't know what why don't you love running and drinks? I like running at her age.
KEITH
I don't know. I mean part of it is I almost never wear a shirt when I run I get cold.
SHAWN
And yeah, I'm just like I don't know not wearing a shirt while running is actually way better for the rain because if you have like one of those like ice it is a heavy shirts and they get really really they get heavy when you when they get really wet and it's like sloshing all over the place and it's so hard to take your shirt off when it's wet is miserable.
Yeah. I think I think you're better off a not wearing a shirt when you run your friend the Portland, Maine.
KEITH
Fun in the rain and it rained. I mean it poured at the start port at the middle. The only type of didn't pour was about I want to say seven milliseconds after I cross the finish line sun came out looks like a big loss right Fu um, but yeah, I wore a shirt and then I don't know if this is too much information or not, but it it was chafing my nipples and you know, you get the pictures from the photography people and And yeah, I mean there's just these like red rings in the middle of my chest for the rockets. That was not that was not my most so maybe it's all PTSD from that run Savoy and it was it was before by shirtless running is anyway, yeah, it helps you if you think about your running in these adverse conditions, right you're running this pouring rain you're running I've run through like snowstorms where you couldn't see five feet in front of you which was probably stupid looking back now, but you know it teaches your body to adapt to new situations.
SHAWN
Alice and you become a better it's very similar to like running while you're sore and or fatigued actually improves you improves it is. Hey, if you're used to running in fuse the running and snow then all of a sudden there's not snow like you can run way faster because you can actually grip the ground and have faster turnover better Cadence and ultimately run faster.
So yeah a lot of you to adapt to to a new stimulus.
KEITH
Yeah, like like with so many things with running whether it's too hot or too cold or too hilly. Or you're tired or you're hungover anything that you can do that is different from your normal running routine teach at your body new tricks. And you know, you don't need to be an advanced Runner to take advantage of that. If you do, you know, if you're in a super hot and humid place and you're used to running and cool and dry you'll find that your next few runs it cool and dry will be a little bit easier because your body will have sort of learn this new thing. It's the same like when you're at altitude and you come back down.
Your body is remarkably adaptable. So exposing it to New stimulus teaches it new things and it pays it forward and it makes it less boring. That's right. Yeah. Yeah, it's hard to call extreme weather runs boring. It's it's pretty fun. I've done some rods and some like ridiculous weather and it is fun when people see you I've some stories about This I'll save these for like a later episode. But yeah, you just feel sort of like a superhero when people see running and you know, whether where people wouldn't expect to see it and then it kind of leads you get bragging rights, you know you I I love this is always pouring outside today and then you're hanging out with friends or whatever later like oh, yeah.
SHAWN
I ran like 10 miles or right here.
KEITH
Not sure to post on social media if you if you run in bed bad.
SHAWN
Can I love seeing all the all the folks that we follow on Twitter? And you know right now a lot of our followers are in places where it's snowing. It's really cool. They're posting all these really cool photos of like the lake or the pond iced over then like taking selfies and like, you know wearing like how do I huge Eskimo gear and they're going out for runs? Yeah.
That's way cooler than us saying yes, 55 degrees Yeah Yeah Yeah, it was he was high 40s.
KEITH
I had to wait for the the weather to warm up into the normal low 50s. Yeah, it's it is really impressive that some people go for months and months and months my sister and her wife have been keeping the Run straight going. I'm at 189. So that means they're at 288 today and it's been you know, when the low 20s for a lot of their runs over the last month and they just get out there and do it. It's impressive it. All right. That's probably a good place to wrap up here.
SHAWN
Yeah. Picked a quick way to wrap it up as hey the biggest the biggest things that helpers just get out there right once you putting you can summarize all these excuses and all these different ways to kind of combat that and help you stay motivated and want to keep going but the really the biggest thing is just get out there and put one foot in front of the other and getting out there is better than nothing. If you do two miles that day, it's better than 0 if you do a half mile it's better than 0 and ultimately you're going to go out and say hey, I'm really tired. I might run for three then it's going to turn into six. It's going to turn into 10. I've done that so many times throughout out my running career, but it's always regardless of what the excuse is regardless of like what that like mini hurdle is no matter how kind of taller small it or short it is go out there put one foot in front of the other and you're not you're not going to regret running or getting out there and doing something. I've never regretted a run knock on wood. Maybe one day I will but today I've not regretted saying a should have done that five miles today.
KEITH
Yeah. Yeah. It's a little bit like travel nobody ever regrets going on a trip and it's The same with rang like yeah, it just make a commitment to yourself to try and you'll be surprised how much the inertia of starting carries you forward.
So yeah, I think that's a good place to wrap it up. So that'll do it for episode 6 of the final turn as a reminder. You can find us on Twitter at the final turn pod and check out our new website at the final turn.com. We thank you for the listen, and we look forward to having you back for our next episode.