Fast Fashion & Getting Back to my Roots

     When I was 13 every Monday was designated as my "fun run" day. I would wear whatever silly outfit I choose and run 5 miles as slow as I wanted while wearing it. I made running fun! The older I've gotten the more running has transitioned from wacky leg warmers and spaghetti-strapped 5 milers  to coaches in suits, and photographers showing up to practice. Sports bras, running briefs, Garmin watches, workout splits, compression, spikes, flats, trainers, foam rollers, stem therapy, ultrasound massage, weight training, and pool workouts have replaced those fun Monday runs I had as a kid. As much joy and life as I get from running, it's still easy to get sucked into the daily grind. Scheduled 5 am Monday runs before class certainly don't feel fun, throwing up on the infield in front of my team after a hard workout is definitely not fun, and being told I cant eat chocolate or other treats the week of a championship isn't super fun either.

     Lately I've been feeling overwhelmed, maybe  because I haven't ran in 6 weeks as a result of my injury, or because I haven't seen the improvement I've expected of myself as an athlete this past year. I find myself  laying in bed at night worried about being fast enough to complete my ambitious goals. While expressing my worries to my boyfriend he said,

     "Stop thinking about how much you suck and start thinking about how amazing you are. You need to stop focusing on the finish line and look at the bigger picture. You don't run to cross finish lines, it's so much more and you can't forget that."

     Wow! Talk about some incredible advice! It's true though. Focusing on the negative will get you nowhere. Running never has been just about crossing finish lines. It's about the relationship you forge with your body and soul, its about overcoming challenges and pushing past barriers. It's about becoming the best version of yourself. I've always loved running, that's never going to change, but what needs to change is my attitude. Those 5 am workouts may not be as fun as those old dress up days, but they are a gift and I certainly miss them after not being able to run for 6 weeks. Throwing up after a hard workout may not be fun,  but that just means I  pushed my body to its limits doing what I love.

     It's all about perspective. In order to get back to my roots here are some of my favorite Monday workout outfits. Hopefully a little less wacky than they were 7 years ago!

My favorite racing kit: Nike flats, Garmin watch, Saucony singlet, and Asics running undies

I like to keep everything light when I'm racing with no bulky fabrics, in fact if I'm racing on the track  my pants are the first to go and then I ditch my socks because who needs those!?

The perfect long/temop run outfit: Nike singlet, Nike pro spandex, Garmin watch, and pink trainers

If I'm going out for longer than an hour run I like to keep things simple, too much fabric creates too much heat. It's always better to go into your long run a bit chilly than having to haul layers of clothes for 14 miles that you don't really need  

Speed/track work outfit: Nike flats, Nike pro spandex, sports bra, and optional Asics rain jacket

If I'm doing speed work on the track I prefer not to wear that much clothes. Shirts and even some singlets cause chafing, overheating and lots of sweating. It's easier to maximize your running economy when you don't have any restricting fabrics getting in the way while you're sprinting for your life around the track

Chilly weather running gear: synthetic long sleeve, mesh cotton tights, Garmin watch, and mint trainers

Chilly running weather can be perfect! It's a whole lot easier on your stomach when you're not overheating. If I feel hot during my run I get nauseated and sick! This outfit would be something to wear between 50-60 degree weather during any easy run, it has breathable fabrics that allow you to still sweat it out but stay warm in the process!

Working On Working Out

     Working out is hard. Working out while your injured is a lot harder! I've dealt with an abnormal amount of running related injuries in my athletic career and have learned a couple things along the way. The best thing to do when you're injured or just beginning to workout again is to consult your physician, physical therapist, coach or trainer. They can help you design a workout and rehab plan that is best for your body.  My workout plan currently involves hardly any cardio in order to allow my bone to heal, resistant exercises to rebuild leg power and a lot of upper body exercises to maintain core strength. Of course I'm missing running so much, but these exercises keep me focused and strong for the upcoming high mileage and speed workouts of this cross country season once I can run again. Five weeks post stress fracture here is what I'm doing now!

Warm Up
(Without the boot)

• Biking 15-30 minutes

Upper Body

(With the boot, all free weight 5-20 pounds, standing)

• 3x15 bicep curls
• 3x10 arm extensions
• 3x7 heavy triceps dips, 3x10 halfway triceps dips w/ less weight
• 3x50 running arms, focus on form
• 3x10 90 degree shoulder rotations
• 3x5 one arm dumbbell snatch
• 3x10 shoulder press

Core

(Without the boot)

• 2x 10 minutes, 1 minute per exercise, no stopping

Hips & Butt

(Without the boot, no weight)

• 3x10 squat walks w/ resistant band
• 3x10 clam shells w/ resistant band
• 3x20 bridges w/ resistant band
• 3x10 double leg calf raises, 3x10 single leg calf raises
• 3x3 sets of 3 booty leg raises: fire hydrant, straight back leg raise, and sideways leg raise
• 3x10 resistant band strides
• 3x3 sets of 4  ankle flexion exercises w/ resistant band

    Depending on the pain level in my leg I will do these exercises every day to every other day. They keep me fit while building back the strength in my atrophied leg. There are some day's when I can only do 20 minutes of bike riding and then have to call it quits, but then there are other days where I'm completely pain free and ready to take on the whole workout. It's such a difficult transition for me when I'm injured. Creating a balance of rehab and rest is something that I normally don't like to do when I'm healthy. Training for me has always been long morning miles, afternoon speed workouts on the track, and evening weight lifting sessions at the gym. But when I'm injured I have to dial back and reel myself in. Giving your body the rest and allowing yourself to heal in the time frame that your injury requires is more important than maintaining your pre-injury fitness level.

    Whether you're coming back from an injury or beginning to workout again after some time off listening to your body is always key. Hopefully this workout plan shows how injuries are not setbacks and only require modifications your physical activity, not a complete stop to it.

You're Stronger Than You Think

     It's been a month since I've been in the boot and I should be happy because I am making significant progress. I can now walk around the house and yard without it on for short periods of time and I can do 10 right leg calf raises when a week ago I couldn't even do one. I should be feeling proud of myself. But instead I'm so frustrated. Tonight wasn't a good night for me.

     I took my pink sneakers off after icing both my injured and non-injured lower legs and really looked at the difference between them. As a long distance athlete I've always prided myself on having a strong body;  strong legs, strong core, strong arms, strong heart. Tonight I broke down in tears as I saw a tiny, unmuscular, atrophied right leg next to my muscular, defined, much larger left leg. I felt completely defeated and didn't even recognize my body. How am I ever going to get back to where I once was? I asked myself along with so many more questions. I should be riding the bike longer. I should double up on rehab. I should be working out harder. All these nasty thoughts popped into my mind as I sat there holding my slightly sore, very atrophied right leg while crying, trying to fix my current situation.

     I think any athlete can empathize with what I've been going through. Yes, I have had a stress fracture before, but it was in my left foot and the stakes weren't as high because I wasn't a college athlete then. All I've been thinking about is showing up to my transfer school unprepared to run for my new team. I don't want to let my new coaches down, I don't want to disappoint my teammates, I don't want to not meet my goals, and I certainly don't want to get reinjured. URG!!!!

     It's been a tough road. My running career has had a lot more injuries than most, especially for someone as young as I am. I just want it so bad! I want to be out there on the starting line, healthy, fast and strong. I want to be the most powerful athlete I can be. My stress fracture isn't a roadblock down the path to my dreams, its just a detour on the way. Even though it's incredibly discouraging to see my atrophied leg it's still the same leg. This fractured leg is still the same leg that's ran tens of thousands of miles, won countless amounts of races, competed in nationally ranked championships, and raced to the tops of mountains. This atrophied leg is still strong. It always has been and it always will be. Just because it hurts to take the dogs outside for the bathroom or walk upstairs doesn't mean that I wont be back to where I used to be. Give me a 3 or 4 months and I'll probably be complaining about morning workouts, weekend long runs and sore muscles. My legs will look the same and I will look back on this injury knowing it was just another challenge. Nothing worth loosing my mind over.

    The truth is if you love something you're going to get hurt. Regardless of what you love and the precautions you take. If you put your heart and soul into something you're going to get hurt and that's not a bad thing. If you never get hurt it either means you aren't trying hard enough or you don't care. That's what I love about running some much, you can pour your whole soul into it and amazing spectacular things come as the result. But sometimes they don't. And when they don't it sucks and you might cry a little. But for me the good always outweighs the bad. Even without legs I'd still find away to run because gosh darn it that's just what I do.And I don't plan on letting any setbacks stop me because in the end there is no finish line.

You Don't Need a Team to Have Teammates

     It's so hard to motivate yourself to get out there and run. It's hot, it's cold, you didn't get enough sleep last night, you haven't hydrated enough all morning, you're feeling too sore from running yesterday. Or maybe, you think, this will be the run where you get hit by a car coming too fast around that blind corner you've always been scared of- better stay inside just in case and avoid immediate death. Even if you've been running for most of your life, it's still easy for those excuses to creep up and make you second guess going for a run. One thing I've learned is the importance of teammates. They force you out of your comfort zone and hold you accountable for being lazy.  However you don't necessarily need a team to have teammates. Some of my closest teammates are not even runners themselves. When I got injured a couple months ago with my stress fracture I was devastated. I don't know what I would've done without the help of my teammates.

     The week after getting in my boot, my teammate Cynthia who had a hamstring strain at the time, called me after classes and dragged my butt to the gym. She exiled me to the corner with all the free weights and told me to lift until my arms couldn't move and then do some core. Until the morning I flew out from the airport for the summer, Cynthia was there every day making me go to the gym with her to workout even though we were both injured. She would'nt take any excuses and said that my fractured leg didn't change the fact that I was still an athlete. She drove me to rehab five times a week and always made sure I iced. Before we both got injured she paced all of my workouts and ran in lane two on the track side by side me, encouraging me when I lost form or got tired. She cheered me on during workouts and made me get up early for our weekend long runs. She was with me through some of the hardest track workouts I've ever ran in my life. If it wasn't for her I have no clue what I would've done this last track season. Cynthia is the realest teammate and one of the most important running buddies I've ever had. She held me accountable to my goals and made sure that I literally stayed on track. To me that's what true friendship, sportsmanship and being a teammate is all about.

 

     For six years Kaili Keefe was my teammate. We ran track and cross-country together from 7th grade junior high to our senior year of high school. We ran almost every workout together and almost every race together for six years. Senior year we both signed to run for Eastern's. Her to Eastern Washington University, me to Eastern New Mexico University. Kaili always pushed me to do my best. One particular time during our junior year of cross country,I had gotten mono and was incredibly sick for half of the season. I lost weight and could hardly run. During the district championships she looked at me on the starting line and told me to do whatever it took in order to run the race. The gun went off and we sprinted those first few meters of the race until our pack found its rhythm. I struggled to stay with her and every time I dropped back she would yell at me saying, "Emily you can do it!" On the last 800 meters of the 5k race, I had lost pace. I was exhausted but refused to stop. Kaili turned the corner from first place and yelled with what she had left, "Come on Em!" Because of her I finished that race, broke 20 minutes in the 5k for the first time, and came in top ten, individually qualifying for state. Kaili never allowed me to give up on myself and always pushed me to be my best. Now she's crushing times and breaking records at EWU and I couldn't be more proud of her! Her encouragement and friendship helped both of us become the athletes we are now and I can't wait to meet up for some runs this August when I fly back home to Washington!

     Sometimes our closest teammates don't necessarily have to be on the team with us. When I was in eighth grade as a 13 year old, a boy named Kyle Wilkinson asked me to run a local race with him. Knowing that I could never turn down an opportunity to race, of course I said yes! Five years later when we were both 18 we sat in the back of our AP Writing class, giving the teacher an impression that we were doing our work when in reality we'd google mapped all of our favorite hiking trails together. It only took a week or so for that boy to take me hiking, meet my parents, and start going to the gym with me twice a week to lift legs. Kyle completely changed my life. I went from the very self-conscious girl who did nothing but run to a self-confident woman who could do anything she put her mind to. Kyle was there for all my senior track races, cheering for me just as loudly if I lost or won. He reminded me to follow my dreams, eat enough protein, and find balance in my life. Almost two years after that first hiking trip Kyle is still here encouraging me today. I have never been with anyone so willing to sacrifice in order to see me achieve my goals. He has bought plane tickets, driven for hours, given up his time and sleep to come support me and make sure that I feel loved. He's taught me to open up to other things than just running and even taught me how to fish. Kyle is my best friend, and the best teammate I've ever had.

     Having a support system is extremely important. I'm so grateful for all the many people in my life who've cheered me on. It's a whole lot easier to accomplish your goals when you've got your closest teammates holding you accountable. You don't need a team to have teammates, and you certainly don't need a team to be a teammate yourself. Magic happens when people decide to lift each other up and support each other's dreams!

Scary Things are Good

     Prior to graduating high school I took a road trip down to Oregon with my mom and some friends to go white water rafting. At some point along the river our guides pulled over and pointed to a cliff towering above us saying, “Who wants to jump off?” For a while no one spoke and just stared at the monstrous cliff in front of us. After what seemed forever, with a giant pit in my stomach I nudged my friends and said, “We have to do it or else we’re going to regret it later.” My pride always makes me do stupid, stupid things. Only three of my friends agreed with me and we silently jumped out of our boats, marched on shore behind our guides and climbed to the top of the 40 foot cliff. It was terrifying to see everyone else in our party sitting in the water looking up at us wondering what the heck we were doing, the water was so far away and my stomach started to churn. Our river guides showed us the safest way to jump off the cliff and then asked for a first volunteer. My stomach drastically sunk as I realized I had brought all my friends up here with me and therefore I had to be the first to jump. My toes curled in my water shoes. I climbed to the ledge looked at my friends and at the water 40 feet below, then without thinking I mustered up all my courage and flung myself into the unknown.

     It was the most painful splash I’ve ever experienced and I was bruised for a couple days on my arms and legs from landing wrong, but my pride was saved and I conquered something I was terrified to do.

     This was the exact feeling I had 10 months ago when I boarded a plane with a one way ticket from Washington to New Mexico. I was terrified to be moving 1,512 miles away from my family, my high school sweetheart, the mountains and my old team. The fear of a new culture, living on my own, going to school, and getting my butt massively kicked by women who were way better athletes than I was almost paralyzed me. But I had to do it. I had to move across the country and follow my dream to be a college athlete. Nothing else was or is as important as following that dream. So I took a step up to the ledge and flung myself over.

     No one had told me that we would have practice three times a day. A 6 mile run in the morning at 6 am, speed workouts in the afternoon at 3pm and weightlifting in the evening from 5-6pm. The miles racked up and every Monday I would end up running 13-15 miles depending on the workout. My booty wasn’t just massively kicked. It was kicked, chopped, cooked and then served back to me like a tenderized steak by every single teammate who was faster than I was. I started to think that my dream of running cross country and track collegiately was some masochist desire that needed to be treated with intensive therapy and counselling. Those first couple months until I really transitioned from a high school athlete to a college athlete were pretty darn rough. There were mornings I would run until my feet would bleed and then slap on all the Band-Aids, gauze and blister cream before going to class and then running all over again in the afternoon. I questioned every desire I ever had to be a runner. In the evenings when my roommate would go out and I was stuck lying in bed trying to soothe my destroyed muscles, I would look at my pile of running shoes and curse Nike, Asics, Altra, Hooka, Adidas, and every other running company I knew for contributing to this sport and thus ruining my life.

    Don’t let me fool you, even though I was suffering to the extreme, I still loved every minute of it. I look back on those first couple months and don’t regret any mile. But I’m not going to sugar coat anything, becoming a college athlete really stunk. Every day I thought I was going to die as my coach and teammates pushed me to my physical limits. Since those first months I have gone on to race for the XC LSC Championships in Texas where our team placed second, and in the NCAA Division II South Regional Championships in Colorado as the only freshman on the team. Sadly my track season wasn’t as exciting, I ran two races, both with subpar results as I struggled with a tibial stress fracture. However I became stronger than I’ve ever been and learned more about myself as an athlete than I ever have.

     Coming to a realization the second semester of my freshman year, I knew I needed to transfer. I was unhappy, lonely, and constantly in GI distress from the ridiculously spicy food New Mexican’s love to eat. Seriously guys, hot chili peppers create loads of problems during long runs! I needed to go back to what was familiar where I would receive more support and feel more comfortable to live the PNW lifestyle I was so used to. After months of fear I decided to take another leap into the unknown and received permission to transfer to Central Washington University to run for the team and study pre-medicine. I am so grateful for the friendships and teammates I have made down South; as bittersweet as it is to be leaving them I am ecstatic to remain true to myself and move cross country yet again in pursuit of my athletic career and dreams.

     As I prepare for my 13 hour flight back home in two days I now know that sometimes we have to do crazy, stupid things to chase down our dreams. I’ve always believed that if you want something you must go after it. No one is going to give you what you want except yourself. NO MATTER how terrifying this is, you absolutely have to take that step off that cliff, fling yourself into the unknown and make your life happen. We either have to choose to run our life or let our life run us. And since life isn’t stopping, I’d rather race alongside it. It’s idiotic to let fear stop you from accomplishing your biggest dreams and ambitions. Even if you get bumped and bruised along the way, every step and  mile toward your goals are worth it. Because after all, there is no finish line.

        

What's Your Sub 2?

News flash! The fastest marathon on record is 2 hours 2 minutes and 57 seconds. This last weekend in Italy, Nike took 3 of the top marathoners in the world and raced them on a staged course in attempt to break 2 hours in the marathon. Eliud Kipchoge from Kenya finished in a staggering time of 2 hours and 24 seconds. That’s a 4:36 mile for 26.2 miles straight!!! Not only was this feat incredibly inspirational to watch, the commenters were inspirational as well. Shalane Flanagan, one of my all time running heroes, quoted Kipchoge with, “The world is only 25 seconds away from breaking 2 hours. What’s your version of sub 2?”

Ok, so marathons are long, people who run them are crazy, in fact all runners are crazy- But how does this apply to you?

“What’s your version of sub 2?”

What I love most about running is how it’s a metaphor for life. Running teaches you how to have the endurance, patience, and work ethic for every obstacle life throws at you. Lately I’ve been struggling with my own breaking 2: an ironic event we’ll call “breaking tibia.” A couple months into my track season I started having a lot of lower leg pain, calf tightness and some sneaky shin splints. I blew it all off as the normal pains of running. Running’s supposed to hurt, right? If it doesn’t you’re probably subhuman or something. I decided to just deal with the pain and continued running 60-70 miles a week to train for the 10k in the LSC Championships. I definitely learned my lesson April 7^th  on the West Texas track when 2 laps into my 5k race all the sudden my right leg popped. Like my shin  actually popped. I tried to subdue my panic. I was pretty concerned but being the stubborn person I am, I didn’t pull out of the race and ran the last 10 laps on what I know now was a broken leg. Lesson learned, running is supposed to be uncomfortable but if it’s painful DO NOT RUN until your leg breaks, take the time to heal. As consequence for not taking care of myself I am now in a boot for a month and forced to go to the gym to rehab and lift weights while all my teammates continue to run. Am I a little salty about it? Absolutely.

I think everyone has their own version of a sub 2 marathon.  Maybe it's a financial sub 2 you just can't seem to get over. As a broke college student I can relate! Maybe it's a temporary physical sub 2, my fractured leg for example. Maybe you have this goal that you just can't seem to reach no matter how hard you try. Maybe you struggle emotionally and can't break the tape on that sub 2 course. A lot of the time we get too focused on the end goal to appreciate the journey. All I saw was the finish line; I didn't fully take for granted the workouts that made me strong, the sleep and food that built up my sore muscles, or even the fact that running in college itself is an amazing opportunity. I beat myself up when I didn't produce the results. My goal of being the fastest long distance runner at age 19 that I could ever be during THIS 2017 track season clouded my judgment. I forgot to be patient with myself and in the end I learned a not so very fun lesson. I think it's important with any sub 2 that you remain patient with yourself and take a step back from your goals to assess the journey. It's all about the journey; what did you do to get where you are now? How has that shaped your life? I bet when Eliud Kipchoge hit mile 20 during the marathon he thought about all the training he did to get to that moment and used his journey to push him through those last excruciating miles. He never lost  faith in himself or what he did to prepare. This is what's most important , it's not necessarily the results that matter most, it's all about the process you take to get there. Because in the end, there's really no finish line.

 

Where it all Started

It all started when I was an 8 year old little girl. Pony tail tied back, bright blue anxious eyes, a baggy t-shirt and some generic sneakers on the starting line of my first race. I had no clue that those first steps towards the finish line was the beginning of a journey I have yet to finish 12 years later. Let me introduce myself, my name is Emily Lewis and I am completely in love with running. Not a fitness hobby kind of love, more like a "leaving-your-family-and-boyfriend-and-moving- across- the -country- to- run" kind of love. I've been running competitively for almost 12 years now and throughout the thousands upon thousands of miles I've logged, its taken me on some pretty fantastic adventures.
So back to the beginning, I ran my first race when I was 8 years old. My best friend's older sister would time us as we ran around the block, 4 times equaled a mile. I remember running as fast as my little legs would let me because I wanted to win and I liked the feeling in between my feet hitting the pavement. That flying feeling. When I was 12 years old I joined my first cross country team and set a course record at our home meet, beating all the boys. When I was 13 I trained for and won my first half-marathon. At age 14 I joined my local high school and track team and quickly found out that I was not as great of a runner as I thought.
What a relief!
I continued to run all throughout my freshman to senior year for the cross country and track team. By the end of my freshman track season after the state championships I began to think to myself, "Maybe I could do something with this. Maybe I could take running with me after high school." I would pour myself into YouTube races, watching incredible women run championship races that I couldn't even dare to dream of running in. When I was 17 I got very sick and almost missed out on my junior cross country season. However, by the grace of God, my incredible coach or who knows what, I managed to run my way to the state championships and later race for nationals in the West Regional Footlocker Championships down in California.
After that race I really started to believe in myself as an athlete. I started considering colleges to run for and by senior year was contacting many college coaches. Fast forward to November 2015 when I flew down to New Mexico to tour Eastern New Mexico University and meet the coach. It was all too surreal, my biggest dreams all the sudden were a reality. I was fast enough that someone wanted me to run for them. Not just someone, a college coach. I was over the moon! I excitedly accepted my scholarship contract without a doubt and signed as a two sport athlete to ENMU. Cross country and track. Upon graduating high school I packed my suitcases, said goodbye to my family, my darling boyfriend, the PNW, and everything else I knew and moved down to New Mexico to very literally chase my dreams.
I had absolutely no clue what I was in for.
Eastern New Mexico University is located in Portales, New Mexico, if you havent heard of it, that's ok, neither had I. Imagine a dusty western town complete with sagebrush and upset dehydrated grass right on the border between Texas and Mexico. For someone coming from Washington it was a culture shock!
Needless to say my freshman year running collegiately has been an emotional, fast paced, incredible experience that I wouldn't trade for anything. Running for ENMU has taken me to New Mexico,
Colorado, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and many other places. I discovered more about myself as an athlete than I ever had before. I grew to really love my team but the longer I stayed in Portales, the more I realized I needed to come home. As the school year comes to an end and I pack my suitcases full of running gear to fly back home, I am proud to announce that I am following my heart and transferring to Central Washington University to run cross country and track. I can't wait to see where this next journey will take me. There is no finish line!