I have officially begun my “official” marathon training. You may think that I have overused the word “official”, but let me tell you why that word has importance when it comes to training.

One could say that any running I have done prior to running a marathon is “marathon training”, but it’s not. The difference between doing training runs for a marathon and running for overall health or pleasure is staggering. And it’s all based in motivation.

I have discussed motivation in the past, that’s because it’s an especially touchy subject for me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m the most motivated person you will meet, but motivation has a cousin called following through and I happen to suck at that. So what exactly is “official marathon training” and how has it caused me to follow through? I’ll tell you!

“Official” marathon training can mean different things for different people. For some it can be the decision of “I’m going to run a marathon and therefore any running I do from now on will be towards that goal”. It can also be signing up with a coach, or making a schedule, or buying new gear with specific marathon intention. For me it was a combination of deciding to actually run a marathon (and not some fluffy abstract idea of someday running one) and signing up and paying for an online coach.

The day I decided that I really am going to run a marathon was the day that I signed up for the site Runners Connect. Through the website I was assigned a personal coach who made a custom made marathon training running schedule going all the way up to race day on March 18 2016. It includes a vast array of different training runs, strength exercises and a community of other runners who are constantly posting about their similar experiences.

Let me explain how this has made all the difference. Pre-marathon training Katherine would wake up, look outside, decide that today is not the day to go running and go back to sleep Current marathon training Katherine wakes up, looks outside says to herself “it’s either now, or later, but this is going to happen” puts on her running shoes and goes for a run. I can’t afford to not run any more. Every run I do goes towards the goal of running 42 kilometers. If I skip out once, I will allow myself to skip out again and I will not be able to achieve my goal.

Any of you non-runners need an alternative explanation? Here you go: Let’s say you and your friends want to watch the Lord of the Rings movies. If someone says “Hey guys let’s watch the LOTR movies” you will proceed to sit down, watch one movie, say it’s enough and go your separate ways. If you say “Hey guys, let’s do a LOTR marathon” then everyone will bring an array of junk food, pajamas and blankets and prepare themselves for a 9 hour watching experience. The commitment… it means something.

I needed to set a goal and stick to that goal. In the past half a year I have run more than I ever have in my life. I’m currently running 5 times a week. With my longest runs being between 10-15 kilometers and the shortest being 5. Since the beginning of my training I have not missed a single run. I have woken up at six in the morning to get in a run and I have run at ten a clock at night. I have moved around my rest days, but I have always gotten in every single run for that week. I’m doing it all for the marathon.

I used to be easily discouraged. If I didn’t run in the morning, then I wouldn’t run at all that day. If it’s raining, I wouldn’t even go outside. I let myself be persuaded out of running. I would forget how good running makes me feel, because somehow my brain manages to convince me that sleeping in an extra hour feels better. Now that I have a goal, and a big goal at that, I have not allowed myself to be dissuaded. The marathon is bigger than that. I have held myself accountable by telling friends and family of my goal. Heck, I even put it on the internet! If I don’t push myself mentally, then I face the risk of failure… *dum dum dum*.

And that’s all it is really. It’s a mental push. I’m over a month into my “official” training, you know the one with the fancy schedule and coach. Physically, it has been a piece of cake. My training plan is building my body up slowly so that I don’t experience pain or push myself too hard. The physical part is easy, once I get my body outside it knows exactly what to do. It’s getting myself out there. I feel like I have finally found the secret potion that has turned me into a runner. I have found the recipe that takes my motivation and turns into following through. I needed a goal. A big one. What’s yours?

Let’s set the scene. It’s 6:45 am. Outside it is cold, grey and rainy. Inside it is warm, blankety, and cozy. Katherine has just woken up. She picks up her phone. Text message to Dad reads: “Dad, how am I supposed to run when it’s raining?”. Reply reads: “You won’t melt”. Well hot damn. He is right.

Running in the winter. It’s a bitch. It’s cold. It’s the season where Nike wants you to buy their ridiculously expensive dry-fit, yet thermal running gear. It’s the season where you go out for a run and you never put on the right amount of layers. It’s either too much, or too little. It’s the season where hibernation starts to sound really good. Bears definitely have the right idea. Unfortunately, we are not bears. We are people, and this particular person is training for a marathon that is going to take place in March. And before March, comes December, January and February. Even in Jerusalem, those months are cold. So what should one do when trying to run and stay fit while the outside screams at them to go back inside? Here is a helpful list of possible situations and what to do:

1. It’s cold. Answer: put on a sweatshirt and go for a run.
2. It’s raining. Answer: Is it pouring? If so, wait an hour until the rain hopefully subsides a little. If not, put on a raincoat and go for a run.
3. It’s grey and gloomy outside. Answer: It’s just a color. Go for a run.
4. It’s snowing. Answer: Is the snow covering all the pavement? Is it too slippery to run? If not, go for a run. If yes, go over to the nearest gym and hop on the treadmill.
5. I have a cold. Answer: Studies have shown, that running when you have a cold is not bad for you, if of course you are feeling up for it. So basically, go for a run (but listen to your body).

Basically, running in the winter is psychological. I have heard so many people say “I’m usually a really active person, but it gets hard in the winter what with wanting to stay inside wear slippers and drink hot chocolate”. Anyone will want to go for a run on a beautiful, sunny, warm, but not too warm day. It takes a true hero to shed their fleece PJ’s to move their warm body into the stiff freezing cold for a run. Are you a hero?

Remember that 90% of the time you will feel better for having gone on that run. Plus, you will feel excellent when you are eating that warm delicious pastry that you were going to eat anyway, knowing that have been on a run that day.

From an evolutionary standpoint, humans have evolved the ability for long distance running to be able to hunt for food, survive and remain safe. From the safety of bed, with a fridge full of food downstairs, my body really is not understanding the need to go outside and run, but alas. The brain knows that it’s the right thing to do. We feel better after we move. Heck, we evolved to be able to do this. Let’s not let down evolution.

In summary, ask yourself why do you run? Is is to lose weight? To stay healthy? Do you like the feeling it gives you? Are you training for a race? No matter your reason, the goal is clear. It is to run. Don’t let winter bully you out of your intentions. Plus, if you’re lucky, the weather will suddenly clear up for the hour at which you decide to run, like it did for me all of last week. (I have good Karma). Happy Winter Everyone!

P.S. To be opened and read on gross rainy mornings. -Katherine

Running in Jerusalem… and why it’s different from running in most other places.

When most people want to go out for a run the factors that go into it are usually “What’s the weather like? How lazy am I today? Do I have any clean running clothes? Where am I going to run? How long? Etc…”

I too ask myself all these questions, but sometimes I have to ask myself some very “Jerusalem” oriented questions. For example: “Have there been any terror attacks in that area in the last week? Is it safe to be running that close to an Arab village? Which neighborhoods will I be running through today — which translates too: how modest should todays running clothes be?”

I hate these questions. These questions suck. My sole concerns should be clean clothes and weather, but unfortunately they are not. I live in an interesting city. It’s probably one of the most diverse cities on the planet, but with diversity comes it’s own slew of specific problems.

Now, you may be thinking… “but what can you do to change anything? I thought you were just a simple gal trying to run the Jerusalem Marathon?” Well that’s exactly right, I am a gal trying to run the Jerusalem Marathon, but I am also a gal who will be running for peace.

I recently heard of an awesome running group called Runners Without Borders. They are a group of young beginner runners from all faiths who run together for coexistence. After the construction of the beautiful promenade train tracks and bike trail that connected Jewish and Arabs parts of Jerusalem together, running together is the perfect example of how to further incorporate coexistence into our lives and the lives of the citizens of Jerusalem.

I’m hoping to run with the group at the end of this month in their 2nd official 5k race.

I can’t change the entire political situation in Jerusalem, I can’t prevent terror attacks and hatred, but I can set a good example. Exercise is universal (or it should be); it’s not something that belongs to one faith or another. Running together side-by-side will show people that we are not that different. It will show people that we CAN live together, heck, if we can run a marathon together what can’t we do? (I’d like to see Bibi and Abbas run a marathon together, if they can survive that together then they can totally sit down to some friendly stationary peace talks).

Even though the situation here seems pretty terrible, there are still places a few mere kilometers from me where it’s even worse. A Muslim friend of mine and fellow runner was telling me that in Ramallah there is no such thing as going for a “casual run”, he said that if people see someone running they assume something is wrong, either he stole something, was involved in an incident or is being chased by someone. Although my friend may have been joking or exaggerating, this type of mentality is absolutely present in many places in the region we live in.

Another example of this kind of opposition can be seen through Haneen Radi, an Arab-Israeli runner from the town of Tira in Northern Israel. She faced opposition from her community when trying to plan a marathon in her home town. The opposition was to the tune of woman running publicly in clothing that are not deemed modest. Because of this opposition she finds herself running in predominately Jewish areas.

Running together is sending a message to both sides. It is expressing a love of health. It is proving that we can and will run together. That we refuse to be enemies.
One of the most beautiful moments of running in the morning in Jerusalem can be hearing church bells, Jewish morning prayers (or shofar, depending on the month) and the Muslim call to prayer all within the same two minutes. I know that I’m taking the steps that I can to try and live in a Jerusalem where I don’t have to worry about anything other than the weather (which here, is generally pretty great).

Are you?

I eat “pretty” healthy. I’m 95% vegan (with the exception of free-range organic eggs). Being vegan means that a lot of un-healthy foods are automatically ruled out of my diet so that’s a good start. Unfortunately there are a lot of foods that are vegan and yes… unhealthy. For example, did you know that Oreos are vegan? Did you know that most of the classic comfort foods can be reverted to vegan, such as cream cheese, creamy pasta and even pizza (although I will admit that it’s definitely not the same thing).

The first step to eating healthy is asking yourself why you want to eat healthy. The different reasons for eating healthy can make you approach it differently. It can be to lose weight, for health reasons (such as high cholesterol), or just to feel stronger, better and have more energy. My main reason for eating healthier is the latter. To have more energy and give my body the privilege of running on healthy wholesome foods that are not secretly trying to kill it. Although, I won’t complain if I shed a few pounds on the way.

That leads me to another problem. I’m not motivated enough. My whole life I have been a healthy weight. Never skinny, but never fat. Always perfectly average. That’s the thing, I’m not complaining! I’m perfectly happy and content with my average, evenly dispersed weight. So losing weight is not a huge motivator. Eating healthy to feel better can be a confusing motivator because eating Oreos also feels so damn good.

The key to succeeding is finding your own personal motivation. What motivates you is not what’s going to motivate your neighbor. Lack of motivation is one of the hardest things to overcome, so once you figure out what sparks your fire then you will already be WAY more equipped to actually achieving any goals you have. Think back to the time you were most motivated and notice what element motivated you the most.

The month where I got in the most runs was when I was using the Nike+ coaching app. In the coach mode the app showed me a checklist of runs that I had to complete that week, eventually working my up to running a 10K in under an hour. Once I completed the run of the day a little green checkmark would appear next to the run showing it was complete. When I finished a whole week like this then the week would appear green and have a BIG checkmark. It is incredibly satisfying to see the runs you have accomplished lined up with little green checkmarks of approval. It made me never want to miss a run. There was no such thing as “doing it tomorrow”, because if I did it tomorrow I wouldn’t get a check mark.

So, how can I apply this sort of motivation to other aspects of my life? I can start by planning week-by-week. I want to eat healthy this week. What does that mean? It doesn’t mean leaving out the half a teaspoon of sugar out of my tea, it means cutting up watermelon for dessert instead of a baking a delicious vegan pie. When I have a craving I can trick my sweet tooth by eating peanut-butter apples instead of chocolate. When I am feeling lazy I can eat cooked chickpeas instead of cream cheese on toast. At the end of that week, if I succeeded in my goals, I can make an “unhealthy” dessert for me and family to enjoy for Shabbat dinner. Sounds like a plan. Now we wait and see if it happens.

I am a future-oriented thinker. So sometimes I have to scale back and take things week by week or even day by day so I don’t get lost in the planning and day-dreaming part of my goals. Instead of “I want to run a marathon” I need to focus on “this week I want to run at least 20 kilometers”. Instead of “I want to write a blog” I need to focus on “every week I will write one blog post” and instead of “I want to eat healthy” I will take it week by week and pay attention to the food choices I make and exercise self-control when I see I need it.

To summarize, motivation is a bitch. Not having motivation is what makes us sleep in an extra half hour instead of exercising, not having motivation is what makes us grab for the easy un-healthy foods instead of cooking healthy ones. The biggest problem of all is that lack of motivation is sometimes the only thing stopping us from achieving our goals.

So think of what motivates YOU. Make motivation your friend and not your enemy. Think of all the cool things you could be doing if you and motivation are friends. I bet you they are REALLY cool things. They might even be things that make the world a better place.

So what are you waiting for…?

My body is like wack-a-mole when it come to running injuries. One goes away and another pops right up. It all began less than a year ago when I started taking running seriously. At first I was running twice a week. Things seemed pretty good, so I decided to up my running game to three times a week. Things still seemed pretty good, until I started to notice pain in my shins. Some weird inner demon of stubbornness told me to ignore this pain in my shin, claiming that it will go away if I keep running. So that is exactly what I did.

In my defense, I did buy new shoes thinking that fancy footwear would solve my pain problem. It didn’t.

After running a couple months and over 100 kilometers with pain in my shins, I got to the point where I could no longer walk up stairs without wincing. At this point I was starting to get worried. It was time for Doctor Google.

I cleverly self-diagnosed shin splints, one of the most common injuries for runners. The treatment? Stop running! It said it could take up to three months to fully heal.

I’m not gonna lie, I was a bit heartbroken. I had FINALLY gotten into running and now I have to take a three month hiatus? Not cool. But alas, Doctor Google had spoken. No more running.

Two and half months passed and my three month healing deadline was almost up when I had the bright idea of visiting an actual doctor. I was really just hoping to get the OK to get back to running again, so I dragged my butt over to a physiotherapist thinking I would hear a repeat of my trusty Doctor Google’s diagnosis. I was wrong.

Apparently my issue had nothing to do with shin splints and in fact my pain was due to the fact that I was un-flexible. The nerve running down my lower back to my legs was very short and inflexible which resulted in me feeling sharp pain in my shin area every time my legs banged the ground. The solution? Stretching.

Basically, I had stopped running for almost three months, when all I needed to do was perform
several different approved leg stretches throughout the day until I had the flexibility needed to run. So I stretched and flexed and put my running shoes back on. To my amazement the pain subsided. I upped my running to four or five times a week. I started tackling longer runs, more 10k and 15k. I finally felt like a serious runner, but my knees apparently did not.

This week, several weeks after upping my running game I noticed I was feeling some pretty severe pain in my knees and it was always after I had passed the 7-8 kilometer mark. NOT AGAIN.

It’s time to take a step back. After a quick Google search on runners’ knee pain (have I learned nothing?) I discover that I need to start doing strength training on my hips and glutes to make sure they are taking part of the heat when I run. Also, if I know that my knees hurt at 8 kilometers, then I need to not run more than 8 kilometers. I will try a couple weeks of scaling back and strength training (even though I can’t feel my butt for days after I train) if the pain persists I will go, yet again, to the physiotherapist.

The solution seems simple enough, yet it’s incredibly challenging for me mentally. I feel like I just graduated to the “big girl bike” of running and now I have to go and put my training wheels back on.

How do I deal with the frustration of going backwards instead of forwards? By succeeding at the small things instead of failing at the big ones. I had spent so much time trying to over-achieve and become a better marathon-worthy runner, but I kept facing frustration when I wasn’t succeeding due to injury and over-use.

The moral of this story is that when you realize your capabilities and respect them, then you are setting yourself up to succeed in a much healthier way. It’s ok to take the stairs one a time, because you will still get to the top. And maybe next time you can take them two at time, because you will have already succeeded one the first time.

For me, this applies to running, but it also applies to life itself. It’s a friendly reminder to not bite off more than you can chew.
I’m not saying that you should change your goals, I’m just suggesting that’s it’s ok to find different alternative routes to reaching that goal. Ones where you respect yourself and your abilities. The journey doesn’t have to suck.

So here’s to an injury-free marathon! Here’s to succeeding in your goals!
I may run slow… but at least I run.