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Five Things I Learned at Running Camp

June 2, 2016 By: Courtney @ Eat Pray Run DC29 Comments

Happy Friday! You may recall that I recently spent a few days at Zap Fitness running camp. It was a jam packed weekend and I learned so much. For the first Friday in June, our Friday Five theme is fitness and so today I’m going to talk about five things I learned at running camp. Don’t forget to check out Cynthia and Mar and some of the other folks who link up with us – and please don’t forget to link to your hosts if you are participating!

Five Lessons from Running Camp

While at camp we were fortunate enough to have so many educational sessions. I learned a ton but decided today to just share five things I learned at running camp. 

  1. Slow isn’t a dirty word. One of the things we constantly were told was to start slow and then build. It’s great advice and something not a lot of runners are good at. It’s much better to build your pace over the run then start too fast and bonk. We all know this but sometimes it’s nice to have experts not only tell you this but model it over the course of a few days. 
  2. A change can do you good. Zap is located in the North Carolina mountains and most of our runs were on a soft trail. It was awesome. The beautiful scenery, the soft surface, the different air – it all recharged me and I left camp ready for my next training cycle to begin. 
  3. It’s more important to stretch after a run than before. We worked on some mobility drills that are good to do post run and I’ve since added them into my routine at home. I don’t do them after every run (just keeping it real) but I’m trying to make this a habit. One thing that stuck with me was the idea that we should go out and run our long run and then immediately get back in the car and drive home. I’ve done that and it results in me barely being able to walk when I get out the car. Not awesome. 
  4. Yes, you really should warm up before a race. I am terrible about this. Really. BUT I’m going to try it out this weekend at the Zooma Annapolis 10k and see how it goes! Nothing fancy, but a short run (~1 mile) and some light warm up stretches after my body is warm from running. We’ll see how this goes. 
  5. The “other” aspects of running (nutrition, mental preparedness, etc.) matter. A lot. I truly do believe this (especially the mental aspect, which I’ve written about here), but camp helped reinforce that. All the same things can add up to big gains!

Have you learned any running lessons lately? 

DC-Trifecta-Friday-Five-linkup


Comments

  1. Jenn @ Run With Sole says

    June 2, 2016 at 10:27 pm

    Wow, that camp sounds wonderful! I have never done a running camp and so want to someday. There a local womens-only trail running retreat that I may do one of these years. Great tips! I especially agree with… all of them (can’t pick just one!).

    Reply
  2. MCM Mama Runs says

    June 2, 2016 at 11:03 pm

    I’m a big fan of starting slow – I usually run my first mile of a half marathon as a warm up and then just get faster from there. Sounds like a great camp. I’m kind of jealous. ;o)
    MCM Mama Runs recently posted…Home Gym EssentialsMy Profile

    Reply
  3. Lauren says

    June 3, 2016 at 12:23 am

    It looked like you had such an awesome time! Ugh I’m terrible at warming up. I probably should get better at it. I also agree that so many runners think going slow is a bad thing. Sometimes it still takes me a second to pull back and tell myself that slow, easy runs are good for the body and don’t mean anything about my potential paces!

    Reply
  4. Elaine Dusetzina says

    June 3, 2016 at 1:28 am

    I failed to stretch out after my run today. I usually do but I was hot and just wanted to get home. As for running lessons, I talked about it briefly in my last post but running tangents in a race that has many curves and turns on its course. I’m running the RNR San Diego Half this weekend and will be using that strategy.
    Elaine Dusetzina recently posted…Summer Fitness Bucket ListMy Profile

    Reply
  5. Megan @ Meg Go Run says

    June 3, 2016 at 5:10 am

    Those are all great lessons! I used to never, ever stretch but I would say I started doing it after every run about 2 years ago. It was hard to make it a habit but not that it is a habit it’s just a no brainer! Now if I could only get in the habit of flossing!!! I recently read Meb for Mortals and there was a lot of good takeaways and lessons I learned from his book! It was interesting to see how his mind worked and how he approached his training. You would think it would be hard to relate to an Elite but he was actually really relatable with the way he described how he chooses goals, when he thinks he needs a rest day, how he cross trains, things like that.

    Reply
  6. Hollie says

    June 3, 2016 at 6:26 am

    I agree that it’s much better to start off slower. This was a fun read!

    Reply
  7. Wendy@Taking the Long Way Home says

    June 3, 2016 at 6:43 am

    I just love how supportive you birds are of each other! This camp sounds amazing!

    Reply
  8. Erica @ Erica Finds says

    June 3, 2016 at 7:08 am

    I am so jealous of the running camp! I need a recharge like that!! Great lessons learned. I have been running for 20 + years and I still start too fast. I have to work on slowing down my long runs and starting slow and trusting myself to speed up in races, too!

    Reply
  9. Deborah @ Confessions of a mother runner says

    June 3, 2016 at 7:12 am

    looks like you had an amazing time at your camp! Starting slow is hard for me sometimes but I know it’s the way to go. Still working on the mental aspects of running 🙂 Thanks for the linkup

    Reply
  10. Shandy Sanford says

    June 3, 2016 at 7:41 am

    That camp sounds wonderful. Thanks for the great tips.

    Reply
  11. Stacey Privia says

    June 3, 2016 at 7:50 am

    All very good tips and looks like you had an awesome time! I can particularly relate to a change in running scenery-sometimes a good trail is all you need to get refreshed 🙂

    Reply
  12. Meranda@Fairytalesandfitness says

    June 3, 2016 at 7:54 am

    Sounds like a lovely trail. I sometimes use stretching as my pre-run warm up. I suppose that is wrong?

    Reply
  13. Lesley says

    June 3, 2016 at 8:48 am

    I am guilty of getting in my car after a run and driving to the store. Does walking around the grocery aisles count as a cool down?

    Reply
  14. Christina says

    June 3, 2016 at 8:59 am

    Starting slow is so hard! I think the running lesson I learned over the winter is that consistency matters. Just because I can skip runs and be ok, doesn’t mean that it’s good for me; it doesn’t allow me to be my best on race day

    Reply
  15. Kathryn @ Dancing to Running says

    June 3, 2016 at 9:19 am

    Hopefully the warm up routine works well for you tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you at ZOOMA, though I feel like I’m the only one running the half now, lol. That’s okay, but hopefully I’ll still see you before the race starts.
    Kathryn @ Dancing to Running recently posted…Friday Five – What I’m Looking Forward to About ZOOMA Annapolis (and my race goals)My Profile

    Reply
  16. Mar @ Mar on the Run says

    June 3, 2016 at 9:30 am

    sounds like a great experience!

    Reply
  17. Chaitali says

    June 3, 2016 at 9:47 am

    Sounds like a great camp! I’ve done that where I run and immediately get in the car to drive home afterward. Absolutely a mistake. I try to avoid that now after a couple bad experiences.
    Chaitali recently posted…Friday five – Iceland tipsMy Profile

    Reply
  18. Susie @ Suzlyfe says

    June 3, 2016 at 10:02 am

    I would LOVE to go to a running camp. If I could trust my body not to crap out on me! How much fun is this!

    Reply
    • Courtney @ Eat Pray Run DC says

      June 3, 2016 at 10:05 am

      you’d be fine, I think. There were a couple of people nursing injury who just took it very easy and only did what they could!

      Reply
  19. Savannah @ A Hoosier in Colorado says

    June 3, 2016 at 10:11 am

    Sounds like such an awesome time! I would love to hear about the drills!

    Reply
  20. Jen@bubblyrunner.com says

    June 3, 2016 at 10:25 am

    LOVE that you went to camp, it looked like so much fun! I totally agree about the post long-run soreness–I almost never stretch right when I’m finished my run and can barely get out of my car when I arrive back home. I have learned about dynamic stretches before speed work/races, and I do like them and find them helpful. Have fun at Zooma this weekend!
    Jen@bubblyrunner.com recently posted…Getting Out of a Funk+Friday FavesMy Profile

    Reply
    • Courtney @ Eat Pray Run DC says

      June 3, 2016 at 1:23 pm

      Aw, thanks Jen – hope to see you soon!!! Lots of fun team events coming up 🙂

      Reply
  21. Janelle @ Run With No Regrets says

    June 3, 2016 at 10:48 am

    One of my good friends was telling me how she started to warm up before her races and saw a huge difference, so I’m really curious about it! Running camp sounds awesome, I”d love to go to an event like this!
    Janelle @ Run With No Regrets recently posted…Goals for the 1/2 Sauer 1/2 Kraut Half MarathonMy Profile

    Reply
  22. Tricia @ MissSippipiddlin says

    June 3, 2016 at 11:12 am

    This camp sound so nice and in NC wow I bet it was beautiful there too. I have just now settled into learning how to start out slower, I always thought I’m gonna get slow anyway so I may as well go out as fast as I can for as long as I can. Totally wrong but it took many times to learn this.
    Sounds like you had a great time I look forward to hearing more about it. Thank you for the link up.

    Reply
    • Courtney @ Eat Pray Run DC says

      June 3, 2016 at 1:24 pm

      Yes, it is a hard lesson. I’ve basically put on clinics on how NOT to run a race – starting out too fast is the first mistake! 🙂

      Reply
  23. Elizabeth says

    June 3, 2016 at 2:39 pm

    I need to remember slow is not a bad word. I have easy days in my next training plan that are at paces that seem “too slow,” but I know they are there to make up for the strength and speed work days! Have a good weekend!
    Elizabeth recently posted…Race Recap: Medina Half MarathonMy Profile

    Reply
  24. coco says

    June 3, 2016 at 8:12 pm

    Those are great lessons! ///////i would love to go to running camp

    Reply
    • Courtney @ Eat Pray Run DC says

      June 4, 2016 at 8:49 pm

      You’d love it. It was such fun!!

      Reply
  25. Abby @BackatSquareZero says

    June 7, 2016 at 1:46 pm

    Going to a running camp with friends would be the dream girls weekend.

    Reply

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