Staffer Maria and her partner, Walt enjoying the beauty of Glacier National Park.
February e-news!
In this E-News
- Heart Thumping Mile Challenge!
- Heart Pumping Hill Challenge
- Cupid's Gear Picks
- 5 Reasons to Love Running Alone (and how to do it safely)
- February Virtual Events
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Pick a flat course or head to a nearby track and give it a good, hard effort while running a mile (and don't forget to warm up your muscles first!). Then, anytime in February, head back to the same mile course or track and see if you can beat your previous time! If you succeed, you’ll be in the running for one of four $25 store gift certificates.
What to do after completing both of your heart thumping mile attempts? Email us at runners@fairhavenrunners.com with both your times (be sure to time yourself) and if you ran even faster the second time around, you’ll be entered in the gift card drawing.
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A Fairhaven Runners & Walkers Strava Club Event
Run/speed hike/scamper up any steep 1k(ish) road or trail section at a good, hard effort (it’s okay if it’s shorter, it just needs to be at least 200 feet of elevation gain in your climb). Then revisit that route anytime later in February and see if you can go even faster. If you succeed, you’ll be in the running for one of four $25 store gift certificates.
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Send good vibes with Pro-Tec's Orb Activate. This vibrating massage ball will stimulate your muscles to increase circulation and enhance recovery and performance. Great for targeting the hamstrings, glutes, and calves! With three different vibration settings, you can get just the right level of intensity.
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Some Honey for your Honey! In addition to Honey Stinger Energy Chews that have been ever popular for long hikes, trail runs and bike rides, we now carry the Honey Stinger Plus Performance Chews! Compared to the energy chews, the performance chews have an extra boost of caffeine (75mg per serving) and sodium (160mg per serving) for those higher intensity endurance events, like racing marathons.
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Show your support by giving a pair of the Mizuno Wave Inspire 17 with a soft yet stable ride for the overpronating runner or walker. New ENERZY foam in the heel makes this year's Inspire even more cushioned than ever.
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Brighten their day with the Petzl IKO CORE Headlamp. At $90 for 500 lumens and a lightweight design that sits on top of your head rather than strapped around it, this headlamp is a steal! One cool feature is its ability to fold into a lantern using the storage pouch! Nifty for camping.
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Wrap them in luxury with the Sporthill Dash Top. This ultra soft half zip will have them wanting to hug themselves, and you'll want to hug them, too! Great for winter, spring, and fall temperatures, this great half zip is a core piece for the runner, walker, or general outdoors lover.
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Keep them safe with Nike's Run Division Flash Jacket. This jacket is a star in low light conditions with its big hits of reflectivity on the hood and arms. It is wind and water resistant with zippered paneling for venting and breathability. Staffer Lydia has had her eye on this piece since it arrived.
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Part of Taj Williams' graffiti mural down by Bellingham's Waypoint Park, a happy discovery on one of staffer Sierra's solo Sunday long runs. |
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Some of my very favorite things include traveling to new places, hearing my fiancé Dillon's happy voice, giggle-inducing people like Josh Vander Wiele (Happy Birthday!!), that first cheesy, saucy and world shifting slice of pizza when starving, meal planning, essentially anything cat related, and running alone. While exploring unknown trails and pondering life lessons with a good friend is also fulfilling, nothing compares to a good solitary run. Here are a few of my “why's" for anyone who struggles to get moving without their preferred training partner.
Own Space/Own Pace: I like to run alone for the peace of it. Going earlier in the morning or during cold, rainy days helps me achieve an alternate world where I am one of the few people in it. No distractions. Occasionally creating your own space to run leaves you free to go the pace and distance you feel like. This is beneficial if you are training for something specific, like a new marathon personal record. Maybe one day you decide after a half mile out that you need to call it a day, but then the next day you feel rejuvenated and speed along effortlessly. Always running with a faster partner could leave you struggling to recover and at greater risk for injury. Running alone helps you develop the crucial skill of listening to your body.
Mental Strength: If the idea of running a hard workout alone seems unbearable, maybe you should try it. Having a team or friend to carry, push, and inspire you is certainly powerful, but completing something challenging on your own holds its own power. I did a lot of my workouts for my first marathon alone. Sometimes I warmed up and went home (listen to your body/heart). Sometimes I straight up crushed it, and these were big confidence boosters. “If I can do that alone, then I can definitely hit my goal.” Sometimes I struggled, but got it done, and these were the ones that meant something. This is how you practice pushing through walls when you find yourself in the dead zone or “no man’s land” during a race setting. If you can push when no one else is there to see if you let up, you can conquer.
Nirvana: A true runner’s high is an incredible experience. I’m not talking about the energy buzz you get when you finish a run or other workout. I’m talking about those rare moments when true ecstasy fills every fiber of your being. For me it’s similar to “flow”, a term from sport psychology, where an athlete becomes one with the task at hand, everything is effortless, and they are “in the zone”, but with more emotion. It’s fleeting, and hard to recreate. I can envision a specific section of the Interurban Trail where I have experienced runner’s high a couple of times. I’m in the middle of a 8-12 mile run and I come upon an island view to the right and, at this moment, a few rays of sunshine streaming through the trees. I’m going at a slightly quicker pace than typical for me, and all of the sudden I am overcome with this intense mix of joy and love and hope and peace and electric energy that makes me feel like I could solve all of the world’s problems and, that maybe, I already have the answers. It’s such an overwhelmingly emotional and spiritual experience that I’m not only on the verge of laughing, but crying at the same time. If you’ve never experienced this, you might think I’m out of my mind. If you have, you understand. If you want to, it’s one of those things I believe you can only experience when running alone.
Daydream Believing: While running, I have qualified for the Olympics, discovered the cure to cancer, written an award winning novel, won singing competitions, and discovered a hidden talent for salsa dancing while traveling to a foreign honeymoon destination. In real life, I am tone deaf, probably not going to the Olympics, and fail miserably to remember more than two contiguous steps in a fitness class let alone a dance class where you have to do it all to a beat. However, when I’m running, anything can happen. Envisioning yourself reaching your goals also makes you more likely to achieve them. If you can see it, you can be it.
Venting/Problem Solving: Dillon and I are building a house. Sometimes it’s stressful and makes us both irritable. Maybe we get in an argument about what kind of door to put where and I say “I don’t care that much. Let’s just keep it the way it is then. I need to go for my run.” And I leave and start running, not feeling so good. It’s hard to be frustrated and run at the same time because you need to also breathe to run. The first mile, my brain vents and lays out all of my feelings. Breathe. The next mile, I am anxious and hope that I didn’t hurt his feelings too badly. Breathe. The following mile, I think about how grateful I am to even have the opportunity to build on his generous parents’ property. Breathe. The fourth mile I'm convinced that even if he tells me the only possible door that can work for our house is a gigantic stop sign shaped, camouflage decorated, singular entrance door then I will be so excited for it and our life together. Breathe. The final mile, because I'm “Daydream Believing” (see above), a mysterious old man pops out from his beautiful million dollar home on the trailhead and says “I see you running by every day, and I sure wish I could still run. I’m moving to Arizona, but let me sell you my home for $500.” After the run, I return to my sweet smiling Dillon who has made me breakfast, we apologize, and all is right again.
“What if I don’t feel safe running alone?”
For remainder of article, including safety tips, read here.
Hope you catch a bit of that runner's high on your next outing!
Happy solo running,
-Sierra
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Chuckanut 50K Segments & Full Course Challenge January/February/March
Run on the actual Chuckanut 50K course or just mimic the miles and elevation from elsewhere when completing February's segment challenges, including the up, down and all around the Chuckanut Mountains "Middle 18" mile segment. Register here.
Bellingham Multi-Sport Challenge
February 1st - 28th
Build healthy habits, exercise, log your workouts and win prizes! Walk, ruck, run, paddle, hike, row, skate, erg, disc golf, bike, swim, etc. - anything that involves distance counts. Details
Fairhaven Runners Heart Thumping Mile Challenge
February 1st-28th
Pick a flat course or head to a nearby track and give it a good, hard effort while running a mile (Don't forget to warm up your muscles first!). Then, anytime in February, head back to the same mile course or track and see if you can beat your previous time! If you succeed, you’ll be in the running for one of four $25 store gift certificates. Details
Fairhaven Runners Heart Pumping 1km Hill Challenge for Strava Members
February 1st- 31st
Run/speed hike/scamper up any steep 1k(ish) road or trail section (it’s okay if it’s shorter, but it just needs to be at least 200 feet of elevation gain in your climb) at a good, hard effort. Then revisit that route anytime later in February and see if you can go even faster. If you succeed, you’ll be in the running for one of four $25 store gift certificates. Details
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Fairhaven Runners and Walkers
1209 11th Street
Bellingham, WA 98225
360-676-4955
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Store Hours:
Monday-Saturday 10am - 6pm
Sunday 11am - 5pm
360-676-4955
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