Why I Race

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Coco

Last week Carla wrote on MizFitOnline about why she doesn’t compete in athletic events, and Roni wrote on Just Roni about why she does. I’ve been mulling the same question for a while.

It’s not about the t-shirts.

Or the finisher’s medals.

It’s not about the post-race food.

20121014-085304.jpg

Except when it is.

It’s not about winning–that only happened once!

It’s a little bit of this–training and racing with friends.

But mostly–for me–it’s this.

Having a race on the calendar makes me more disciplined about my workouts.
I make more of an effort to fit in my workouts even when my schedule gets crazy.
I am less susceptible to the snooze button (except when I’m not!).
I do more challenging workouts–speed intervals, hill repeats.
I make more of an effort to stretch and use my foam roller.
Having a race on the calendar gives me a tangible reason to make myself a priority
when I am faced with competing demands on my time.
Having a race on the calendar forces me to set goals and follow a plan to reach them.


So I can cross the finish line smiling.

Why do you race?

Posted in Fitness | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

The Both/And Of Jesus

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Coco

I first read about “both/and” thinking in O[prah] magazine a few years ago. Instead of approaching a situation/person/problem/issue from an “either-or” perspective, “both/and” thinking asks us to consider whether the possibilities that we are weighing as alternatives might both be true. As Martha Beck wrote in the O article:

What makes a both-and mind-set so powerful is that it takes you beyond the two choices you thought you had. It opens up new, previously unseen possibilities and opportunities.

(Karen C. L. Anderson has written several blog posts on this perspective, including one that touches on the same Martha Beck article.)

Last week, the priest at the church I was visiting brought this way of thinking to the Gospel, and explained the both/and of Jesus.

Jesus calls us to live a much better life than we live. Jesus tells us to love not just our families and friends, but our neighbors and even our enemies. Jesus says we should give not only what we can afford, but the food from our tables and the shirt off our backs. Jesus warns that we are not only not to commit adultery, we shouldn’t even think about it–and I imagine the same goes for the other “shall nots” of the Ten Commandments!

The both/and of Jesus is that He loves us truly, deeply and unconditionally no matter how much we fall short of these ideals. He befriended and blessed tax-collectors, prostitutes, lepers, Samaritans, and other “untouchables” of his day. He greeted them not with shame or disappointment, but with love and acceptance.  He loved them–and He loves us–with full knowledge that they–and we–fall short of the ideals He calls us to. His love and our shortcomings are not either-or, they are both/and.

One of the topics at Fitbloggin’ was self-acceptance, and the difficulty of reconciling self-acceptance with self-improvement. Perhaps Jesus gives us an example of the both/and of self-acceptance and self-improvement. Just as Jesus loves us despite our faults while at the same time calling us to live better lives, we can love–or at least accept–ourselves, while still striving towards self-improvement. Jesus both loves us as we are and invites us to take up our crosses and follow Him.

Posted in My Faith | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Running Out Of Steam (ATM Training)

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Coco

I think I jinxed myself by writing about waking up early to exercise. This week I really stuggled with getting out of bed. Monday was the worst–I slept until 8:00 am! Yes, it was a holiday, but my office was open and I had to go to work. Oops! I can’t say that I followed my training plan this week, but I did get in a few runs to stay on track for the Army Ten Miler next weekend.

Monday (Neighborhood Run)
After dragging myself out of bed, I decided to be even later for work so I could squeeze in a short run. I took my dog and my Garmin, but they both fizzled out.  My dog ran well for the first 2 miles, but then need lots of walk breaks for the next mile, before she perked up for the last (almost) mile home. My Garmin never got a signal, and I didn’t have time to mess with with it. I’m sure I covered close to 3.75 miles.  

Tuesday (Strength Routine)
Elliptical: 10 min warm-up
Strength: I did my full strength routine with three sets of 12-15 reps of different moves.

Wednesday (Treadmill Tempo Run)
After warming up for about 10 minutes I did a tempo run at mostly 3.5 mph, for 30 minutes. For some reason, this workout was really hard. I seriously debated switching to the elliptical several times, but felt like that would be a cop-out on my training, especially after Monday’s easy run. I talked myself into finishing the workout one freaking minute at a time.

Thursday (Mid-Day Walk)
I had an early morning flight for a day trip out of town, and didn’t get home until late. I am giving myself credit for a mid-day brisk walk that was close to 1 mile.

Friday (AM Dog Walk)
I was out cold when my alarm went off, even though I had set it a bit later than usual (5:30). I hit the snooze button until 6:00, and then took my dog for our usual 1 mile walk. I had to get to the office early, so that’s all I had time for.

Saturday (Long Run)
I am meeting my friend for a 7-ish mile run at o’dark-thirty. Knowing that she will be waiting for me should help me heed the alarm clock.

Have you had weeks where you just feel exhausted?

How do you know when to push through and when to give in?

Posted in Fitness, Training Log | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Skirt? Skort? MizFit Has Got You Covered!

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Coco

When I saw this post on MizFitOnline, I really did feel like confetti was in order. I know that Carla has been working for a long time to make these a reality, and I’m so glad everything finally has fallen into place.


Isn’t the design awesome? I’ll tell you more about it once mine arrives!

Not only did Carla design this fun pattern, carefully select the style and fabric, and put the skort through her own rigorous quality control testing (including modeling it at Fitbloggin’!), she has decided to give all of her profits–$5 per skirt–to a charity that is near and dear to her heart: mayan families. (I’ll let Carla tell you why she chose this charity.)

It took me a while to try running skirts, but once I did, I was hooked. Unless I need to wear compression shorts for a long run or to quiet an ITB flare-up, I prefer wearing one of my running skirts. I can’t wait to add this one to my collection!

Do you like running skirts?

Posted in Fitness | 5 Comments

Don’t Be Fooled By These New Grocery Products

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Coco

Is fall a season for new food products? I noticed many *NEW* items at the grocery store this week. These three caught my attention, but ultimately disappointed.

The worst offender was the Yoplait® Simplait yogurt.

Having “just 6 simple ingredients” is nothing to brag about when a few of them don’t belong in yogurt in the first place!

(Reading the rest of the label confirmed that the “cultured” milk includes live active yogurt bacteria cultures).

And the nutrition information as a whole is not very impressive.

Yoplait® Simplait has more calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates and sugar and less protein than the fruit-on-the bottom Chobani® flavors. The pictures here are from the strawberry flavor, but it was basically the same for the vanilla and peach flavors that also were on the shelf.

The second product that caught my attention was in the snack food aisle.


I have issues with the Special K® brand because most of the products are highly processed, refined carbs, devoid of fiber, and bound to leave any dieter **starving**.  These are no exception. How can a product based on popcorn–which is a whole grain and a good source of fiber–have less than 1 gram of fiber in a 28 gram serving?

A closer look at the product description provides the answer. The only thing “popcorn” about this product is the packaging–and the artificial butter flavor:

Grab a satisfying serving of 28 chips for 120 calories. With the delicious taste of buttery popcorn and an irresistible crunch, you’ll never miss the greasy variety again.

The ingredient list confirms that this is yet another highly processed food product:

MILLED CORN, VEGETABLE OIL (CANOLA OIL WITH TBHQ FOR FRESHNESS, PALM OIL, SUNFLOWER OIL), CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF SALT, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CORN GERM, DEXTROSE, NONFAT MILK, MALTODEXTRIN, BUTTER (CREAM, SALT), ANNATTO EXTRACT FOR COLOR, DISODIUM INOSINATE, DISODIUM GUANLYATE.

The last product made me laugh at its prominent gluten-free labelling.

Is it really that hard to find gluten-free deli meat? What is hard to find is deli meat that does not have added sugar, but since I do like that “honey ham” flavor it doesn’t stop me from putting it in my cart.

Have you noticed any new products in your grocery store recently?

Do you read the labels before you buy something new?

Posted in Fitness, Product Reviews | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments