Working Out On The Road (ATM Training)

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Coco

This week brought my first of four business trips this month, and my first of three weeks in a row of driving up to my son’s college (Parent’s Weekend, fall lacrosse tournament, Fall Break). Still, it was pretty easy to stick to my training plan for the Army Ten Miler.

Monday (Strength Routine)
I started with my current plank routine:
0-1:30 ~ 27 sec front plank on elbows/3 sec rest X 3
1:30-2:30 ~ 8 sec side plank on elbow, top leg raised/2 sec rest X 6
2:30-3:30 ~ 8 sec side plank on elbow, top leg raised/2 sec rest X 6 (other side)
3:30-5:00 ~ 27 sec front plank/3 sec rest X 3
5:00-6:00 ~ 8 sec side plank on elbow, top leg raised/2 sec rest X 6
6:00-7:00 ~ 8 sec side plank on elbow, top leg raised/2 sec rest X 6 (other side)
7:00-8:30 ~ 27 sec front plank on elbows/3 sec rest X 3
8:30-9:30 ~ 8 sec side plank on elbow, top leg raised/2 sec rest X 6
9:30-10:30 ~ 8 sec side plank on elbow, top leg raised/2 sec rest X 6 (other side)

I also did my full strength routine with three sets of 12-15 reps of different strength moves.

Tuesday (Easy Neighborhood Run–4.25 miles; 41:05, avg. pace 9:34 min/mi)
My legs were feeling my weekend bike ride (20 miles!) and Monday’s strength routine, so I just went for an easy run–choosing a mostly flat or downhill neighborhood route.

Wednesday (Strength Routine–Doubletree Chicago)
I was pleased to see a full set of weights in the hotel gym.


After warming up on the fancy elliptical I did my planks and my full strength routine.

Thursday (Treadmill Speed Intervals)
After warming up for 15 minutes (5 min walking, 10 min running) I did 30 minutes of 2 minute speed intervals with a 1 minute recovery interval at 6.0 mph:
3 intervals @ 6.7 mph
3 intervals @ 6.8 mph
3 intervals @ 6.9 mph
1 interval @ 7.0 mph
I had to refill my water bottle halfway through and I was still sweating after my shower! 😛

Friday (Planks & Yoga)
I wasn’t in the mood for my full plank routine, so I did a few planks using the morning news to time my segments. I did three front planks for 1 story each, and 2 sets of side planks for two commercials each. Then I did the Twists program from my Rodney Yee AM Yoga For Your Week DVD.

Saturday (Long Run)
My friend was sick with a chesty cough, so I was on my own again this weekend. I decided to try a different neighborhood route with even more hills than usual. The first and longest hill was 0.6 miles. Other long hills were 0.4 miles, 0.4, miles, 0.3 miles, and 0.5 miles. I got back to my neighborhood at 9.25 miles, so I ran up the last hill–the same hill as my first hill–for 0.25 miles, ran down, and ran back up. That should be good practice for the overpass at the end of the Army Ten Miler course.

Garmin Data:
Total Distance: 10.14 miles
Total Time: 1:36:37 (Avg. Pace = 9:32 min/mi)
Spilt Times: 9:40, 9:46, 9:15, 9:26, 9:41, 9:27, 9:42, 9:36, 9:09, 9:35

We didn’t have enough ice for an ice bath, so I did a warm epsom salt soak. While it was a pleasant experience, it certainly didn’t feel as refreshing.

How do you decide whether to run through a cold?

Have you tried epsom salt baths?

Have you entered my Popchips giveaway?

Posted in Fitness, Training Log | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Octoberfest Beers & Popchips Giveaway

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Coco

I had two Octoberfest beers last week:

The Sam Adams was by far my favorite–I hope I can have it again before it’s gone. The Dominion just tasted like beer–nothing bad, but nothing special.

I think Popchips® must have seen my Thirsty Thursday beer reviews, because they sent me some recipe and beer pairings to go with their new line of tortilla Popchips®.

Don’t these sound yummy?

  • Grilled Chicken Cemitas and Garlic-Chipotle Love with Salsa Tortilla Popchips® and Goose Island 312
  • Ceviche with Chili Limón Tortilla Popchips® and Bud Light
  • Crab Dip with Ranch tortilla Popchips® and Stella
  • All-Beef Chile Colorado with Nacho Cheese Tortilla Popchips® and Shocktop

The last one sounds the best to me. Although I probably won’t ever be adventurous enough to try to make it, you might be up to the challenge, so here is the recipe:

All-Beef Chile Colorado
6 guajillo chilies, stems and seeds removed
1 1/2 cups boiling water
6 fresh tomatillos, papery skins peeled off
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 chipotle chiles in adobo
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large yellow onions, coarsely chopped
2 pounds ground beef (preferably chuck)
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Grated sharp cheddar

1. In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the guajillo chilies on each side for 30 seconds, until just softened. Put them immediately in a glass bowl and pour the boiling water over them to cover. Soak for 15 minutes.
2. In the same dry skillet, toast the tomatillos and garlic, turning several times until the vegetables have softened slightly and the exteriors have brown marks, 3 to 4 minutes. Discard the paper skins on the garlic.
3. Put the guajillo chilies in a blender with the soaking water, the tomatillos, the peeled garlic, and the chipotle chilies in adobo. Pulse to make a smooth puree.
4. In a large stewpot over medium heat, cook the onions until softened and just turning golden, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the ground beef and cook through, breaking it up with a spoon as you cook, about 10 minutes.
5. Add the pureed chiles and tomatillos, the tomatoes, ancho chile powder, cumin, salt and a few grindings of black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour, loosely covered, until the deep orange-red sauce is thick. You may need to add a little more water, but take it easy. The finished chili should not be too wet.
6. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. For each serving, put a handful of nacho cheese tortilla popchips in the bottom of a bowl and ladle a serving of chili on top. Scatter with a handful of cheese and eat at once.

Throw a handful of Nacho Cheese Tortilla Popchips® into each of 6 bowls, ladle on a generous scoop of chili, and top with a sprinkle of sharp cheddar cheese.

Will you try this recipe?

Popchips® was a generous sponsor of Fitbloggin, and I got to try some of the new tortilla flavors. My favorite was the chili limon:

They have that bite that makes you want to keep munching–thank goodness for single-serving bags!

Popchips® offered me a case of the new tortilla flavors to give away to one of my lucky readers. Here’s how you can enter:

  1. Leave a comment and let me know which of the recipes sounds best to you.
  2. Follow @Got2Run4Me and send this Tweet and leave a comment saying that you did:

I entered to win the @Popchips giveaway from @Got2Run4Me http://wp.me/p131gw-1zV

One comment per entry, up to two entries per person.

I will select a winner from entries received by midnight east coast time on Friday, October 12, 2012. Make sure your comment includes an email address where I can reach you or you may be disqualified!

**FTC Notice** Popchips® is sponsoring this giveaway. The review reflects my own personal opinion of this product.

Posted in Food, Product Reviews | Tagged , , | 34 Comments

Wordless Wednesday (The College Brat Edition)

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Coco

(Translation: Mom, I love you. Please send money. Your hard-working college student.)

Posted in Life | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Running Hill Repeats With Tiger Lilly

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Coco

I usually do hill workouts on my treadmill–it has a pre-programmed hill interval workout that cycles through 4 sets of 4 hills of increasing intensity, with each hill lasting 60 seconds with 60 seconds of recovery at 0% incline in between. But last week, I did hill repeats outside for the first time ever.

I am trying to get my dog back into shape for short runs, and I thought an interval workout would be a good one for her, since we would not be running for long stretches. I figured out how to set my Garmin to beep at different intervals, and programmed a workout with 2 minute “work” intervals and 1 minute “rest” intervals, for 10 intervals cycles total. 

We walked for about 1/3 mile and then ran for about 1 mile to the bottom of a long hill in my neighborhood. I started the workout on my Garmin, and we ran up the hill for 2 minutes, then turned around and walked down the hill for 1 minute. I was surprised by how long 2 minutes took and by how much hill we covered in that amount of time. Still, it took three cycles to reach the top of the hill. After that, we ran down the hill until we got to our starting point again, which took about one “rest” interval and one “work” interval. Then we did it all over again.

We still had three sets of intervals left, so we ran down the hill again, and then ran up/walked down two more times. To make up for some of the downhill running time, we ran home, which meant running up another hill.

She did great, although she was confused by all of the u-turns! We covered about 2.5 miles in the 30 minutes of run/walk intervals, and covered about 4 miles total including our warm-up and run home.

My legs told me that it was a good workout–and I think Tiger Lilly thought so too!

Have you ever run hill repeats outside?

Do you run with your dog?

Posted in Fitness | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Reach Your Goals In 90 Days!

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Coco

October 1 is a special day in our house because it’s our anniversary–#24 this year!

(Flowers delivered at work–he’s a keeper!)

Some people see October as the beginning of the end of the year. Sunrise is coming later and later, and it’s noticably dark earlier and earlier. School is in full swing, football season is going strong, and Halloween candy is in the grocery store. Soon we will be planning Thanksgiving dinner, hearing Christmas carols on the radio, and 2012 will be over before we know it!

But it would be a mistake to write off the year already. With three months left in 2012, there is plenty of time to dust off your New Year’s resolutions and make good on your goals.

If you want to lose weight before the holidays, my friend Raphael Calzadilla (an A.C.E. certified personal trainer) has prepared two e-books with detailed nutrition and exercise programs (for home or gym workouts) to get you started on the road to lasting weight loss in 8 weeks. You can learn more about them and purchase them here.

If you want to take small steps to a better Fall, check out the October Yoga Challenge from Grow Soul Beautiful. Founded by my awesome Fitbloggin roomie Amanda, Grow Soul Beautiful wants to help people appreciate their bodies as a work of art and build confidence from inner strength.

Personally, I have three goals for October:

  1. Make it through my insane travel schedule without losing my mind.
  2. Use healthy strategies to cope with stress.
  3. Don’t beat myself up if I succumb to conference food, airport Starbucks brownies or the snooze button.

What are your goals for the last quarter of 2012?

Posted in Fitness | Tagged , , | 13 Comments