Relax And Enjoy The Run

Posted on April 30, 2011 by Coco

I don’t know where I first heard that phrase, but I do remember thinking it was crazy. How can you “relax” during a run?  But in the 10 years that I’ve been running, I’ve come to understand and believe in it as a way to approach running. Today was one of those runs when I reminded myself to relax and enjoy my run.

After unseasonably warm weather last weekend, we had *perfect* running weather this morning:


Right Now in Alexandria, VA
It’s 51°F, Cloudy

My stomach was a bit unsettled, so I opted for some whole grain crackers with a bit of peanut butter for breakfast. By 6:30 I was headed for the bike path, and at 6:50 I hit “start” on my Garmin.

I had planned on 10 miles, so instead of heading out to “kick ass” I had to pace myself. I think I did pretty well, with these mile splits:

9:39 – 9:06 – 9:18 – 9:23 – 9:10 – 9:37 – 9:27 – 9:16 – 9:22 – 9:12

(After the first, warm-up mile, the “slowest” miles were hilliest. )

I felt good during my warm-up mile. Nothing hurt, nothing twinged, and my pace was solid. I felt fine during the next few miles too, but I wondered why I didn’t feel great. Maybe I was more worried about the 10 mile distance than I thought. Or maybe work stress was weighing on my mind.

I reminded myself to “relax and enjoy the run”–if I had any expectations about hitting a certain pace, I was meeting them, so there was no pressure. I soaked in the gorgeous weather and started to notice the wildflowers and the blossoms on the trees–and then I was thankful that my allergies weren’t acting up!

Soon after I hit mile 5, I noticed that I was feeling great. Maybe because I had been thinking about going shopping with my daughter when she gets home from college (next week!), or because I had been day dreaming about my work trip to Key Biscayne at the end of June (a conference with most afternoons free!), or maybe I finally was relaxing and enjoying the run–it all just “clicked.”

I ended up finishing my run in 1:33 (9:21 avg. pace).

I took time to stretch at the park, and then headed home for coffee.  As the day wore on, I kept noticing how good I felt. No piriformis issues! No ITB pain! Now that will make any good run great.

Does it take you a while to find your groove in a long run?

What are your favorite running sayings?

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Yes, I Do Have Heart

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Coco

I’ve run the Lawyers Have Heart 10K many times, even though last year was the first year since they changed the course to an out-and-back route that I didn’t *hate* it. There is something about the time of year (mid-June) and the route (everyone agrees that the last mile in the blazing sun on the Whitehurst Freeway is brutal) that makes this 10K much harder than any 10 mile training run. But I am a lawyer, and I do have heart, so I keep running–especially when my law firm decides to pay for our entry fee!

This year is the first year that I am doing fundraising for this event, to raise money to support the American Heart Association, whose mission is “building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.”

Many of you know that I lost my Dad to heart failure this year, so this event holds special meaning for me now.

According to the Lawyers Have Heart website, for every $1 raised through Lawyers Have Heart, 88 cents is used to fund the American Heart Association’s mission.

The American Heart Association is the largest source of non-governmental funding for cardiovascular research in the country.

If any of these reasons sound good to you, please go to my my fundraising page and donate early and often!

Thanks for your support!

Posted in Fitness, Life | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Training Log – Zooma Annapolis Half Marathon (Week 2)

Posted on April 28, 2011 by Coco

This is my training log for the Zooma Annapolis Half Marathon. (You can read my training log for week one here.)

My main goal for Annapolis is to train without getting injured and pace myself during the Half so that I finish happy and want to sign up for another one. 🙂 After tweeting with some women who ran this Half last year, I am revising my pace goal. I still plan to train for a sub-9:00 min/mile pace, but I will assess my goal on race day depending on how warm it is. I just don’t do well in the heat, and think the 60s is hot for a long run!

April 25
10 min elliptical (shorter than usual due to an incident with the snooze button)
free weights:
deadlifts/military presses/push-ups
plie squats/tricep dips
lunges/bicep curls
squats/lateral raises
bent-over rows/hamstring curls/leg extensions (Bowflex)
chest flies/crunches (on fitball)
side-lying leg lifts/crunches (on mat)

April 26
4 mile hilly neighborhood run
RunKeeper Data: 41:05 min; Avg. Pace 10:13
Notes: Read my full report here.

April 27
17 min TM: 5 min @ 3.7 mph/1.5 incline, 10 min @ 5.7 mph/1.o incline; 2 min @ 3.7 mph/1.5 incline
Same free weights routine as April 25

April 28
TM: 45 min hill program (level 5)
Cycle 1 (4 hills): 5.7 mph
Cycle 2 (4 hills): 5.8 mph
Cycle 3 (4 hills): 5.9 mph
Cycle 4 (4 hills): 6.0 mph
Notes: No twinges, but I took lots of time to stretch afterwards.

April 29
20 min elliptical
free weights:
deadlifts/military presses/push-ups
plie squats/tricep dips
preacher curls
lateral raises
bent-over rows
French press
chest flies/crunches (on fitball)
back raises/pike raises (on fitball)
side-lying leg lifts/crunches (on mat)
Notes: Yes, I was glued to the royal wedding during my workout! I used the foam roller during the whole Bishop’s message–maybe that’s why my ITB did so well on Saturday. I also focused on upper body and abs to give my legs a break before my long run (my glutes still complained during my run, though).

April 30
10 mile long run on the bike path (full recap here)
Garmin data: 10 miles; avg pace = 9:21 min/mile

May 1
Yoga = 20 min Forward Bends program from my Rodney Yee A.M. Yoga For Your Week DVD

Posted in Fitness, Training Log | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Kale Chips Adventures in the Kitchen

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Coco

Making Kale Chips

When your office is still closed,

And your neighbor gives you a truckload of kale,

Don’t despair!

Tweet for help . . .

@CocosFight2BFit Coco
Who has a kale chip recipe? #fitblog
4 hours ago via TweetDeck Favorite Reply Delete

. . . and the answer will come

@shaynester Shayne Terry
Here’s one with a step-by-step video! http://t.co/oxK9Ef3 “@CocosFight2BFit: Who has a kale chip recipe? #fitblog”
2 hours ago via Twitter for Mac Favorite Retweet Reply
 

Yum!

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Skirting Hills

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Coco

I had great plans for a kick-ass run today–I even spent some time on runningmap.com plotting out a 4 mile route with more hills than my usual neighborhood route. I also was excited to try out my new Nike running skirt.

Womens Nike Woven Skirt Fitness Skirts

After I checked the weather I was a bit worried:

Right Now in Alexandria, VA

It’s 67°F, Clear

Weather data from : weather.com
 

That’s 10 degrees warmer than it was last week! But, since I am training for the Zooma Annapolis Half Marathon in June, when it surely will be warmer than 67°F, I couldn’t wimp out.

I put on my running skirt and snapped a few picture for some Twitter friends who had asked about this whole “running skirt thing.”

 

(Please excuse my poor iPhone photography skills!)

The skirt has a built-in set of light compression shorts, a draw-string at the waist, and a little key pocket. The waistline is lower than my usual compression shorts, and I liked not having that pressure on my stomach. I will admit that I have not fully outgrown my mini-skirt phase, and I did feel cute in the skirt. 😉

So, on to the hills.

Duration 0:41:05 | Calories Burned 526
Average Pace 10:13 / mi | Average Speed 5.87 mph | Elevation Climb 265 ft
 
  • Mile 1 = 11:21. This mile ends at the top of a very steep hill (there’s a 100 ft climb over 1/2 mile, but the last 1/4 mile is the steepest), so I wasn’t too surprised at that pace.
  • Mile 2 = 9:26. This mile is mostly down hill or flat.
  • Mile 3 = 10:17. This mile is all uphill, a steady climb of 150 ft.
  • Mile 4 = 9:47. The last 3/4 of this mile is down hill.

My pace was so much slower than it has been lately, but when I break it down mile by mile and note where the hills were (thanks to the nifty RunKeeper data!), it’s easy to see why my mile splits were so different.

I felt like my run was “off” from the start. I don’t know if it was the heat, the humidity, or the hills, but I need to get used to all three! One thing that threw me off was starting off with a 1/2 mile down hill, so I think the next time I do this route, I will warm up with a few laps on the track.

The best news is that no body parts were hurt during this run!

Do you have a running skirt?

What is your perfect running temperature?

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