Training Log: Cherry Blossom 10 Miler (Week 1) (Saucony Virrata Review)

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Coco

Last week I wrote out my “training plan” for the cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run on April 7. This week I followed through with my running, but slacked off on my weight training.

CUCB Logo

Monday
AM Dog Walk: 1 mile
Weights: ITB Rehab Routine, streamlined version of my supersets strength routine, planks

Tuesday
Treadmill: 45 min Hill Interval Program (Level 3)

Wednesday
AM Dog Walk: 1 mile
Weights: ITB Rehab Routine, planks
Treadmill: 15 min “test run” of my new Saucony Virrata shoes.

Thursday
Treadmill: 45 min total, playing with my pace (5 min at 5.7, 6.0, 6.3, 6.5, 6.7 mph)

Friday
AM Dog Walk: 1 mile
Work beat me down last week, so I was just going to do a Rodney Yee program on Friday, but I had gotten an email from Apple warning me that my Cloud was almost full, so I just lay on the floor deleting old pictures and videos.  At least I walked the dog!

Saturday
Long run: 8.45 miles, 1:20:44 (9:33 pace)
I met my friend for a run on the Washington & Old Dominion path.  She was really congested so we turned around after 3 miles (6 miles out-and-back), and then I kept going for another mile (2 miles out-and-back). After experiencing some twinges last week, I wore my CRX compression tights and am happy to report that my ITB, knee, etc. were fine. 

Sunday
AM Dog Walk: 1 mile
Yoga: Rodney Yee “Forward Bends”

So, about my Saucony Virrata review! I am not a big fan of the minimalist craze, but I do use my Saucony Progrid Mirage on the treadmill. I was just wondering if it was time to replace them when I was given an opportunity to review the new Saucony Virrata. The idea behind the Virrata is to provide a “zeros drop” shoe that has more cushioning, for more comfort and protection on longer runs.

The first day I had them, I wore them around the house for a few hours to get used to the feel. At first I noticed the arch support, but after I had them on for a wile I didn’t notice them at all, which is a good thing!

After I posted a few pictures on Facebook, some friends asked if the shoes are flexible.

Yep!

I know you are not supposed to buy running shoes for their looks,
but I really like the hot colors.

20130302-105231.jpg

Since I am just recovering from my ITB injury, I am easing into the Virrata shoes gradually–I wore them for my Thursday treadmill run but not my Saturday long run. I was very pleased that I did not feel any twinges during or after my Thursday treadmill run, because I really like these shoes. They are so light  (6.5 oz!) and I do like cushioning when I’m running!

FTC Notice: I was provided with a pair of Saucony Virrata to review. The opinions expressed here are all my own.

Are you training for a spring race?

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

Book Review: Bend Not Break By Ping Fu

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Coco

I heard about Bend Not Break by Ping Fu on NPR and started reading it before I realized that it was so controversial! I won’t get into all that, but your eyeballs might catch fire if you read all of the “reviews” on Amazon ….

According to the official description on Amazon:

Born on the eve of China’s Cultural Revolution, Ping was separated from her family at the age of eight. She grew up fighting hunger and humiliation and shielding her younger sister from the teenagers in Mao’s Red Guard. At twenty-five, she found her way to the United States; her only resources were $80 in traveler’s checks and three phrases of English: thank you, hello, and help.

Yet Ping persevered, and the hard-won lessons of her childhood guided her to success in her new home­land. Aided by her well-honed survival instincts, a few good friends, and the kindness of strangers, she grew into someone she never thought she’d be—a strong, independent, entrepreneurial leader. A love of problem solving led her to computer science, and Ping became part of the team that created NCSA Mosaic, which became Netscape, the Web browser that forever changed how we access information. She then started a company, Geomagic, that has literally reshaped the world, from personalizing prosthetic limbs to repair­ing NASA spaceships.

Bend, Not Break depicts a journey from imprisonment to freedom, and from the dogmatic anticapitalism of Mao’s China to the high-stakes, take-no-prisoners world of technology start-ups in the United States. It is a tribute to one woman’s courage in the face of cruelty and a valuable lesson on the enduring power of resilience.

I thought this would be a good book to read as we face the uncertainties of the looming sequestration, and that it might help me put my irrational economic insecurities into perspective.

Ping’s story is amazing, but because of that I find it hard to relate to. Whether or not her account of her childhood in China is accurate, her experience in the U.S. is what I find most hard to believe. She worked hard for her success, but she also seemed to be at the right place at the right time every step along the way. Even though I wasn’t inspired by her story, it was interesting to follow her account of the technological advances she was a part of in the dot-com era. I still don’t understand how the internets work, but I am more excited about what my more tech-savy children might do with their math and science degrees.

Does the controvery over this book make you more or less likely to read it?

Posted in Book Reviews, Life | Tagged | 4 Comments

What I Ate Wednesday (The Eggcellent Edition)

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Coco

Last week a confluence of circumstances led to a most eggcellent What I Ate Wednesday.

For breakfast, I had my usual Egg Beaters omelet and whole wheat toast.

For lunch, I had the last piece of quiche from Sunday night.

Quiche

For dinner, I finally tried an Avocado Egg Bake.

20130222-190353.jpg

I might get an F for variety, but I did have veggies, whole grains, protein, and healthy fats!

My husband is being a good sport about my vegetarian Lent. When he doesn’t feel like having what I’m having, or if I’m working late, he makes himself scrambled eggs and toast. He did that three times last week–once when he was not in the mood for leftover Roasted Vegetable Pasta, once when I had a dinner meeting, and once when he thought I would be home late (so he missed out on the Avocado Egg Bake!). I am tempted to rate the success of my vegetarian meal planning based on how many times he makes himself eggs, but I don’t want to cater to his preference for pasta, grilled cheese and pizza every night.

How do you cope when your family doesn’t like what you fix for dinner?

Posted in Food | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Comeback Treadmill Workouts

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Coco

There are a few runners who really love the treadmill, and a few who will avoid it all costs, but most runners have a love-hate relationship with the treadmill. Like most runners, I am most likely to opt for the treadmill when the weather is nasty or the roads are icy, but I also rely on the treadmill when I am recovering from an injury.

  • If I am on the treadmill, I can stop running as soon as a twinge becomes a sharp pain without worrying about how long it will take me to get back home.
  • If I am on the treadmill, I can control the incline and keep my pace easy.
  • If I am on the treadmill, I can limit my time/distance–I’m rarely tempted to add another mile like I might be running outside!

Here are two treadmill workouts I am using as I train for the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler while trying to keep my ITB happy.

I do this Baby Steps workout at an easy incline (0.5%). The goal here is to gradually ramp up my pace–and stop if it proves to be too much for my ITB.

I do this workout to build up my endurance while counteracting boredom with some pace and incline variations. I usually do the pace segment at 0.5% incline and the incline segment at 6.3 mph pace.

Do you love or hate the treadmill?

Posted in Fitness, Treadmill Workouts | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Training For The Cherry Blossom Ten Miler (XTrain DVD Review)

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Coco

For the second year in a row, I was lucky enough to get in to the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, which has a lottery entry system. (You can read my race recap for last year’s race here.) My running so far in 2013 has not been great, but now that my ITB seems to be behaving, I am ready to write out a training plan for the next 7 weeks until the race.

CUCB Logo

This weekend, I ran about 8.5 miles. It’s a good mileage to be starting from, but it wasn’t easy. It was my longest run so far this year, and the longest by far in over a month. I think I should do another 8-ish mile run next weekend, and then ramp up to 9 and 10 miles over the next few weekends:

March 2: 8-9 miles
March 9: 9-10 miles
March 17: 9-10 miles
March 22: 8-10 miles
March 29: 6 miles
April 7: RACE DAY

That doesn’t look like much of a plan, but I intend to stay flexible and heed my ITB. I’d rather undertrain and sacrifice race-day performance than over-train and risk a DNS due to injury. Plus, my all-time favorite race, the GW Parkway Classic, is only two weeks after the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, and I don’t want to miss that one.

The Cherry Blossom course is pretty flat, but the GW Parkway Classic course has some hills that I need to get ready for. My neighborhood running routes are pretty hilly and I will do hill intervals on the treadmill every other week.  The other weeks I will focus on my pace. I plan to run twice during the week–one harder run on Tuesdays, and one easier run on Thursdays.

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday will be my strength days. I am going to keep doing those ITB rehab exercises and balance that with upper body strength training with my new Cathe XTrain Burn Sets DVD.

Cathe XTrain DVD

This DVD has two main programs: Chest/Back/Shoulders and Bi’s/Tri’s. For each muscle group, there are three exercises. For each exercise, you do three sets with heavy weights, with a goal of reaching failure by the 10th rep of the third set. I usually do supersets and never work to failure, so this is a new experience for me! I’m not sure I like it, but the DOMS tells me that it is working!

I really like that the DVD is set up so that you can choose individual chapters to work whichever muscle group you want (each muscle group chapter takes 10-15 minutes) and the “bonus” core workout (over 10 minutes!) is killer.

If you haven’t done a Cathe DVD before, you probably will find her personality refreshing. She is encouraging without being too “perky” and has a no-nonsense attitude that pushes you without being insane.

I received a copy of the Cathe XTrain DVD for review purposes. All opinions expressed here are my own. 

Are you training for a spring race?

Do you follow a written training plan or just wing it?

Posted in Fitness, Training Log | Tagged , , | 13 Comments