Training Log (?) Cherry Blossom 10 Miler

Posted on March 24, 2012 by Coco

Last weekend I rocked my 2:00 goal for the Rock’N’Roll USA Half Marathon, and now only one week from tomorrow is the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler!

Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run

I had a decent week of recovery workouts planned, but instead of taking a few days to recover, I feel like I slacked off for the whole week. Really, I just skipped my two weight training days, but missing those workouts makes me feel like a slug.

Monday (Easy Run with Tiger Lilly)
Neighborhood run: 3.9 miles, 39 minutes
It’s amazing how even my mile split times were–just about dead on 10:00 for each one.

Tuesday (Planned Rest Day)
Walking: 1 mile mid-morning dog walk
I was supposed to have a day trip to NYC, but my flight got canceled due to fog at LGA after we were all buckled in! I went home to change out of my suit and pack a lunch for the office, and squeezed in a dog walk while I waited for traffic to die down. I packed a gym bag, thinking I could squeeze in a workout at work before my son’s 7 pm lacrosse game, but I ended up being crazy busy at work until 6:40, and barely made it to the game on time. At least I got that walk in.

Wednesday (Treadmill)
Tempo Workout: 3.9 miles, 40 minutes
After my warm-up, I did 5 minutes at each of 6.3, 6.5, 6.7 and 7.0 mph.
Cherry Blossom Walk: 5.25 miles
My friend met me at my office and we walked briskly to and around the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms. It was a grey morning, but the trees were still lovely!

Thursday (Unplanned Rest Day)
Walking: 1.5 mile morning dog walk
I had to get to work early for a meeting, but knew I would be home early after another meeting close to home, so I thought I could do my weights workout then. By the end of the day I had three conference calls scheduled from 3-5 pm and a new deadline to meet that kept me working (at home) past 9 pm.

Friday (Easy Run with Tiger Lilly)
Neighborhood run: 2.5 miles, 24 minutes
I could tell that I was sleeping too late, and when I finally checked the time on my phone, it was 5:52, with the alarm set to go off at 6:00 (instead of 5:00). I don’t know how I ended up setting a later alarm time, since I had gotten up early all week. I decided to try to do a quick run with Tiger Lilly, running for 2.5 miles after a short walk. 
Walking: 1 mile afternoon dog walk

Saturday (Neighborhood Run)
Walking: 1.5 miles morning dog walk
Neighborhood run: 8.36 miles, 1:18:42 (avg. 9:25 min/mile)
Split Times: 10:12, 9:02, 9:26, 9:49, 9:19, 9:22, 9:23, 9:06
I got up early to walk the dog and then squeeze in my run before I had to hit the road for my son’s lacrosse game. It was so warm and humid that I was comfortable in a t-shirt and shorts when I was walking the dog. Needless to say, I got warm and sweaty during my run! My right ITB felt a wee bit tight, but on the whole I felt pretty good!

After missing a week of weights, I am committed to getting back to my routine this week!

When you are squeezed for time, do you tend to favor one type of workout over an other?

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Satisfying Snacks For That Afternoon Slump

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Coco

This week has been crazy. From a trip to New York that wasn’t, a late night lacrosse game, an early morning tour of the cherry blossoms, a work dinner, and several last-minute meetings, my usual schedule–and meal planning–was thrown out of whack.

Luckily my snack cabinet was well-stocked.

I first saw Nabisco belVita “biscuits” when I was in London–at the airport actually. I wondered why we didn’t have them here, but then saw them in the grocery store when I got home. These are yummy, but they are really glorified cookies. Each “single serving” package contains 4 small “biscuits,” for a total of 230 calories, and only a few grams of fiber and protein. I probably won’t buy them again.

My Mom introduced me to Ritz Crackerfuls and they are a surprisingly satisfying snack. Each single serving package has a large cracker sandwich that has 130 calories and 5 grams of fiber. The first ingredient is “whole grain flour” although there are a lot of other ingredients typical of a processed food snack.

I discovered 18 Rabbits bars at the airport this week (before my flight got canceled). I needed something to go with my coffee, but wasn’t in the mood for a mega-muffin or greasy egg sandwich. Each bars has 240 calories, 4 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber. The ingredient list is much more wholesome than other airport snacks, and includes oats, nuts, seeds, cherries, and satisfying chunks of chocolate.

Cliff Chocolate Brownie ZBars are still my favorite portable snack. Each bar has 120 calories, 3 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber. The chewy consistency may take some getting used to, but these bars satisfy my late-afternoon hunger and my constant need for chocolate.

What do you snack on?

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(Almost) Wordless Wednesday (The R’N’R USA Edition)

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Coco


(My o’dark-thirty running partner; Me in my toss-away sweater)

Thanks to all the Marathonfoto photographers who were up early working the pre-race crowds and lining the course at the Rock’N’Roll USA Half/Marathon!

 

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Book Review: The Hunger Games

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Coco

I feel like I was one of the last of my friends to read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

but the movie doesn’t come out until Friday, and if you start now, you could be finished before the 6:00 pm screening–you won’t want to put it down!

Maybe the book spoke to my inner adolescent, or maybe it reminded me of the science fiction/fantasy that I used to read when I was in high school.

White Dragon (Dragonriders of Pern Trilogy)

(I know I’m not the only Anne McCaffrey fan out there!)

Whatever the reason, it sucked me in, kept me reading late into the night, and had me looking forward to the end of my day, when I could get back to the plight of Katniss and Peeta and the other Tributes. I was riveted to the end, and while I was hoping for a certain outcome, I certainly didn’t see the ending coming. As soon as I finished the first book of the trilogy, I downloaded the next one, and I already am hooked on the new storyline.

I haven’t read a pure fantasy novel in a long time, but I really enjoyed getting lost in a world that is quite different from my own.

Have you read The Hunger Games?

Are you going to see the movie?

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Moving Right Along

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Coco

Now that I’ve PR’d my first race of 2012, it’s time to get ready for race #2:

Cherry Blossom Ten Mile RunI can’t believe it’s only two weeks away, but it’s “only” 10 miles and the course really is pretty flat. I won’t really do any more “training” for this race. I need this week to recover from the Rock’N’Roll USA Half Marathon, and then next week is the week of the race.

My plan for this week is to run 3-4 miles Monday, Wednesday and Friday (probably with my dog). I have a day trip with an early flight on Tuesday, so that will be a “rest” day. Thursday I will do weights or yoga. Saturday my son has an out-of-state lacrosse game, so I may only have time for a dog walk before we hit the road. I should be able to do 8 miles after church on Sunday, which would put me on track to run Tuesday and Thursday of the next week, which works out well for a Sunday race.

Have you done back-to-back races?

How did you handle “training” for the second one?

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