Wordless Wednesday (The Tiger Lilly Edition)

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Coco



Posted in Life | Tagged , | 3 Comments

What’s Your Price Point?

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Coco

I don’t like to count calories or keep a food diary anymore, but I do find it helpful to think of my calories as money that I want to spend wisely. If my jeans are getting snug, I may put myself on a tight calorie budget. If I’m running a lot, I might be able to spend more freely. If I’m celebrating a special occasion, I may go on a shopping spree! Thinking of calories this way also helps me decide whether something is “worth it.”

Would you spend 100 calories for one of these brownies?

(VitaBrownie = 100 calories)

Would you spend 200 calories on these brownies?

(Pillsbury Sweet Moments Cocoa Fudge Escape = 180 calories)

Would you spend 400 calories for this brownie?

(Starbucks Double Chocolate Brownie = 410 calories)

Would you spend 500 calories for one of these brownies?

Boston Market brownie = 470 calories

You had better find some friends to chip in on these brownies!

Bob Evans Peanut Butter Brownie Bites = 1024 calories

What brownies do you think are worth budgeting for?

Posted in Food | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Training For The Rock’n’Roll USA Half Marathon

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Coco

Over the Christmas break I started to see some posts laying out training plans for the Rock’n’Roll USA Marathon and Half Marathon that are being held in Washington, D.C. on March 17, 2012.

I wasn’t quite ready to start training, but I reviewed some different half marathon training plans and decided that I would officially start my training January 9. I liked the long run distances of one of the “intermediate” training plans on the Runner’s World website, but they had too many runs per week and the speed work was just too complicated (“1 mile, 1×1200 PI(400), 2×800 CI (200), 4×200 SI(200), 1 mile” –> huh?).

I decided to follow their suggested long run schedule and make up my own mid-week runs. Even though I’ve been doing pretty well running three days a week, I thought I would try running a total of four days a week, and really focus on making that fourth day an “easy” day. My basic plan was to run Monday (hard), Wednesday (moderate), Friday (easy), and Saturday (long), do my Bob Harper Pure Burn Super Strength DVD Tuesday and Thursday, and do one of the programs on my Rodney Yee A.M. Yoga For Your Week DVD on Sunday. I even marked down the long runs on my calendar.

That was before my ITB flared up in a big way during my 9 mile run this weekend. It was really bad yesterday, and still is nagging quite a bit. Because March 17 is a long way off and 13.1 miles is a long way to run, I decided to put my training plan aside for now and focus on my ITB. I will stick to my current schedule of running Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and will avoid hard workouts (speed or hill intervals) for at least one more week. I will put aside my Bob Harper DVD and focus on some strength exercises recommended for ITB rehab: single-leg deadlifts and squats, step-downs, clam shells, and leg lifts. (I will intersperse these leg exercises with upper body and core work so my arms and abs won’t turn totally to mush!).

Another wrench in my training plan is that it looks like we are finally going to take the plunge and adopt a dog. It’s been over 15 months since our beloved beagle passed away

and we have found another girl (a boxer mix) who I think will capture our hearts.


(Knock-on-wood, if all goes well we will be bringing Tiger Lilly home on Monday night!)

I think she eventually will make a good running partner, but I know it will take some time for us to get used to each other, and for her to learn to run with me. That means I need to lower my expectations for my weekday runs for the time being.

While it’s frustrating to be revising my training program before I even start following it, I am optimistic that I can rehab my ITB and bond with my new running partner long before it’s time to pick up my race packet.

Have you started training for any spring races yet?

Do you follow a set training plan or devise your own?

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

My Epiphany On Epiphany

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Coco

Today in church we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany. In the nativity story, it marks when the three kings proclaimed Jesus as Kings of the Jews.

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary,
and they bowed down and worshiped him.
Then they opened their treasures and presented him with
gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
~ Matthew 2: 10-12

Epiphany also is celebrated as the revelation of God to man in form of Jesus Christ–that Jesus is God incarnate. Jesus embodied God in the way He loved all those whom he encountered and in the miracles He performed, from healing the sick to raising the dead to loving the unloveable. Jesus carried out God’s will, even when that meant his own crucifixion.

My epiphany about epiphany came a few year ago when I couldn’t be with someone I wanted to encourage, and I had to rely on another friend to pass on my support. When I was texting, “Give her a hug for me!” it struck me how I was counting on our mutual friend to really be there for me. And then it hit me. That’s how God used Jesus to reach us, and that’s how He can use each of us to spread his His love.

 

Maybe we can’t be God, but we can do God’s work in this world. God counts on us to be the hands that help, the ears that listen, the shoulders that share burdens. When we act as a “member” of the body of Christ–a hand, a shoulder, an ear–we can make God real for others, just like my friend could make my support real when I couldn’t be there.

I do believe that God can and does work through people. I have been blessed with too many “angels” in my life to think otherwise, and I have heard too many true stories of miraculous encounters with just the right person who said just the right thing or knew just what to do. So, maybe God is still working miracles in our time, through those of us who do the things that He wants–and maybe even needs–us to do on His behalf.

Posted in My Faith | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Resolution Runners

Posted on January 7, 2012 by Coco

This morning I got to the bike path at the same time I did on New Year’s Day, but instead of being the second car there, there were already several cars parked and vacated. By the time I finished my out-and-back one mile spur, the parking lot was filling up and new cars were streaming in. By the time I finished my run, one of the parking areas was nearly full! I’m sure many of the people were getting back to their usual routines or starting their spring marathon training, but I can’t help but think that a number of them were making good on their New Year’s resolutions.

It was fun to see the people wearing new gear –the couple wearing matching jackets, the woman with the shiny new running shoes, the many people in bright tops not yet faded by washing. The only thing new I have is my new iPod Nano. After I lost my 4th Generation Nano after the GW Parkway Classic last year (damn hole in my pocket!) I had dusted off my 1st Generation Nano. 

It had such a small memory that it couldn’t fit all of my playlists, but it did the trick. In November, Apple notified that my old Nano was covered by the replacement program due to a possible problem with the battery. I waited until December to send it in, and received my replacement a few weeks later. I was thrilled to open the box and see that they had sent me a new Nano!

It has more memory and more features–I am glad to have the radio again and need to try out the Nike+ feature. As I told my husband, this kind of customer service is why Apple has such loyal customers!

It was a gorgeous January morning–sunny and in the mid 30’s. I felt pretty good–I seem to have fought off the cold that was threatening me on Thursday–but I didn’t feel particularly pumped. I was relaxed and happy to be out running.

My plan was to run 9 miles at a comfortable pace. I felt a bit off during the first mile, but then saw that my pace was fast for a warm-up mile. I felt good for the next few miles. My ITB was nagging but not too bad. Somewhere in mile 6-7 my ITB got worse. When the tightness moved up into my glutes/piriformis region, I stopped to stretch, but that didn’t really help. As I resumed running, I tried to breathe through the tightness, willing my breath to release the tension (trying to put my yoga lessons to good use!). By my last mile it did feel somewhat better, although I can still feel the nagging tightness as I’m walking around. I took some time to stretch before I got in my car to drive home, and spent some time on the foam roller while I waited for my big pot of coffee to brew.

I will keep rolling and stretching this weekend, but I’m afraid that I may have to re-think the first week of my training plan for the RnR D.C. Half Marathon. I’m not sure my ITB will like the speed intervals I planned for Monday!

Garmin Data
Total Distance: 9.0 miles
Total Time: 1:24
Avg. Pace: 9:20 min/mile
Split Times: 9:23, 9:14, 9:23, 9:35, 9:16, 9:31, 9:23, 9:18, 9:03

Have you made any running resolutions?

Posted in Fitness | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments