Running With Perseverance

Cherry Blossom Foolishness At The Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run Expo

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Coco

Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run Expo

My friends and I entered the lottery for the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler as a team, so we would be able to run the race (or not) together. Since the event is on April 1 and many of us were planning to squeeze it in between the Rock’n’Roll USA Half Marathon and the GW Parkway Classic 10 Miler, I picked “April Fools” as a fitting team name. By the time the lottery entry closed, we had about eight people on our team. Now that it is race weekend, I am the only fool left!

Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run

The friend I’ve done so many training runs with decided that she couldn’t pass up the chance to take her son for a ski weekend out west. The friend I’ve signed up for other races with just hasn’t been keeping up with her running. Several friends at work have been having knee issues that seem to kick in after 5 miles. So, I will have to set my own goals and run my own race.

I’ve had a good week of workouts this week–solid weight training on Monday and Wednesday, a tempo treadmill workout Tuesday, a nice outdoor run on Thursday, and yoga on Friday (now that I’ve figure out how to use the XBox to play DVDs). I feel pretty good, and I am definitely getting psyched to chase that 1:25 goal.

I made it to the expo this afternoon (I shared a cab with someone at work who is doing the 5K, so instead of paying $20 to have our stuff mailed to us, we each paid $15 for cab fare. ) The expo was great. We quickly got our bibs and t-shirts and then browsed the exhibitor booths. I loved race merchandise (t-shirts, running skirts, and jackets with the Cherry Blossom logo) but really could not justify another purple top or another purple skirt–but they are soooo cuuuute! My co-worker got a neon yellow jacket, and we laughed at the One More Mile t-shirts. But the race t-shirt is so pretty, I didn’t feel like I need to buy anything else:

Last weekend I finally found the water bottle/fuel belt I’ve been looking for:

It’s by Ultimate Direction and it holds one full-size water bottle and has two very roomy pockets that easily fit my iPhone, car key, lip balm, etc. The belt adjusts easily, and stays in place with no annoying bouncing. (Does anyone want my Nathan? It would be fine if I didn’t ever want to carry my iPhone–or anything more than my car key!)

So, I think I am about ready for the race. I need to delete a few songs from the playlist I made for the Rock’N’Roll USA Half Marathon, and finalize my transportation logistics. I’ve got the drop-off figured out, but need to decide when/how to rendez-vous with my husband afterwards.

Do you have a favorite slogan t-shirt?

Posted in Fitness | Tagged Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run, RNR USA Half, Running | 5 Comments

Easy Black Bean Soup

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Coco

This recipe for black bean soup comes from Real Simple magazine and is quick and nutritious. I make it with chicken broth, but it easily can be made with vegetable broth to make vegetarian/vegan. I can’t make when my son is eating with us because he demands meat with every meal, but it passes my husband’s taste test.

Continue reading →

Posted in Food | Tagged Black Bean Soup, Recipe | 6 Comments

Wordless Wednesday (The Cherry Blossom Editon)

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Coco

(Me, Beth)

Posted in Life | Tagged Cherry Blossoms, Friends, Wordless Wednesday | 2 Comments

Feeling Stupid About S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Coco

I’m not a big fan of The Biggest Loser, but it’s in my DVR line-up and I watch it while I’m pounding out a treadmill workout or pushing through my strength routine. A few weeks ago it was one of their “at home” episodes, where the contestants have to spend a week at home to face the challenges of every day life with their family and friends. Usually the contestants do pretty poorly during this week (at least by Biggest Loser standards). They slip back into their old routines (which don’t include much gym time) and old habits (which include too much fried food and cheese) and the scale doesn’t let them get away with it.

But this season was different. The contestants were given a challenge before they went home: if their team lost a certain percentage of weight, everyone would be safe from elimination. The weight loss goal would have been significant for a week “on the ranch,” but I thought it was an impossible one for a week at home.

Without spoiling it for anyone who is really far behind, I will just say that I was surprised at how well the contestants did as a whole. Did having that specific, measurable, (surprisingly) attainable, results-oriented and time-limited goal make the difference? This episode really got me thinking, because I am horrible at setting goals, and even worse at setting SMART goals.

When I was dieting, I never set specific weight loss goals. I had meal plans, grocery lists, and calorie budgets, but I never set a goal to lose a certain number of pounds by a certain date. (Maybe that’s why my weight loss journey took such a long and winding road, but at least I got there!)

For my very first race, I did have a specific goal: finish the Army Ten Miler in 90 minutes. But that goal was based on my normal running pace. I thought I had to complete every run at that pace in order to “train” for that finish time. (That thinking got me sidelined and almost completely derailed my training.)

Since then, I’ve gotten better at training smart, but I still am not very good at setting SMART goals. For the Rock’N’Roll USA Half Marathon, my friend had a specific goal: finish in 2:00 hours. I knew that goal was within our reach, I knew how to train for that goal, and I knew how to pace myself to reach that goal, but I’m not sure I would have set that goal myself. (Even though I started the Zooma Annapolis Half Marathon with that same goal in mind, I had set that goal based on my training, not vice versa.)

I think I am still reluctant to set goals because I am afraid of falling short. I am a perfectionist and tend to be very hard on myself. If I set a goal and didn’t reach it, I would be very disappointed. Maybe that’s why when I do set goals, I tend to be very conservative. To avoid falling short, I may sell myself short.

When I started dieting after law school, I only wanted to get back into my old clothes.

I had no idea that I would blow through my size 12s and need a new wardrobe of size 2s.

I just never would have set such an ambitious goal for myself.

In the same way, I hesitate to set specific goals for races. I may have a specific number in mind by the time I hit “start” on my Garmin, but I don’t sign up for a race with a plan to finish in a certain time.

I’m puzzling through all this now because I’m only a few days away from the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler, and I am still figuring out my goal for the race. Looking at my past times for the Army Ten Miler and the GW Parkway Classic, 1:25 would be pretty close to a PR, but I’m not sure if I want to push myself that hard. Maybe I will focus on enjoying myself during the race–but that could be harder than a PR for a competitive, type A person like me!

Do you set S.M.A.R.T. goals?

How far ahead of a race do you decide on your goal?