Training Log: Rock’n’Roll USA Half Marathon (Week 6)

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Coco

I varied my training program for the Rock’n’Roll USA Half Marathon (March 17, 2012) this week due to my son’s wrestling tournament, which made a weekend long run out of the question. Hopefully two days in the bleachers won’t set back my recovery.

Monday
Elliptical: 20 min forward/reverse intervals
Weights: 45 min full-body routine

Tuesday (Treadmill E-Z Incline Program)
Running:
15 min warm-up (5 min walking, 10 min running)
30 min E-Z Inclinde Program (level 3), mostly @ 6.3 mph
5 min cool-down
Walking: 1.5 miles (afternoon dog walk)

Wednesday
Walking: 1 mile (morning dog walk)
Yoga: 30 min of my Yoga For Runner s DVD.
(I still haven’t made it through the whole program, but the first few sections are good.)

Thursday
Walking: 1 mile (morning dog walk)
Weights: 45 min full-body routine

Friday (Long Run)
Walking: 1.5 mile (morning dog walk)
Running: 8.23 mile Hilly Neighborhood Route (Avg 9:31 min/mile pace)
After I walked the dog I was hungry, so I fixed some PB toast before heading out again for my run. By then it was almost 7:00 and fully light out. I chose my longest neighborhood route, which I have not done in ages–I’ve been avoiding the hills during my recovery. My split times varied between 9:20 and 9:40 depending on the hills. My right glute/piriformis/ ITB was tight but not too bad, and doesn’t seem to be holding a grudge. 🙂

Saturday (Hotel Gym)
Elliptical: 30 min
There were several people in the gym when I got there at 6:45, but there was still an open elliptical. I climbed on, but it wasn’t on. I found a power switch at the base and that did the trick–phew. I picked the random program, but level 1-2 were tough enough to work up a sweat!

It seems like a pretty ho-hum week, but “uneventful” is a good thing in a training program!

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Three Things Thursday (The In-Convenience Food Edition)

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Coco

My grocery list has evolved over the years, from junk-laden to calorie-obsessed to balanced. You will find some convenience foods in my cart, but this Three Things Thursday post highlights three items that I just can’t take short cuts with anymore.

For years, bagged salads were a staple. They certainly got me into the salad habit and made it very easy to pack a salad for lunch at work or round out dinner with a big bowl of leafy greens. But now, I can hardly stand them. There is a chemical taste to the lettuce that I can’t ignore, and they always seem to wilt and go bad very quickly. I discovered that I can make my own bagged salad by buying a package of romaine hearts, chopping and washing one or two at a time, and keeping the washed, chopped lettuce in a storage bag. It stays fresh for a few days, and tastes so much better!

Baby carrots were another diet staple. I probably ate more carrots than Bugs Bunny ever did to fight off afternoon snack attacks. I laughed at myself when I learned that the only thing “baby” about baby carrots is their size–did you know that they are made by paring down full-size carrots? Recently I noticed that when I am parties or restaurants that serve carrot sticks made fresh from regular carrots, they seem to have more flavor. I started buying bags of carrots and peeling one or two at a time to munch on. It feels so retro!

I grew up eating instant oatmeal almost every winter day–Maple & Brown Sugar or Apple Cinnamon flavors were my favorites. I still keep a box of plain oatmeal in the pantry to take along on road trips, but I do not fix instant oatmeal at home. The old fashioned oats taste so much better (and seem more satisfying), and cook just as quickly in the microwave–but I have to watch it carefully so it doesn’t bubble over into a gooey mess!

Are there convenience foods that you have given up on?

What fresh/whole foods are worth the hassle to you?

Posted in Fitness, Food | 8 Comments

Wednesday Workout: Incline Intervals And Pushing Pace

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Coco

Now that my mystery injury seems to be resolving, I am ready to kick my training up a notch, but I still need to be careful. The Rock’n’Roll USA Half Marathon course will have a challenging elevation profile, so I know I need to focus on my hill work. On the other hand, I’m pretty happy with the pace of my recent long runs, so I don’t really *need* to do too much speed work. But, I really love doing speed intervals, while hill intervals don’t seem to give me the same endorphin rush.

Treadmill

 

Today I decided to compromise and do both!

Warm-Up
0-5 min: walking @ 3.7 mph at 1.5 inlcine
5-7 min: running @ 5.7 mph at 0.5 incline
7-10 min: running @ 6.0 mph at 0.5 incline
10-15 min:  running @ 6.3 mph at 0.5 incline

Intervals
15-16 min (incline): 6.2 mph at 3.0 incline
11-17 min (recovery) 6.2 mph at 0.5 incline
17-18 min (pace): 6.7 mph at 3.0 incline
18-19 min (recovery) 6.2 mph at 0.5 incline

The 60 second intervals seemed too easy, so I switched to 90 second intervals for the rest of my workout. I won’t spell it out, but I repeated this cycle until I reached 50 minutes (including my warm-up):

90 sec (incline): 6.2 mph at 3.0 incline
60 sec (recovery) 6.2 mph at 0.5 incline
90 sec (pace): 6.7 mph at 3.0 incline
60 sec (recovery) 6.2 mph at 0.5 incline

Cool-Down
60 sec running @ 6.0 mph at 0.5 incline
2 min running @ 5.7 mph at 0.5 incline
3 min (walking) @ 3.7 mph at 1.5 incline

(Do you see that running cool-down? I’m keeping my runners’ resolutions in mind!)

I think it was a good workout for where I am in my recovery/training. It was challenging but not too hard and best of all, no complaints from my ITB/glute/piriformis!

 I have several other posts about different speed workouts that I have come up with for the treadmill–they are great for beating treadmill boredom and always generous with the endorphins.

Do you like hill workouts? Speed workouts? Neither?

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Love Your Heart

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Coco

We celebrate Valentine’s Day with lace hearts, paper hearts, and chocolate hearts, but let’s not forget about our real hearts.

This weekend I read an interesting article in Good Housekeeping called, “How to Save Your Own Life.” It emphasized the importance of a healthy lifestyle to preventing heart disease, and outlined five key habits:

  • not smoking
  • exercising regularly
  • maintaining a healthy weight
  • eating well (including five or more daily servings of fruits and vegetables)
  • drinking moderatelty (1-7 alcoholic drinks a week)

According to the article, the more of these habits that you keep, the better your odds of staying healthy. It’s not just enough to be at a healthy weight. It’s not just enough to exercise. “It’s a whole package.”

This Valentine’s Day, commit to loving your heart. Make time for a heart-pumping workout. Enjoy some steamed vegetables with your steak dinner. Indulge in strawberries dipped in dark chocolate.  Toast your love with a glass of red wine.

I was lucky to survive a blood clot that I ignored for weeks, and promised that I would never ignore symptoms or take my health for granted again. When I lost my Dad to heart failure last year, the prevention of heart disease became even more important to me.  So I urge you to learn the warning signs of heart attack and stroke, and don’t hesitate to
call 9-1-1 at the first sign of chest pain/discomfort/tightness, shortness of breath, or sudden numbness, weakness, diziness, confusion, or other sudden symptoms.

Did you know that heart disease is the number one killer of women?

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Monday Check-In

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Coco

I’ve been frustrated by the recent return of my late-night snacking habit. I tend to blame my husband and son who often grab a 9:00 pm snack–it is so hard to fight off the munchies when others are crunching around you–but I know that I am responsible for my own choices. 

I decided to hold myself accountable with weekly weigh-ins, but I was shocked when I had to slide the marker on our doctor’s-style scale to a lower weight this morning (about 1.5 lbs below my “target” weight). Now, some of that could be a sign of dehydration. I know I didn’t drink enough water yesterday–I never do on the weekends. But I also think that it’s a sign that I need to eat more real food during the day–especially with all the extra milage I’m putting in at the other end of the leash.

In other good news, my right ITB/glute/piriformis is feeling good after that 9 mile treadmill workout yesterday.  I will continue my “rehab” program, including my weight routine that focuses on single-leg moves:

Superset #1 (3 cycles)
Single-leg dead lifts (12 reps each leg)
Military presses (12 reps)
Push-Ups (15 reps)

Superset #2 (3 cycles)
Bent-over rows (12 reps)
Single-leg squats (with the resting leg on a bench and holding on to my elliptical for balance!) (15 reps each leg)
Tricep dips (15 reps)

Superset #3 (3 cycles)
Lateral arm raises (8-12 reps)
Front arm raises (8-12 reps)
Lunges with bicep curls (15 reps each leg)

Superset #4 (3 cycles)
Chest flies on fitball (12 reps)
Crunches on fitball (20 reps)

Superset #5 (3 cycles on each side)
Glute bridges with skull crusher (15 reps) (I do these three times, not six)
Side leg-lifts (upper and lower leg) (15 reps)
Crunches (multi-directional) (20 reps)

I have cut out some upper body moves, but this still takes a solid 40 minutes with no dilly-dallying!

How did you kick-start your week?

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