Category Archives: D.C.

Birthday Fun

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Yesterday I wrote about all the things I want to do over the next year before I turn 30, but for today I wanted to take a step back and share how awesome of a day my b-day was! I started celebrating early over the weekend since my parents came into town for the Syracuse game – more on that disappointment later – and despite having my actual birthday fall on a Monday I managed to have a really good day.

I started things off with my favorite food bar for breakfast and a P90X ab ripper session before 5:30 hit.

Discovered these in a prize pack I won at the 2011 MCM Expo

Discovered these in a prize pack I won at the 2011 MCM Expo

Then I got ready to head up to Revolve for my usual Monday morning spin class. For me this was the perfect way to start off my birthday. How about you? Do you give yourself the day off from working out on special days or seek it out?

Sleepy but ready to sweat!

Sleepy but ready to sweat!

Ian made the morning even better by cooking up some sausage and cheese omelets for us for breakfast. Delicious. Breakfast is my absolute favorite meal, but most mornings I’m in such a rush to get out I just have my usual Cheerios or piece of toast and a banana, which gets pretty boring day after day.

I was so excited to eat this I got halfway through before taking a pic!

I was so excited to eat this I got halfway through before taking a pic!

I still had to go to work since I’m already taking Thursday and Friday of this week off, but Ian made it a bit easier and gave me a ride in. Phone calls and Facebook birthday wishes throughout the day kept me smiling. While it beats a new car payment right now, I still get pretty sick of metro so it made my day that it was the first day since winter that it was warm enough and bright enough thanks to daylight savings to bike/walk home after work. Once it gets a touch warmer this becomes a daily activity for me even once the summer heat and humidity hits. It’s just a few miles and it’s a nice change of pace after sitting in an office all day.

BikeShare is the best for days I ride home on a whim

BikeShare is the best for days I ride home on a whim

And I get to take in awesome views the whole way like this…

Passing by the Lincoln before leaving D.C. behind to cross the bridge in NoVa

Passing by the Lincoln before leaving D.C. behind to cross the bridge in NoVa

Ian said he’d make anything for dinner that I wanted and I requested chocolate chip waffles. Like I said, breakfast is my favorite meal!

So good!

So good!

He even made dessert and sang happy birthday to me. Knowing me as well as he does, he cut out the middle brownie from the batch since I don’t like the end pieces and added a candle.

Birthday Treat

Birthday Treat

To top things off Ian surprised me with my gift – a wind and rain-resistant Nike running jacket. I was so excited. It looks great and is also the one piece of running gear I don’t have. I usually just wear the big outer shell of my Columbia winter jacket on rainy/windy days which is a bit cumbersome and also too warm for early spring or late fall days.

New Jacket!

New Jacket!

Such a great day! Thanks to everyone who made me feel so special on my birthday this year! I have a feeling 29 is going to be pretty good to me.

 

 

 

 

30 Before 30

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Yesterday was my 29th birthday! I had such a great day after a fun weekend with my family, and since I love birthdays figured why not just make this my whole birthday week. When I was in high school I thought it was the best time ever until I got to college and thought what could top that. Since then each year has only been better and better. Last year was probably my best yet, so I can’t wait to see what 29 brings. With 30 right around the corner as a pretty big milestone birthday I thought it’d be fun to create a 30 Before 30 list of things I want to do this year before the big 3-0.

I broke my list into several categories in no particular order below. Seeing as this is a fitness blog a lot of them are based around that, but I threw a few others in there as well. My categories are Racing, Fitness Challenges, Around Town, Getting Certified, Social Stuff and Grown Up Things. I’d love to hear your thoughts on my list. Did you or will you do something similar before hitting a milestone birthday? What would be on your list?

Rocking My I Run This Body Shirt!

Rocking My I Run This Body Shirt!

Racing

  • Boston Qualifying Time
  • Race in Hawaii
  • Break 21 in a 5k
  • Break 44 in a 10k
  • Run another race back in my hometown (Syracuse!)
  • Set a PR in a race I’ve done before
  • Run a track race
  • Do a triathlon

Fitness Challenges

  • 50 consecutive push-ups
  • 100 consecutive burpees
  • 5-minute plank
  • 8-minute wall sit
  • Bike for 30 miles

Around Town

  • Go hiking around Virginia
  • Go to 3 D.C. museums or sights I’ve never been to before
  • Eat out at 3 D.C. restaurants I’ve never been to before
One of my favorite views into D.C.

One of my favorite views into D.C.

Getting Certified

Social Stuff

  • Do 30 group or partner runs this year
  • Volunteer for races at least 10 times
  • Go for a run in 3 new cities
  • Watch 3 movies on the AFI top 100 list

Grown Up Things

  • Try 3 new foods
  • Cook a turkey dinner
  • Attempt to make homemade pasta
  • Buy my parents dinner (they make this harder than you may think)
  • Find a new place to move into and learn how to rent current condo

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

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I got back on track last week after being slowed by some blisters the week before and felt like it was a great week of training. I also got myself a deep tissue massage midweek, which left my legs feeling recharged and ready for the rest of the week. I ran 27.38 total miles this week. Here’s the day by day training breakdown…

Monday: Spin Class in the morning followed by a strength workout.

Tuesday: Today’s speed day included hill work. I put in 6.1 miles total with 8 sprints up the hill next to Arlington Cemetery by the Iwo Jima Memorial and Netherlands Carillon Bell Tower.

Wednesday: I hit up an early endurance spin class at Revolve followed by a strength workout. I had a snowday today since the federal government closed and tried to go to my gym at the apartment after calling into a conference call only to find it too was closed even though we hadn’t gotten any actual snow. I guess you can’t be happy about getting out of one things and upset about another being closed over the same reason though! I don’t think the 30 or so minutes I planned to spend on the elliptical will make or break my training!

Thursday: After last week’s disastrous tempo run I was a bit nervous about this one. I also just really didn’t feel like working out. I almost got back into bed even after getting into my gym clothes, but instead dragged myself to the gym and figured I’d see how far I could get. I’m sure glad I did. I ran 7.31 miles starting out with a mile warm-up at an 8-minute pace, then started the tempo portion at a 7:35 pace working my way up to 7:30 before cooling down back at my 8-minute pace. I left feeling great and ready to take on anything that day. You’ve gotta love workouts like that!

Friday: Rest Day.

Saturday: I got up bright and early Saturday to get my long run in before the day’s festivities started. My parents were in town and we had tickets for the Syracuse – Georgetown game which turned out to be a bit of a disappointment, but I knew I’d have to get that run in before the drinks started pouring at the noon game! It was an absolutely beautiful day for a run. It was still in the 30s when I set off, but the sun was shining and it felt warmer. I ran through Georgetown onto Rock Creek Parkway and looped around Hains Point before heading home over the Memorial Bridge. I came in just shy of 11 miles at 10.72 miles in 90 minutes for about an 8:24 pace and felt great the whole way.

Sunday: I only had a 3-miler on tap today, but I ended up splitting it up around my personal training session. I ran 2.5 easy miles up to my client’s house and then 3/4 of a mile back to a bike share dock to ride the rest of the way home after our session for a total of 3.25 miles. I did this as a progression run making each mile a little faster than the next, but it was mostly an easy uphill run.

 

Seminar: Running Your Best Race

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On Saturday, the DC Capital Striders hosted a seminar  at Lululemon in Georgetown called Successful Race Execution – Preparation, Fueling, and Pacing Strategy to Run your Best Race featuring RRCA certified running coaches Lisa Reichmann and Julie Sapper. Lisa and Julie are both experienced runners themselves and are also co-founders of local running company, Run Farther & Faster, coaching everyone from those doing their first 5k to runners looking to PR in a marathon.

They covered the right way to taper, nutrition both while your training and racing and pacing strategies. Some of it was new and some was info I’ve heard before, but it’s always great to be reminded. They highlighted the importance of the taper, which is good for me to keep hearing because like most runners I go a little stir crazy during that time and have trouble trusting that I won’t lose all my fitness in the week and a half or so before the race.

Their info on fueling was great. They talked about avoiding sugary foods so you don’t crash, embracing carbs and making sure to eat a protein/carb snack or meal within 20 minutes of finishing a run. They also gave some good advice on in-race nutrition including the invaluable – don’t ever mix Gu with Gatorade!

Gatorade and Gu - Do not mix!!

Gatorade and Gu – Do not mix!!

The top takeaway for me came when I asked Julie about her long runs. I have a tough time doing them one to two minutes slower than race pace as most training plans recommend. I always worry that there is no way I’ll be able to run the pace I want to come race day if I do that despite what a lot of the science says on the subject.

She said she used to have similar concerns at a point where she was about a 3:45 or so marathoner before hooking up with a coach and a running group and following the long-slow distance method. (You can run the last few miles of some of these slower runs at race pace as a confidence booster too.) That helped bring her down into the 3:20s. Since I’m just under the 3:40 mark now and the 3:20s is where I want to be, this was exactly what I needed to hear. Granted the same things don’t work for everyone, but hearing it form someone that it worked for as opposed to reading it in a book makes a big difference for me.

I’d love to hear about your training – what plans do you follow? How do you fuel along the way? Does the taper drive you crazy? Let me know in the comments!

 

Pacers Meet and Greet with Ed Moran

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Last week Pacers hosted a Q&A session with professional runner Ed Moran at their Clarendon store. He gave some great training tips and running advice in a conversational format allowing all of us that showed up to ask any questions we had and dictate where the conversation went. It was a really enjoyable, info-filled event.

Pacers

Ed was a four-time All-American at William & Mary College and a seven-time U.S. National team member. He won a gold medal in the 5000m at the Pan-American Games and ran a 2:11 in his debut marathon. It was really cool to get running advice from someone who has raced at this level.

Having dealt with many injuries over his career he talked about the importance of cross-training in our training plans and discussed ways to incorporate speed training among many other topics. One of the pieces of advice he gave that I found most interesting was on fueling during races and how to practice. He suggested looking at the water/aid stops on the course map and only allowing yourself to drink at those same points on your training runs. I think this makes so much sense and will try to put it into practice when I train for the Marine Corps Marathon this year.

Check out the Pacers calendar for more upcoming events like these and fun runs.

Blogger Ride at Revolve

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Last Thursday I was invited to a special spin class Revolve hosted for D.C. area fitness bloggers and enthusiasts. It came together out of a group of bloggers featured in the Washingtonian chatting on twitter and turned into a big event. I go to Revolve regularly and love their classes, and am also a huge fan of a lot of the bloggers that were going so I was really excited to take another class there and actually meet some of these people who’s blogs I’ve been following.

BloggerRide1

I stole this shot from Anne’s at fANNEtastic food blog.

Francina Segbefia taught our class with awesome energy, a kick-butt Vegas-themed playlist and a flair of style. She kicked things off by having everyone introduce ourselves and the name of our blog so we could know each other in the real world too. It was so much fun. She had the whole class singing along to Gold Digger and other songs and pushed us all the way to the end where we wrapped up with some weights to work on the upper body. Their body ride classes are fast becoming my favorite type of spin class – it’s a great change of pace and this one was an absolute blast.

On the bikes next to me were Melody from Will Run for Margaritas – love her blog – and Laney from Running On Veggies – I hadn’t seen her blog before, but it’s great and definitely worth your time to check out. Turns out Melody and I used to teach boot camps at the same site – small world D.C. for you. Some other bloggers I really enjoy reading were also there including Melissa Romero who does the Washingtonian Well Being blog, Ashley of Coffee Cake and Cardio, Workout Wonks and DC Fit Crasher.

Blogger Introductions

Blogger Introductions

After class we had some time to mingle and post-ride refreshments from Gouter. I was a bit skeptical that I would like something labeled raw, vegan and organic, and I’m not really into juices or cleanses, but these were surprisingly tasty!

Post-Ride Refreshments

Post-Ride Refreshments

Overall it was a great night – fun to meet other bloggers excited about health and fitness in D.C., and get a great workout in too!

Home Sweet Dome

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Last weekend my Dad, Ian and I headed up to the Carrier Dome to see Syracuse play longtime rival Georgetown. A record-setting 35,012 people packed the Dome breaking the NCAA on-campus attendance record. Carmelo Anthony was back at the Dome to have his number retired at halftime. The place was rocking and orange was everywhere. It was perfect. Then we lost to Georgetown. Talk about a buzz-kill.

The Syracuse – Georgetown rivalry is legendary and one of the things I’m most sad to lose as conference realignment moves forward next season and the Big East falls apart. I know they plan to continue playing each other, but it just won’t be the same. Seventeen of Syracuse’s 72 games with more than 30,000 in attendance at the Dome have been against Georgetown. A few years before I was born in February of 1980 Syracuse brought a 57 consecutive home game win streak in to its final game at Manley Field House. The seniors on that team had never lost a home game in their careers. Georgetown beat the Orange that day and Coach John Thompson grabbed a mic and announced, “Manley Field House is officially closed.’’ Truly a rivalry for the ages – you just can’t make this stuff up.

Last weekend, this year’s Syracuse squad took a 38 home game winning streak onto the court. Thanks to Otto Porter blowing up for 33 points and Syracuse not being able to beat their 2-3 zone – something you think they’d know how to attack! – the ‘cuse lost their last Big East home game to the Hoyas. Current Georgetown Coach, John Thompson III, said he wasn’t going to give a Manley Field House is closed type of statement. Some might call him classy for that, but I prefer to think he just doesn’t want to give the Orange any bulletin board material for their rematch on March 9 down here in D.C.

I’ll be at that game too and I hope the ‘cuse can return the favor. I’m sure it’ll be a blast and it’s always fun to see so many Orange shirts at an away game despite Georgetown’s best efforts to keep Syracuse fans out. I actually had to make a $50 donation to Georgetown this year for the chance to buy a maximum of eight tickets. They don’t do that for any other game. It was a bit hard to swallow, but worth it to head to Carrier Dome South – I mean the Verizon Center – for the game this March.

Pics from the game at the Dome below. I unfortunately forgot my real camera so some of the iPhone shots are a bit blurry. I did have my wide angle iPhone lens adapter though, so I was able to get some good shots showing how packed it was in there!

Race Recap: Love the Run You’re With 5k

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Sunday marked my first race of 2013 and my first real race back from the injured list. I ran in Pacers Love the Run You’re With (LTRYW) 5k for the first time and loved it. I didn’t PR, but that wasn’t the goal for this race, and I was very pleased with my finish time of 22:56. I’m making great progress and am on my way to getting back to where I was at, and hopefully even better!

After hearing about the bone chilling temps from last year’s race I was sure glad how nice of a day it turned out to be. Temps were in the 30s and the sun was shining. I wore my Reebok long sleeve as a base layer topped by my Reebok 1/2 zip jacket and my Nike Pacers Ambassador t-shirt. I also had on an Under Armour hat, a neck gaiter, gloves, Nike pants and Zensah compression sleeves. I was WAY overdressed and started overheating about a half mile in. This does not happen to me often. I’m getting way too used to running in cold weather.

Ian got up early with me to drive me to the race, take pictures and cheer me on – more impressive than usual since we’d gone to a great Mardi Gras party the night before and had a few hurricanes! It’s always nice to have someone waiting for you at the finish line. Champps (that’s how they spell it) opened up for runners before the race so I was able to hang out in there and stay warm until about 15 minutes before start time.

The course was an out and back that started near the Pacers in Pentagon Row right next to the ice skating rink. We ran by the Pentagon Row shops before turning onto Army Navy Drive and going straight up a steep hill. It wasn’t as bad as I remembered from the days I used to run those roads when I worked in Crystal City, but I was certainly breathing heavy. At the top of the hill we were treated to a long, gradual descent (all I could think was oh man, I have to come back up this!), and then some flat and some rolling roads to the turnaround.

My first mile was a bit faster than the rest, but my splits were relatively close to even. I ran mile 1 in 7:13 followed by miles 2 and 3 in 7:22 and 7:26. I finished with a kick to the finish at a 6:23 pace. I was really thankful that I’ve been working on my form both going up and going down hills. I felt like I was flying coming back down the steep hill before turning onto Joyce St. for the final kick to the finish. I leaned forward and let gravity take over, but remembered to land as softly as possible so I wasn’t pounding my legs into the ground.

I crossed the line in 22:56 for an average pace of 7:23 per mile. (My watch was pretty close to that showing a 22:55 finish for 3.14 miles at a 7:18 pace.)That put me in 160th place out of 1,721 overall and 48th out of 1,083 females. I had a blast running this race and will definitely sign up for LTRYW again next year. There were some great costumes and themed running outfits, and free bloody mary’s at Champps after the race topped off a great morning!

Did you race last weekend? Let me know how it went!

Hitting the Hills

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My February focus is all about getting my speed back, so I’m getting two speed sessions in a week as part of my half marathon training. When I think of speed workouts I immediately think track and tempo workouts, but my Hal Higdon training plan alternates each week between a track workout and a hill workout for the first month and a half. In a sick kind of way I actually enjoy running hills and love that they make me faster and stronger.

Earlier this week I did my first hill workout after a few mile warm up near the Iwo Jima Memorial running the hill next to Arlington Cemetery up to the Netherlands Carillon Bell Tower. My fellow Marine Corps Marathon alumni know this hill as the finish line. I like  using this hill for workouts because it reminds me of finishing my marathons there (although that race turns right half way up this hill), and will hopefully give me confidence to charge up it and finish strong when I tackle the marathon there this year. I took on the MCM hill six times before a short cool down and returning home to start my day. I was beat but also felt great at the same time.

When I run hills I focus on what’s right in front of me instead of looking up the hill at what I have ahead. I try to shorten my stride a little and lean into it. I love this Runner’s World video where Bart Yasso says to think about running with your “nose over your toes” so that you don’t lean too far back or too far forward. I also pump my arms to pull myself up and really focus on engaging my glutes as I crank out the repeats.

Check out this great RunWashington article on hill training for some more advice on how to use hills to improve your speed.

I tackled the MCM hill six times this week and am already thinking about my next hill workout. If you’re in the DC/NoVa area, do you have any good hills I should try and run? Do you use hill workouts as part of your race training?

I ran out of time after my morning workout, so I tried to get some pics after work yesterday. I got out later than expected and ran out of light so these aren’t the greatest shots, but here it is…

Nike Women’s Half Marathon DC: Here I Come!

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My first goal race of 2013 is the Nike Women’s half marathon in Washington D.C., and I cannot wait! Monday marked the start of my official training plan. I kicked things off with a cross training and strength training day before hitting the hills this morning. I’ve decided to follow the Hal Higdon advanced half marathon plan, but am switching the Monday and Wednesday runs to cross training days. As much as I want to get back to running six days a week, I’m not sure I’m ready for that yet and don’t want to overdo things again this year only to end up re-injured.

I’m a bit annoyed at myself for paying 100 bucks more for this race than my last full marathon (this was $160), but sometimes the experience is worth the cost and I’m hoping that’s the case with this one. It’s the inaugural race in D.C., so I’m excited to be a part of it. I love that Nike partners with Team in Training – an awesome organization that supports the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and also the group I ran my first marathon with. Another bonus…instead of a medal when you cross the finish line, you’re given a little blue box with a Tiffany’s necklace in it!

I ran the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco way back in 2005. I’m not sure why, but I remember less about this race than any other marathon I’ve done, but I do recall it being pretty well organized and a fun event. It was marathon number two for me and I’ve come a long ways since then. I had so much energy in college that I could go out and run a marathon without really training (just very slowly), and I also didn’t really know the right ways to train for a race. I had a basic 3-day-a-week and one long weekend run plan that I kind of, sort of followed as the semester got busier. Unfortunately, it was usually the long runs that I didn’t always fit in.

Race nutrition wasn’t something I’d even heard about. I thought people eating along the course needed to suck it up. I mean going 4 to 5 hours without food shouldn’t be that difficult, right? Oh, I had so much to learn. I’m fairly certain my pre-race meal the night before was at a bar where I had a grilled cheese sandwich and a Miller Lite. OK, it was two Miller Lites. What was I thinking?!

Needless to say, I will be A LOT more prepared for the Nike Half. I learn more with each race I do and can’t wait to put my latest knowledge into action as I take on this course. I love racing in my own backyard and that’s what this course feels like. I know and have repeatedly run every inch of it, which I think will be a huge benefit come race day. We’ll get some awesome views of the monuments along the Mall, do an over and back on Memorial Bridge, pass by the Kennedy Center, brave Hains Point and finish up on Pennsylvania Ave not too far from the White House. I’ll also get to do a dress rehearsal a few weeks earlier at the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler which follows a similar course.

My goal for the race is 1:38:15, which would be a 5-minute PR and a 7:30 pace. I’m going to have to really kick it up a notch in my training to get back to running at that pace and be able to sustain it for that long. My fastest pace for a longer distance race to date is 7:40, but that was also “only” a 10 miler, so it’s an ambitious goal, but one I think I can reach if I prep right. I also know a whole bunch of people who are also running this race, which makes it even more fun.

Let me know if you’re running the DC Nike Half as well and what your goal is for the race – can’t wait to see everyone out there on April 28!