Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

I only ran 20 total miles last week, but it was a great week of training. I put in short interval and tempo runs along with my cross training before running in the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler on Sunday. Here’s the day by day training breakdown…

Monday: Spin Class

Tuesday: 3 miles easy – run home from work.

Wednesday: I’ve been trying to do all of my interval workouts outside this training cycle, but just couldn’t work it in today. I did find a quick time slot to get down to the treadmill though, and put in 4 miles total including a 1/2 mile warm-up followed by five 1/2 mile intervals at a sub-7 minute pace with 90-second recovery jogs before cooling down.

Thursday: Rest Day

Friday: I put in a short 3-mile tempo run Friday morning on the treadmill starting at a 7:30 pace and working down to a 7:18 pace.

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: Race Day! I had a great day at the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler setting a new PR for the distance with a finish time of 1:15:54. I’ll have a full recap out tomorrow, but I was thrilled with the PR and only 54 seconds behind my goal for this race leaving me very optimistic that I’m on the right track for the Nike Half Marathon at the end of the month.

Final Prep: The Day Before Race Day

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

The day before a race I like to get everything ready, so I have nothing to stress me out or worry about on race day. It also keeps me from forgetting things. The Cherry Blossom 10 Miler expo opened on Friday so I was able to take care of that and pick up my race bib yesterday.

I took it easy today and didn’t work out. I’m used to rest days, but it felt very strange on a Saturday. I checked out the course map one last time to remind myself where the water stops would be and plan out spots for Ian to see me along the course and meet up after.

I pinned my number onto my race shirt. I always do this while I’m wearing the shirt becuase of an incident during a triathlon where I tried to slip into my shirt after the swim only to realize I’d put the saftey pins through both sides of the shirt! I check the weather forecast one last time and decide what to wear then lay out all my clothes from head to toe to make sure I’ve got everything I need. I also pack a post-race bag with a change of clothes and different sneaks to put on after the race.

Ready to Run!

I also charge my Garmin even if I’ve recently charged it because I might actually panic if it died on me during a race. I make sure I have my Road ID ready and my Gu or other fuels I plan to take during the race too.

Gu, Garmin and Road ID

I plan out my breakfast too. I’ve got the bread maker running so I can have a slice of toast to go with my banana and yogurt. I have a Clif Bar too that I’ll eat if I still feel hungry. Usually for races of this distance I won’t need it, but like to have it ready just in case.

Breakfast

I’d like to say I’m planning on a lowkey early night, but my Syracuse Orange have made the Final Four, so I’ll be rooting them on with fellow Syracuse friends tonight! Go Orange!

Good luck to everyone running Cherry Blossom tomorrow morning! Say hi if you see me out there!

5-Minute Plank? Challenge Accepted!

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

When I turned 29 last month I put together a 30 Before 30 list of things I wanted to accomplish over the next year. One category was a list of fitness challenges that included a 5-minute plank. I do a 15-minute core workout everyday so last night I thought I might give this one a try and see if I couldn’t knock it out on my first try. Mission accomplished. I held steady – well, slightly shaky by the end – for all five minutes! Here’s to checking the first thing off my list!

Starting off strong

Sneaking in a smile for the camera – this was still early!

Almost there!

Made it!

Holding steady till the end!

Race Prep – Taking on the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler This Weekend

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

I’ve already mentioned it a million times (what can I say, I like to talk about races!), but for those that don’t know, I’m running the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler on Sunday. I’ve done this race twice before and it’s one of my favorites. It’s a crowded race, but also a fast and flat course. It travels by so many of the great Monuments and sights throughout D.C. that I get to take in on so many of my daily runs, so it’s not surprise I love it.

Cherry Blossom Race

I technically don’t have plans to race this as it is supposed to be a training run along the way to my goal race – the Nike Women’s D.C. Half Marathon coming up at the end of the month. However, I’d like to run it at my half marathon goal race pace, which is 7:30, and that would actually be a 10-miler PR for me. I set my current 10-miler PR at last year’s Cherry Blossom race with a 7:40 pace. Seeing as this course is very similar to the half I’m preparing for, it will be a great test to see where I’m at.

I’m planning to pick my packet up Friday afternoon around lunch time. I know it’ll be busy then, but they did a good job of handling the rush at this time last year and it keeps me from having to get out to the Expo on Saturday when I’d rather be relaxing and getting my legs ready for race day. Before I even get to that though I’m treating my legs to a deep tissue massage after work today. They might hurt during the massage, but it sure makes a difference and leaves my legs feeling so much better after.

Race Shirt and Bib

On Saturday I will get all my clothes and gear out and ready, and map out a plan with Ian for where he can see me along the course and how we’ll meet up after. I try to get some good carbs and protein in at dinner the night before a race too. I also like to go over the course map one last time and make sure I know where the water stops are. I drink a ton of water all the time, but I try to pay special attention to it on pre-race days.

On Sunday morning the plan is to get there early since I know it’ll be crowded and I want to get a good spot in my corral. My mantra for this race will be to START SLOW, FINISH FAST. I am the absolute worst at this and have never executed it successfully in a longer race. I know I need to get better at this so I don’t ruin my entire race in the first couple miles. I’ve always had a tough time with knowing my pace, but getting the Garmin has helped out a lot with that. I’m trying to decide whether to line up with the 7:30 pacer or not. Last year I did and we went out so much faster than that pace that I lost him at mile 2 and it really hurt me down the stretch. This is going to be a game-time decision for me. I might even try to find the pacer beforehand and ask him/her what the plan is for the first couple miles.

The Hains Point portion of the course definitely got the best of me last year, but I’ve practiced running on it so many times since then that I am SO ready to take it on. My biggest fear for that section of the course is a windy day. I really struggle running into the wind there. How do you all feel about drafting? If it is super windy and I tuck in behind someone bigger than me is this wrong since realistically there are not too many others I could return the favor for since I’m only 5 feet 4 inches tall!

Regardless of how I do I plan to have fun. I love running, but these are the days that I put in all the hard work for and I don’t want to let it go by without enjoying it!

Are you racing this weekend? Let me know where and hope to see you if you’re doing Cherry Blossom too!

Resolution Check-In

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

April is here and hopefully spring-like weather will be here to stay soon too. At the start of each month I like to look back at my New Year’s Resolutions and see how I’m doing. I also pick what I’m going to focus on for the next month.

Getting healthy and staying healthy was an important goal for me this year. So far things are going well with this and I’ve made smart decisions about when it might not be healthy to do a workout just because it’s on the schedule. I did miss a couple strength workouts and missed a few too many days of stretching in March, so I’m going to make sure that doesn’t happen again in April.

Building up my core is another part of staying healthy and making me a stronger, faster athlete. This continues to go really well. My streak of consecutive days completing my version of the P90X ab ripper core workout that I began on December 29 is still going strong. I had to laugh on my 90th straight day as I found myself getting it in during TV timeouts of the Syracuse – Indiana game to calm my nerves, and remembered that this whole streak started during SU football’s appearance in the Pin Stripe Bowl. I’m probably going to have to come up with a way to make this workout harder in April so I don’t get too used to doing the same thing everyday.

Drinking less soda is going to be my key focus for April. I actually didn’t have a soda during all of Lent (mid-February through March 31), but not having something when I’ve made a commitment to give it up is easy for me. Not overdoing it as I reintroduce it to my diet will be more difficult.

March’s focus was on nutrition and I felt like I made some really good strides. Ian and I started eating salads with dinner a couple nights a week. I’m eating a ton of fruit every day, and thanks to my Mom for sharing the skinnytaste website with me, I’ve been finding more ways to eat veggies with my meals. We tried out several recipes from the site and all were great – you couldn’t even really taste the veggies in some of them, which is a good way to make sure I eat them. I kind of have the palate of a five-year-old sometimes. (Or most of the time.)

New recipes that we tried in March included a baked broccoli mac and cheese, baked spinach and sausage pasta and stuffed buffalo chicken breasts. I loved the mac and cheese. We actually used a mixed bag of broccoli and cauliflower – this may’ve been the first time in my life I’ve eaten cauliflower – and it tasted great. I’d make this again in a heartbeat. The stuffed buffalo chicken breasts were also very tasty and a great game-day meal. I was skeptical about the spinach and sausage because it called for what I deem a gross amount of spinach. I really liked it the first night we ate it though and and even the first and second times I reheated it. By the last time it was kind of gross. I would suggest halving this recipe if just making it for two.

In addition to focusing on regular nutrition I tried some new things out to fuel along the way on my long runs. I found two flavors of Gu that I actually like and my stomach tolerates really well. I also tested out the Honey Stinger pomegranate flavored gummies and they were great.

Even though it won’t be my main focus going into April, I’m hoping to keep making strides with my nutrition and finding even more ways to get those veggies into my diet!

How are you doing on your resolutions this year? Anyone have any big goals they’re working on?

Broccoli Mac N Cheese Leftovers – forgot to snap a pic when we were eating

So much spinach!!

Baked sausage and spinach pasta

Stuffed Buffalo Chicken Breasts w/ a side of rice

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

Other than a missed workout on Saturday I had a pretty solid training week. It’s hard to believe Cherry Blossom is coming up this Sunday and the Nike Half is less than a month away now. I ran 28.64 total miles last week. Here’s the day by day training breakdown…

Monday: Spin Class

Tuesday: Another blister as a result of Sunday’s long run was really bothering me, so I didn’t want to do my speed workout today and make things worse or cause another injury by compensating for it. I did get in 3 easy miles on a run home from work followed by a lower body strength workout.

Wednesday: With my feet feeling much better on Wednesday and very thankful for the easy day Tuesday, I had a strong speed workout back at Hains Point again. I was able to get out on my lunch break and enjoy some sunshine and pretty decent weather for it too. I ran 6.25 miles total with a 1.5 mile warm-up, 3 mile repeats with 400 meter recovery jogs and a 1 mile cool down.

Thursday: Not wanting to do back to back speed workouts I moved my usual Friday rest day to Thursday this week.

Friday: I got in a tempo run around Hains Point after work. The best part about this run was it was my first in shorts and a tank! OK, so I had arm warmers and calf sleeves on too, but spring has to be getting closer. I got in 6.36 miles at an average 7:53 pace including my mile warm-up at an 8-minute pace. I was a little disheartened by the pace as I was hoping for a 7:30 average during the tempo portion. It was a particularly windy day and I really struggled keeping my pace into the wind. It knocked me down to an 8:30 pace at parts and when I checked my watch if the wind would momentarily die down I realized I was going at a 6:40 pace at the same effort level. Seeing that I was running on parts of the race course, I really hope it’s not too windy on race day.

Saturday: Unplanned rest day. I don’t remember doing it, but I turned my alarm off without getting up this morning. By the time I woke up I had to rush off to a meeting about joining a triathlon team (because clearly I don’t have enough on my plate already), and then Ian and I headed into D.C. to watch Syracuse play in the elite 8 at the Verizon Center. Running is pretty important to me, but I definitely wasn’t missing that game! I contemplated doing a double session on Sunday, but I knew that just letting this go and not beating myself up about it was the smarter decision to make.

Sunday: After a beautiful day Saturday I was really upset to see a lower temperature, gray clouds and rain, so it took me awhile to get myself out the door for my long run. I finally headed out around 2 in the afternoon and was really glad I did. I definitely felt better after the fact. I put in just more than 13 miles over the Key Bridge, through Georgetown to the Mall, around the Capitol Building, through Hains Point, over the Memorial Bridge and back home. It was dreary and rainy the whole way, but I kept a steady long run pace. Later that night I got in a lower body strength workout as well.

Nike’s Just for Her VIP Night

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

My friend Lindsay and I headed out to Potomac River Running’s Tyson’s store Thursday night for a special Nike Just for Her VIP Night. We’re both planning on running the Nike Women’s Half in D.C. next month so we figured this would be a fun, pre-race get together. I had really good intentions of cranking this post out Thursday night so it’d be up Friday morning, but I was too nervous watching the Syracuse game that night and too fired up after they beat one-seed Indiana to be able to focus on writing!

Lindsay & Me at the Nike Event

I’ve been to similar events before, but this one was by far the best yet – they did a really good job. The first 30 RSVPs to show up received free Nike swag bags, but despite being there fairly early we didn’t stand a chance since apparently some people showed up hours early. We filled out some surveys to give Nike some feedback for a chance to pick a plastic easter egg that might reveal we won a prize. No luck there either, but we quickly turned our attention to the table where ladies were mingling about and enjoying wine, nuun cocktails and snacks. I wasn’t in the mood to drink anything so I just grabbed a water, but I did load up on some snacks!

Cocktails

Snacks!

We had a bit of time to wander around the store and check out all the great gear. You could even sign up for free massages! I drooled over the Nike wall of gear for awhile before deciding on a few things.

Wall of Nike Clothes

The Nike reps gave a quick presentation on Nike+ before letting people go back to milling about the store. They called everyone to attention a few more times throughout the night to showcase some new Nike gear (good stuff!) and also did a bunch of raffles every 15-25 minutes. Before switching to my Garmin I used Nike+ for a few years back when it was an iPod attachment and then a wristband and shoe pod. I really like the improvements they’ve made to their free app and think their updated Nike+ GPS watch with Tom Tom is pretty awesome. I was really hoping to come away with one in the big raffle at the end of the night, but unfortunately did not win out. Don’t tell my Garmin I said that, because it’s already been finicky lately and I don’t need it getting jealous and breaking down on me. 😉

Nike+ Presentation

To enter the raffles you had to buy something Nike from the store. I wish they’d let everyone get at least one ticket for free and then gave more entries to people who purchased items, but that was really my only complaint of the night. I managed to find a few things I really wanted anyways and since I just passed the $50 mark, I got a free pair of Nike performance socks to go along with them! I picked up a great new Nike running hat. Let’s just say it was time – my white running hat I’ve been wearing since training started for my 2011 Twin Cities and Marine Corps Marathon races is getting a bit worn. I also got a new orange top that is identical to ones I already have in green and white. They are oh so comfortable and I love wearing them on the run or to the gym or spin class. I figured I’d go with Orange in honor of Syracuse taking on Indiana in the Sweet 16 later that night!

Nike Running Hat

New Nike Running Top – So Orange!

I’m so glad we made it out for this event. It was a lot of fun and I’m getting even more pumped for the Nike race now. I can’t believe it’s just a month away!

Ch…Ch…Ch…Changes

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

If you’ve been on the blog in the past few days I’m sure you noticed the shiny, new logo at the top. I love writing this blog and really appreciate everyone who comes by to read it, so I thought I’d try to make it a little prettier for you all to look at. I LOVE the new logo, and was so excited to add it to the site.

Noah, an old roommate of Ian’s when he lived in Minnesota, did the design work for me. Ian worked for a lacrosse organization there, and a lot of the shirts and gear they had sported really cool logos. When I started talking about adding a logo, Ian was quick to remind me that Noah had done a lot of that work. I was really excited when he agreed to work on my logo. I was even more excited when he came up with this out of my not so great starting direction consisting of: I like blues and reds, I don’t like capital letters and here’s a link to my site. If you like what you see and have some design work of your own you’d like Noah to work on, you can reach out to him directly at noahhhallATgmail.com. You can also leave a comment below or email me at heartandsole.colleenATgmail.com and I’ll connect you.

I also updated my About Me page and added a couple badges on the right sidebar for organizations that I’m a part of. I was recently named a Sweat Pink Ambassador and am thrilled to be part of that community. Part of their mission says, they know “that real women sweat, and sweat hard. We know that assertiveness, strength, and ambition are the ultimate feminine qualities.” I’m also a member of the Healthy Living Blogs community, which is a great way to learn about and connect with other like-minded bloggers.

I have a brand new facebook page for heart & sole too: http://www.facebook.com/HeartAndSole.Colleen. If you enjoy reading my posts, please head on over and Like the page so we can connect there. It’s pretty bare, so leave a comment and let me know how your training is going, talk about your favorite races or fitness classes, or tell me what you’d like to see more or less of on the blog. You can also connect with me on twitter or instagram. I’m working on a Pinterest page too, so I’ll give you a heads up when that’s ready.

I have plans to add a few more tabs in addition to the About Me and Race Results pages. I’m hoping to make the website a bit more user friendly by putting those tabs in a nav bar across the top under the logo, but am still figuring that out. It’s a work in progress! I’m always trying to make this blog better, so please let me know if you have any ideas from design to content!

Guest Blog: The Musings of An Athletic Supporter Part II

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

My boyfriend Ian guest stars on my blog again today with a second post on what it’s like to be a non-runner at running events. If you like his writing, you can read more over on his blog, Croutons Stuck in Futons. I’m a bit biased, but it’s pretty darn good and really entertaining.

Guest Blogger: Ian Gallagher

Run Rogue 5k: A View from the Sideline

First off, this is a great event supporting a great cause. The fights against Brain and Breast Cancer deserve our attention and support for more than the time it takes to run a 5K, especially at the pace some of the runners were going.

Some non-running race observations. First off they served coffee to everyone, not just those who decided to tackle the race. It is nice when Race Directors remember that spectators are part of the experience. Point to Run Rogue.

The Race had an excellent atmosphere. Between the MC keeping the crowd involved during the dark side of the race* and the feel good vibes coming with all of the cancer survivors coming through the finish line, the Rogues definitely had the ambiance of a great race.

*The dark side of a race is the moment the last runner leaves the starting area until the winner comes charging into view. Most participants never know the 12 minute awkward pause as people wait with noisemakers in hand. It is the Action Movie elevator scene writ large.

Finally, the race had easy and accessible parking. No meters or pay lots, just a large enough free lot to park in. Run Rogue 5k you rock. I really thought this was a great race, and one I would recommend to all levels of athletic supporters and their families, whether you are running or just there to yell.

Crowded Start Line!

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

Despite feeling a bit under the weather and dealing with more winter-like weather (where are you spring?!), I felt like I had a pretty solid training week last week. I know it could be a lot worse than it is here, but I am so sick of the cold. I’m over winter weather, layering up and bitter windy days. Spring needs to get here – and soon! One thing I did not do last week is my strength workouts, which is not acceptable and I will really focus on making sure that happens this week. I ran 33.57 total miles last week. Here’s the day by day training breakdown…

Monday: Spin Class

Tuesday: I did my speed workout at Hains Point again this week and fared pretty well with my half mile repeats. I did a total of 6.1 miles with a 2 mile warm-up, 4 800-meter repeats with 400-meter recovery jogs (this was too long) and a 1 mile cool down.

Wednesday: I was up early for an endurance spin class up at Revolve and wrapped the day up with a fun run with a friend after work around the Mall and the Jefferson Memorial for about 5.75 miles.

Thursday: I don’t know what it was, but I had the hardest time getting myself to the gym this morning. I came up with every excuse in the book and almost got back in bed a few times even after getting into my gym clothes and doing my ab workout. I got to the gym and saw all the treadmills in use, which rarely happens at my gym, and I almost turned around. Then someone hopped off and I knew I had no excuses left. I’m so glad I did this run. I did a 6.05 mile tempo run for an average pace of 7:26 including my warm-up and a top pace of 6:48. It felt great!

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: I ran the Run Rogue 5k this morning. It wasn’t a great race for me, but it was a great cause so I’m glad I did it. Full recap to come tomorrow.

New Nike Half Zip from Pacers, Race Bib Pinned and Ready To Go

Sunday: Still not feeling well, I almost bagged my long run on Sunday. I got a second wind late afternoon though and decided to head to the gym and just see how long I could make it on the treadmill. I figured that way if I wanted to drop at mile 6, I wouldn’t be 6 miles away from home. It ended up going great though and I made it for the whole 1 hour and 45 minutes I had planned. I kept it at an easy 8:27 pace with a 1.0 incline for the first hour and 20 minutes before starting to up the pace every five minutes. For the last five I upped it each minute so I could reach my goal pace of 7:30 – even if it was just for a minute I felt good to end the run at that pace. I finished up with 12.55 miles for an average pace of 8:21.