Resolution Check-In

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

Wow, August 1st, this year is just flying! Time to check in on those resolutions.

Last month’s big focus was cross training and strength training. I started strong but then let things slip a little near the end of the month. I need to come back strong on that this month to help boost my Marine Corps Marathon training and make sure I stay on track with my New Year’s Resolutions to get healthy and build a stronger core. I’ve been doing great about running smarter not harder so far this year and I certainly don’t want to fall behind and land myself on the injured list again.

Rocking my I Run This Body Tee!

I’m still working on the soda, but am doing a bit better. I still have free soda just around the corner from my desk at my new job so that doesn’t help matters, but I’ve been drinking fountain soda at restaurants a lot less so that’s a positive.

My Boston Qualifier goal is coming up quickly with Marine Corps Marathon training in full swing. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit nervous and worried about my speed, but I am already putting in a lot of good, quality miles. I also know I shouldn’t judge too soon especially with the summer heart wave that kicked off my training.

Seeing as how important that goal is to me my main focus for this month will be my long runs. So far so good on this front, but I’m far enough into my training where I already have a few under my belt but far enough away from my race that it can be easy to let one slip if I’m feeling unmotivated. So here’s to another good month of long runs!

Hope everyone’s doing well on your Resolutions!

New Stuff!

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

OK, so I have to admit I have a bit of an obsession with new stuff smell… new car smell, new shoe smell, new clothes smell…you name it. It’s weird. I know. I can’t help it. The past month has been overflowing with new stuff. Not all of them are associated with smells, but I do feel better now that I’ve made that confession public. :-p

I’ve given snippets about lots of new things happening mostly as an excuse for why my posts have been few and far between this month, but now I finally have time to give a real update. At the beginning of July I started a new job as a senior manager of communications at the Global Business Travel Association. My first boss has worked there for a few years and is helping me transition into the position as she plans to spend more time with her family. Always nice when someone does that genuinely – and not to save their collapsing political career.

It’s the perfect way to learn a new job and I’m really excited about it so far. My coworkers are great and have been trying to get me up to speed quickly since our big annual convention is coming up next week! It’s also in a great location in Old Town, Alexandria. There are so many great lunch spots, it’s just a few minute walk from the waterfront and it’s an amazingly easy, traffic-free commute.

That traffic-free commute is made possible by my new car! Hopefully this isn’t starting to sound like the Price is Right. Early followers of my blog might remember the story of how my old Saturn died on New Year’s Eve a few years ago. I’ve been car-free or attempting to drive my boyfriend’s standard without stalling too many times since then, so I was pretty excited about leasing my new Honda CRV. The back-up camera might be my favorite feature, but I’m also enjoying the feeling of being a little higher up than I used to be in my tiny blue Saturn.

At 9-10 miles along the Mt. Vernon trail from my apartment, it’s also the perfect distance for running home from work on my longish mid-week run. I’m hoping the hills at the end of that route will pay off come Marine Corps Marathon time.

Just because I apparently like to do everything at once, Ian and I also moved into a new apartment the weekend before starting my new job! This one is my favorite of all the new stuff that’s been happening. We only moved one metro stop away, but we’re loving the bigger space and our new neighborhood. Also…in-unit laundry! That probably makes me happier than it should. Five years of going down 8 floors to the basement to do laundry and days- (or more often, weeks-) worth of stinky running clothes in the hamper was more than enough though.

We rented out my old condo and got a quick lesson in what it’s like to be a landlord when we spent all of July 4th (and a half) until 5 in the morning putting the finishing touches on the old place after we’d gotten all of our stuff out of it. We painted the trim and re-caulked the bath tub because who would live without those things. Oh wait, us, for the last 11 months since the new trim was put in. Funny how you can get used to things.

We also spent several days of Ikea madness at our place, but I love all of our new furniture and that we got to pick this place out together. The building amenities aren’t half bad either! We’ve already taken advantage of the grilling area by the pool and (not suprisingly) the fitness center. We finally got around to hanging all of our pictures this past weekend and are really enjoying settling into the new place. Seeing as there is no elevator, which made the move-in process really fun, I’m hoping we’re here for awhile!

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

Last week was a pretty solid training week featuring a mid-week track race and a long run that included some trails that I don’t run on nearly often enough. I’d like to start speeding things up, but am happy with the mileage base that I have.

Here’s the day by day breakdown…

Monday: Spin Class at Revolve – real ride.

Tuesday: I ran home from work again – this week it was “only” 90 degrees out when I set out and I got an entire extra mile in in the same amount of time. I finished up with 10 miles – love being able to hit double digits during the week.

Wednesday: DC Road Runners Track Championship! I ran the mile in 6:21 for a 3rd place finish in my heat. Check out the full recap.

Thursday: Rest Day

Friday: Strength training – core and upper body.

Saturday: 16.5 mile long run. I got myself going a bit earlier this week and was on the road before 8. I took a route I’ve only done once before and even mixed in some trails along the Glover Archbold Trail before running through the zoo and home via Rock Creek Parkway. I don’t run trails very often so it was a pretty challenging run for me, and I’m probably a little too proud that I didn’t fall this time and I only got lost once!

Sunday: 45 minute treadmill run.

Race Recap: Such A Rush

Posted on July 28, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

Last Wednesday I ran my first-ever track race at the DC Road Runners Track Championships as part of the Bring Back the Mile Tour. It was so much fun and made me sort of wish I’d run track in high school, although I wouldn’t want to give up all the great softball memories and friends I have either.

Rocking my Oiselle stipe tank and distance shorts with CEP compression socks.

Rocking my Oiselle tank and distance shorts with CEP compression socks.

Ian and I drove up to the track about an hour early so I could get signed up for my heat, watch some of the earlier races to see how things were done and get a full warm-up in. My coach gave me a goal time of 6:30 so I ended up signing up for the under-7 minute heat. After my warm-up I was feeling good and made my way toward the start to wait for them to call our heat. I was pretty surprised at how nervous I was for a one-mile race… I mean I’ve done 26X this multiple times.

Once the starting call was given the nerves were gone and the adrenaline was pumping. It was such a rush and I loved every second of it. I jumped out quick so I wouldn’t get tied up with others near the start and led almost to the 200 mark before the speedsters in my heat took over. I spent most of the race in 4th place. Clocks were set up at the 200 and 400, but somehow I managed to instantly forget my splits. Ian’s pictures gave me a pretty good idea though, and it looks like I ran my first and last laps the fastest with the 3rd one being the slowest.

During lap four I moved up a little and ran with fellow DC Running Coach teammate Michelle. We dueled our way down the final straightaway to the finish. I felt like I was flying. Obviously my pace was nowhere near the elite heats that would go later, but it was still a pretty quick mile for me! We crossed the finish line at almost the same time. They gave me third in 6:21, but to be honest, it was a pretty close call and probably could have gone either way. The pictures are great – we match each other step for step to the finish.

I’m really loving the shorter races lately and being on the track with people cheering and seeing you run the whole way was a blast. I’ll absolutely look to do another one of these soon.

Have you ever run a track race? What did you think?

Back on the Bike

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

Well, sort of – by back on the bike I mean a spin bike, not my road bike. It’s funny that I much prefer running outdoors in any kind of weather to running on a treadmill, but I’m the complete opposite when it comes to biking. This is probably cause I’m not the best biker and I get nervous on the roads around D.C., but as I’ve mentioned before, spin is my favorite kind of cross training.

I made my first trip to Revolve, a dedicated spin studio in Arlington, at the beginning of this year and was instantly hooked. Their classes are super intense, the instructors are phenomenal, the playlists are always great and I love that you can mix it up with the different style rides. I was there almost every day during my unlimited intro month and then bought 20-class packages to get me through my cross training days for the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler and Nike Women’s Half Marathon.

Between travelling every weekend in June, starting the new job and all the expenses involved with moving, it’d been awhile since I’d been to Revolve. They were kind enough to comp me a few rides this month and boy has it felt good to be back. One of the classes I went to was even a request ride where riders got to submit their song requests beforehand. I love that they mix it up with fun rides like this and was pumped that my request got played during class! I’ll be buying another 20-class package very soon as I incorporate spin as my main form of cross training to get ready for the Marine Corps Marathon and go after my BQ!

On top of the great tracks pumped through the speakers during class, I now to get to enjoy music from Revolve anytime I want with the launch of RevolveSounds on Spotify. I’d actually always been on the fence about trying Spotify and am so glad this gave me the push to finally check it out. It’s amazing! I’m already thinking about upgrading to the premium version. Let me know if you’ve tried the premium one and think it’s worth it.

You can follow RevolveSounds on Spotify and check out their various playlists. I love the 2013 Summer Edition playlist, which has a lot of the songs they play during class. My favorite playlist of theirs though is Rethink Office. When I need to focus at work and block out some background noise I’ll pop in an ear bud and listen to this station. It has some fun songs that keep me going throughout the day without distracting me from work. If you like to listen to music at work, definitely check out this playlist.

They also have a Revive: Sunday morning playlist that’s a bit more mellow and fun to listen to while I’m doing things around my apartment. I don’t listen to music while I run outside anymore, but I’m looking forward to listening to the Revolve Run mix the next time I hit the treadmill at the gym.

Are you a spin class fan? How important to you is the music during spin classes?

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

Holy heat wave Batman! Last week was Hot and Humid – in a much worse than usual kind of way. I’m talking triple digits with the heat index and really high humidity. I somehow managed to still get a lot of runs in outside, but the heat definitely made a difference. I’m running a lot slower than I want to be, but am trying to listen to my coach that it’s just the heat and I’ll see improvements when it cools down.

Here’s the day by day breakdown…

Monday: Mostly a rest day with a little bit of core and strength work.

Tuesday: On a scorching hot night I ran home from work getting 9 hot and hilly miles in. It was a straight into the shower with my clothes on when I got home kind of run!

Wednesday: Rest day with a bit of walking.

Thursday: Track workout. 102 degrees with the heat index. I can’t tell you how thankful I was for the cloud cover that came in right as we finished our warm up. I started off with a 2-miler and was a bit off the mark – mostly slowing down on the second mile. After a 10-minute slow recovery jog I went right into a 1-miler that was also a bit slower than my target. I told my coach about my concerns about my times on recent runs and feeling like I was breaking down, so instead of calling it a night he had me do two more 400s. This was a huge confidence boost as I felt a lot better and much more speedy finishing the second even faster than the first.

Friday: Spin Class at Revolve – feels so good to be spinning again!

Saturday: Despite knowing that it was going to already be in the high 80s at 6 a.m., I hit snooze one too many times then dragged my feet about getting going so I finally started my long run at 11. Great time of day for a super hot and humid long run. I made it 15 miles though so I felt pretty good about it. I was wiped for the rest of the day though for sure. I downed some chocolate milk when I got home, took a long shower and then headed out with Ian for a big lunch at Fireworks.

Sunday: 45 minutes on the treadmill.

MCM Training is Underway!

Posted on July 21, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

I can’t believe the Marine Corps Marathon is going to be here in less than 100 days. 98 to be exact! I’m still following the run plan from my coach, so not too much has changed since I was already working to build toward marathon training, but now I start to really pay attention to how things are going and stress about how it’s going to impact my race.

I’ve been running a bit slow lately and I’m trying to tell myself not to freak out yet since it’s most likely because of the heat. I ran home Tuesday night in 99-degree weather, hit the track Thursday night when it was still 102 with the heat index and then overslept Saturday forcing my long run to be in midday 100+ degree heat again.

I really, really hate the cold, so I always try not to complain about the heat, but this heat wave sure is draining. How do you beat the heat and exercise safely in it??

I make sure I’m hydrating all day long – not just right before or during my run. I alternate between plain water and Nuun electrolyte tabs and absolutely love Nuun as a recovery drink during a lazy afternoon on long run days.

I wear light-weight, light-colored, moisture-wicking clothing as much as possible. For yesterday’s long run I sported my mio mesh tank from Oiselle, which is perfect for this kind of weather along with the Oiselle strappy sports bra and bum wrap skirt – my all-time favorite running skirt.

I also carry hydration for any distance run. I used to HATE carrying water, but years of living in D.C. has taught me that it’s necessary. For short to medium runs I’ve been bringing a handheld bottle I have from Nathan. It fits perfectly in my hand, but I always feel like it throws my running off a little when I carry it. On my 9-mile run home from work Tuesday I stopped by a water fountain to refill my bottle around mile 7.5 before the final all uphill charge home. I didn’t let myself look at my watch along the run since I didn’t want to freak out at the slow pace and push too hard in the heat, but I thought I was doing pretty well. A very pregnant lady carrying another small child was walking up to the water fountain at the same time as me so I stopped to let her go first. She took one look and said, “you look like you need this a lot more than me!” It was much appreciated, but a bit of an ego bruiser!

For long runs I go with my Nathan hydration vest. This is my favorite water pack and I find it way more comfortable than a fuel belt. It’s incredibly light for the amount of water it can hold and I’ve even worn it during my last couple marathons. It usually lasts me the entire 26.2, but this weekend’s long run was a different story. I actually had to refill it not once, but twice! I also splashed water on my head, neck and face during these pit stops. I might’ve looked a bit strange to onlookers passing by, but hey, whatever it takes!

What are your tricks? Do you keep running in the heat or take it to the treadmill?

Got Chocolate Milk?

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

While I was at FitBloggin’13 in Portland a few weeks ago I got to meet a couple reps from the got chocolate milk? and Team Refuel campaign! I’ve always loved chocolate milk and often used to have it after exercise just because it tasted great and was easy to drink after a tough workout. You might say I was pretty happy once the science started to come out that chocolate milk is actually a great recovery drink for athletes.

With so many great reasons to drink chocolate milk after exercise I’ve decided to take the 21 day TryChocoMilk challenge. Depending on the intensity and duration of my workouts I’ll be treating myself to 8-16 ounces of skim milk mixed with Hershey’s syrup as a recovery drink. You’ll see updates here on the blog, but also on my Twitter feed and Facebook page.

There are the challenges. I like to mix things up so I started today with #12 and had a nice tall glass of chocolate milk after a scorching hot track workout. I even drank out of my Marine Corps Marathon pint glass to remember what I’m working for!

Are you a chocolate milk fan? What’s your ideal recovery drink?

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

Yes, I know it’s Wednesday night. I had great intentions of getting this post up on Monday, especially since I haven’t posted anything in forever. I’m behind…on everything. I have a bunch of unanswered emails in my inbox, which is a huge pet peeve of mine and a to do list a mile long that has way too many things not crossed off. After my four trips in four weeks exhaustion started to catch up to me at the same time I was moving, starting a new job and new car shopping. Needless to say it’s been a busy but awesome couple of weeks, and unfortunately I’ve fallen behind on the blog. I’m hoping to turn that around and get going on things again though, so let me know if there are any posts you want to see this month!

Now on to the weekly recap! I missed posting this last Monday, but there wasn’t much to report. I only got 3 runs in for about 11 miles all on treadmills, but was sorer than ever from moving. I did not realize the new place didn’t have an elevator – thank goodness we’re only on the second floor! Last week was a lot better although this heat wave has not been helping my speed any! Still, I got some quality runs and strength training in.

Here’s the day by day breakdown…

Monday: I got in an easy one-hour run on the treadmill for a little more than 7 miles followed by a 20-minute strength training workout.

Tuesday: Tonight I did an hour boot camp style strength training workout.

Wednesday: I ran home from the new office for the first time. It’s a bit further run commute than the old 3-mile one that I used to have to add loops to. This ended up being 9 hot and hilly miles with the last couple miles especially being a tough uphill route. Despite the heat I really love this run and look forward to doing it more – this will be a great one for my longer weekday run each week.

Thursday: Rest Day.

Friday: Rest Day.

Saturday: Spin Class followed by a track workout. This was a bad idea and I instantly regretted sleeping in to late so that I couldn’t do the track first. It was great to be back at Revolve though – had been way too long. I walked from there to the track for 2X2 mile repeats with a 2 minute break that were supposed to each be 14:50. The first one I hit dead on, but then the spin class caught up to me and I locked up on lap 4 of the second set struggling to finish it in 15:23. Not surprisingly my Coach recommended that I don’t do my track workouts following another workout from now on after I sent in my recap.

At the track realizing this was not such a great plan! Next time track first, then spin class!

Sunday: I split my long run into 2 runs today – the first about 55 minutes and the next just under an hour. I’m glad I made it outside for them both, but am looking forward to a true long run this week.

Resolution Check-In

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

Seriously, how is it July already? Seeing as we’re now more than halfway through the year, it’s time to take a hard look at how I’m doing on my New Year’s Resolutions.

I’m still staying healthy and that’s awesome. With four trips last month and more to come, one thing that has really helped is having a portable roller known as The Stick. Ian got it for me as a gift and it helps keep my muscles in good shape even when I’m on the road. It’s nice to get back from a trip and not have the first time back with the foam roller be super painful. You know that involuntary tears kind of painful…never good, so I’m glad to be avoiding it now!

A stronger core was another one of my New Year’s resolutions that will also help keep me healthy and injury free. It was also my focus for the month of June. I actually let these slip a little with all the craziness of traveling, moving and wrapping up my job before I start a new one next week. I actually had to go back and look at last month’s post to remember what I’d put. I still do a good job of getting planks in most days, but I’m definitely not doing enough and need to get back to my full P90X Ab Ripper routine.

I had good weeks and bad weeks with drinking soda last month. I just stocked up on Tri-Berry Nuun though, so I’m going to turn to that this month when I’m looking for a drink with some flavor rather than gulping down a soda!

My final goal/resolution is my Boston Qualifier. I’m still working hard to get in shape for this and even managed to get long runs in on two of my recent trips to Portland and Montreal so I can keep on pace for this! It’s hard to believe it’s officially fall marathon training season and it’s getting closer to making this really happen. I’m still working on my speed as well as my endurance too and have two speedy races coming up this month including a 4-miler and my first-ever track race for a one-miler.

I’m looking forward to a good month and am making cross training my big focus for this month. I only do it two days a week, but I’m going to make sure I get quality cross and strength training workouts in all month.

So how are you doing on those resolutions this year? Have you checked any off the list yet?