Run For Boston

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

Last week was quite the emotional roller coaster. It’s still hard to believe it all really happened. I found myself glued to the news and twitter after the bombing happened Monday. Friday I woke up at four in the morning and my boyfriend told me they were on the trail of the bombers. I couldn’t go back to sleep or pull myself away from the news as Boston went into lockdown. It was pretty tough to focus at work Friday and get everything done before my trip for my company’s annual Convention this week.

Friday night things took a turn and I started to feel some optimism. I volunteered at packet pick-up for the Crystal City 5k and was blown away by how awesome the running community is. So many people showed up wearing Boston shirts and colors and everyone showed up with a spirit that nothing could stop this community. When I got home it was back to watching the news, and I can’t even put into words how incredibly happy I was when they caught the second suspect. The many emotional tweets and blog posts I saw since Friday though show me that a whole lot of people were feeling the same way.

The DC Capital Striders organized several Runs for Boston including one I went to in Dupont Circle. The famous Kathrine Switzer quote circulated a bit last week: “If you want to restore your faith in human nature, go watch a marathon.” For runners, I think going on a group run does the same thing.

On a selfish level, I needed this run and it did wonders for my heart. There was a huge turnout – many first timers to the group like me. Baylee, the group leader for this run, had printed off race bibs in support of Boston for us all to wear. We started things off on a beautiful, sunny morning with a moment of silence to honor the victims.

I met some awesome people along the way. One girl I met is running a local marathon in a couple weeks that I’m volunteering for and happens to be volunteering at the half that I’m running next weekend. She’s hoping for a BQ! I started struggling and probably would have really slowed down had I been on my own, but I paired off with another runner and we chatted away the miles and were done in no time. I love how easy it is to talk with and get to know people along a run that started out as complete strangers. It may have just been a single group run, but it made me feel so much better. I love the running community.

Big thanks to the DC Capital Striders for organizing Saturday’s run! I hope to join them for more group runs in the future.

Pictures below were posted in the Meetup group by Baylee, the group leader, and Caroline, who blogs at IHeartRunning.com and runningbloggers.com.

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

Sorry this is so late. I’m in Chicago for work this week, so I’m only blogging when I get the chance. I ran 16.8 total miles last week in another lackluster training week. A tough training week seems pretty trivial in light of last week’s events in Boston though. As I enter my taper week and get ready to race on Sunday I hope that the strong foundation I built in the earlier weeks of training will be enough to carry me through. No matter what happens next Sunday, there is one thing I know for sure. I will run my heart out and leave everything on the course. I’ll run for Boston. I’ll run for everyone that has supported me through my training. I’ll do it to prove to myself that I can always be better. And, I’ll run my heart out because that’s just what runners do on race day, and no terrorist will ever change that.

Here’s the day by day training breakdown…

Monday: Spin Class. I had a personal training session in the AM, so I couldn’t make my usual morning class and went after work instead. I was fighting back tears before class started after following the news out of Boston all afternoon and almost skipped the class, but was really glad I went.

Tuesday: Rest Day.

Wednesday: Interval workout on the treadmill. One mile warm up followed by 6x800m repeats at a sub-7 minute pace for a total of 4 miles.

Thursday: 50 minutes on the elliptical.

Friday: Rest Day. Work got crazy today and I ran out of energy to get myself to the gym by Friday night. Good reason to make sure I get my runs in first thing in the morning.

Saturday: 12.8 miles. I needed this. More to come in a later post, but the DC Capital Striders put together a great Run For Boston group run out of Dupont Circle.

Sunday: Another unplanned rest day after traveling to Chicago and sitting though 6 hours of meetings. I didnt have it in me to get in my 3 miler after our staff dinner, so I put it off till Monday morning when I discovered we have a super awesome hotel gym!

Healthy Eats From A Picky-Eating Athlete

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

I was recently contacted by FitKit to write a guest post for their blog. FitKit is a site where nutrition is made personal for everyone through an interactive lifestyle quiz. After answering questions about your lifestyle in the quiz designed by doctors, you’ll be given a list of suggested vitamins/supplements that you should take. I don’t take anything more than a daily vitamin and I’m never really sure what vitamins are actually necessary, so I think this is a pretty cool concept to help people better understand their needs.

Along with their online quiz, FitKit has a blog with a mission is to build a community around making health and fitness transparent. They asked for me to contribute a post on nutrition and I was more than happy to do so. I’m by no means an expert or a registered dietician/nutrionist, but I have done a lot of research on the topic over the years and was excited to offer my insight about trying to eat healthy as a picky-eating athlete.

You can check out my post on their site here: Healthy Eats From A Picking-Eating Athlete

So Sad

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

I’m still trying to process what happened in Boston yesterday and don’t really know what to write. I wasn’t there and have never run Boston, but I was really shocked, hurt and saddened when I heard the news yesterday. This is supposed to be such a joyous event and a huge celebration for runners. The finish line – especially that finish line – is supposed to be really special.

Why? I just don’t understand.

I’m so saddened to see this happen to my sport and to see so many injured and to think about the three who were killed. I can’t help but think about the what ifs …if I hadn’t been injured last year and had run 2 minutes faster to qualify, I may have been there and my family may have been at the finish line. I was relieved that everyone I knew who had been at the race as a runner or a spectator was OK, but felt so sad for people who didn’t get that good news yesterday.

One tweet I saw really summed things up yesterday. I don’t remember who it was from, but it said, “As a runner, I feel like someone just attacked my friends. As a person, I’m just horrified.”

I also saw this Mr. Rogers quote going around yesterday: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” Seeing the videos of all the first responders and others running towards the blast to help out, and hearing about runners continuing past the finish line straight to the hospital to donate blood was at least heartening. The running community is a strong one and it will stay strong despite this.

I’m wearing my blue and yellow today in support of Boston and anyone affected by yesterday’s events. I wish there was more I could do. Sorry this post is a bit all over the place, but like I said I don’t really know what to write, I just wanted to get my feelings out.

Hug a runner today …and runners, hug your friends and family who cheer you on and spectate at races.

Wearing my blue and yellow for Boston today.

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

I ran 28.75 total miles last week, and to be honest, none of them felt great. It was not my best week of training. I’m not sure whether or not to attribute it to coming off of the race Sunday, running out in the heat for the first time, having too many things on my plate this week or maybe it was just a bad week. Anyways, here’s the day by day training breakdown…

Monday: Spin Class

Tuesday: 20 minutes of easy biking and a 2.5 mile easy-paced uphill run.

Wednesday: Unplanned rest day. I got myself to work 2 hours early so I could get a run in midday and still leave a few minutes early to get to my CPR Certification course that night. When I got ready to run at lunch I was very unhappy to realize I forgot my sneakers. By the time I got home close to ten that night I went straight to bed with no thoughts of a late night treadmill run.

Thursday: I put in 6.25 total miles as part of my interval run around Hains Point. I warmed up for a little over a mile before doing 4, 1-mile repeats with 1/4 mile recovery jogs and a short cool down. My mile repeats were slow and sluggish yet I felt like I was going as hard as I could. It was not a fun run. The last couple fell well below even my goal race pace.

Friday: I headed out to Hains Point again for a tempo run today, and again felt slow and sluggish. I don’t like doing back to back speed days, but forgetting my sneakers Wednesday kind of forced me into it. I was really proud of myself for completing this run though because I was pretty tempted to just stop and walk back to work, but I made it for 6.85 miles including my warm up and cool down.

Saturday: I was up and out early for my long slow run and it was just that…long and slow. I hoped to meet up with a running group about 3 miles in, but my tired legs were running slower than 9 minute miles to start, so I didn’t quite time it right and ended up doing my run alone. It was a beautiful day for a long run though, and I got in 13.15 miles along the Capital Crescent Trail. I followed up the run with an hour outdoor yoga for runners class in Clarendon that I actually really enjoyed.

Sunday: I still had a 5-mile pace run on my schedule for the week, but after 3 tough days in a row I decided it was probably best to take a day off. Hoping this decision pays off and gets me on track for a solid week this week.

Certification One is Done – First Aid/CPR/AED

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

In my 30 Before 30 blog post, I listed several certifications that I wanted to get over the next year. I took care of the first one on my list Wednesday night getting Red Cross certified in First Aid, CPR, and AED. I’ve had this certification in the past, but as someone who is regularly involved in fitness as a participant and a trainer, I really wanted to get this up-to-date. Not to mention, you never know when knowing how to give care in emergency situations could come in handy in everyday life. It’s one of those things I’m glad to have, but I’ll be even happier if I never have to use this knowledge.

This certification was pretty simple to get. I signed up for a course through the Red Cross website, but most of my learning took place ahead of time online. I watched videos, read case studies and took an assessment to test my knowledge on giving care for everything from soft tissue injuries and bloody noses to strokes and cardiac emergencies. New since the last time I took this course was the section on using AEDs – automatic external defibrillators. I’ve heard of and seen these before as they’re becoming more common in a lot of places, but never realized how simple they are to use. I followed up the online learning with an in-person 2-hour skills session out at the Red Cross office in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Certified!

That was all it took and now I’m certified! It costs just more than $100. Check out the Red Cross site to find a class near you: http://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/program-highlights/cpr-first-aid

FitDC Launch Preview

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

A new fitness company called FitDC is coming to D.C. and I’m excited to be a part of it. A fellow Pacers Ambassador, C.J. Cross, told me about this new company that he was starting at a packet pick up we both volunteered at a few months back. My first reaction was, wow, how does this not exist already? My second reaction was, “I want in!” Thanks to a full time job, personal training, my own race training, maintaining my blog and all of life’s other commitments I can’t give nearly as much time as I’d like, but am excited to play any role I can in helping out because I truly believe this is a great idea and just what the active D.C. fitness community needs.

So, what is FitDC?
FitDC is a health and wellness promotion company working to connect fitness seekers with fitness professionals. Our mission is to make the path to fitness more accessible by simplifying the start-up process. By using FitDC’s FitBase (our searchable online database) and working with our team of experienced fitness professionals, community members will be able to easily locate the local facilities and services that meet their fitness needs.

The FitDC Team:

C.J. is extremely passionate about his new company that he is the founder and CEO of, so I wanted to give him a chance to tell you in his own words what this company is all about.

Q. What made you decide to start FitDC?

“Well, after years of working in the fitness industry, I kept coming upon the same questions. Usually it was someone who was up to the task of improving their health and fitness, they just didn’t know where to start. As you probably know, not every workout is meant for every person, but I knew that there was at least one workout for each person. I started FitDC because I wanted to be able to help people find the workouts that they would enjoy doing and that would help them. I guess you can say I’ve always been a person to go to for advice, now I’m creating a business around that.”

Q. How do you see FitDC changing the fitness scene in this community?

“The goal of FitDC is to reduce the gap between wanting and doing. Right now too many people fall through the cracks and never follow through with their desires. If we can do that effectively, everyone wins. I also see FitDC fostering a more connected and friendly community. We’re going to hold social gatherings that will bring fitness professionals and enthusiasts together, so that they can share their experiences, their knowledge, and their friendships.”

Does this sound like something that you’d be interested in? Than come on out to our Launch Party this Saturday. The Launch Party is a two-part event filled with fitness and fun. We’re kicking things off with free fitness classes, donated by gyms throughout the Rosslyn to Ballston corridor including:

Outdoor Yoga for Runners – 11AM at the Clarendon Metro (I’m taking this one and can’t wait! Say hi if you see me out there.)
Kickboxing – 11AM at LA Boxing Clarendon
Crossfit WOD – 12PM at Verve Fitness in Rosslyn
TRX & Kettlebells – 1PM at Washington Sports Club in Clarendon
Boxing Class – 1:30PM at LA Boxing Clarendon

After getting your sweat on, join us at 4 p.m. at Velocity 5 – soon to be Arlington Social Haus – for a meet and greet with our leadership team. There will be a brief presentation about FitDC, followed by an afternoon of mingling with other fitness minded folk. Velocity 5 will also be sharing samples of their upcoming Social Haus menu, featuring gluten free, paleo and vegetarian options as well as other healthy treats. You’ll learn about how you can benefit from our services, both as a fitness consumer or provider. You’ll get the chance to be an early adopter of Fit DC’s FitBase, a web database of gyms and fitness providers, fitness social media offerings, and possibly get another free workout with one of our listed fitness professionals.

Hope you can make it for the launch! RSVP and get tickets here: http://fitdclaunch.splashthat.com/ Classes are selling out fast, so don’t miss out!

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay in the loop. Let me know in the comments if you’ll be at the party and what class you’re going to! If you have any questions, hit me up at colleenATfitdc.co and I’ll do my best to help you out or can connect you with C.J.

Also, check back for an update next week on how it went and how I did with my first yoga class in a year!! Must do more yoga!

Race Recap: Cherry Blossom 10 Miler

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

This Sunday’s Cherry Blossom 10 Miler was my third time running the race, and it proved once again why it is one of my favorite races. Ten miles is a great distance for a race. You need to train for the distance, but you can still run fast too. My enjoyment of the event probably wasn’t hurt by the fact that I scored a new PR either! I finished in 1:15:54 bettering last year’s time of 1:16:41 and a far cry from my first go at it in 2009 when I finished in 1:28:39! It’s really awesome when you can clearly see your hard work paying off! (My apologies in advance…this is going to be a long post.)

I kicked things off Friday afternoon with a lunch at Rosa Mexicana and a trip to the expo with my friend Megan. Having shown up right at the opening of the expo last year and waiting in a line that ran through a hallway, down 2 cases of stairs and out the door, I was a bit nervous we’d face that again. Most people heeded the organizers warning though apparently, and we were able to breeze right in and pick up our bibs and tee shirts with no wait at all.

We explored the expo for a little bit before getting reeled in by the RooSport booth. The ladies there were selling pouches created by their mother that could store anything from gels and keys to your phone or credit cards. It had one larger pouch that closed with a small piece of velcro and one zipper pouch for valuables. The cool things about this pouch is how you keep it on you. You simply slide the pouch into your shorts (or shirt, sports bra, etc.) and let the flap fall down over the front – a very strong magnet does all the work of holding it in place. Megan was kind enough to pick up two so I could give one a try too.

RooSPORT pouch

I broke the cardinal sin of never trying anything new on race day (I do this too much) and used it to hold my Gu. I’m an instant believer. This was awesome. I barely felt it there. It didn’t move or bounce. It was easy to get my Gu out of when I needed it. I love it! This will also come in especially handy on days I run home from work and have to carry all my credit cards and keys.

On Saturday I went through all my final pre-race prep, which included some screen printing to add my blog logo and website to one of my Nike tanks. I used a different variation of the logo that includes a D.C. skyline background and not only did it look awesome printed on the shirt, but it was a very appropriate first race to wear it for seeing as we were running by so many D.C. monuments.

My 5:44 a.m. alarm sounded and it felt like I’d barely been asleep. It’d been a late night cheering on my Syracuse Orange in their Final Four loss to Michigan and it would’ve been a lot easier to wake up had I been excited about them winning. Nevertheless, it was a season that exceeded all expectations and I had a race to run, so I hopped out of bed and got moving. I ate a piece of toast, a banana and a yogurt while downing a glass of water and getting ready. Ian and I left for the metro around 6:25. After getting off at the Smithsonian metro stop we headed away from the crowds so I could run to my office quickly and use the bathrooms there instead of waiting in line for the porta-potties. Soon after we made our way for the start. I felt a bit rushed so I was only able to get a few of my active warm-up stretches in before giving Ian my jacket and hopping into the corral to wait for the start.

It was sunny, but chilly so I was almost glad I didn’t have a ton of time to stand around. I wore a tank, arm warmers, gloves, capris and calf sleeves, which proved to be just perfect for the 40-degree temps. I started with the red wave a few minutes after the first wave took off. My mantra was start slow, finish fast so my original plan was to run the first couple miles 10-15 seconds behind my goal pace of 7:30. I got nervous about my ability to control my own pace though and hopped next to the 7:30 pacer at the last second.

Naturally that meant I went out a bit faster than my plan, but it was still much better than I’ve done in the past (last year I ran mile 1 sub 7…oops), and for the first time it didn’t destroy my legs for the final stretch. We headed past the Washington Monument down Independence Ave, past the Lincoln Memorial, out and back over the Memorial Bridge, and out and back past the Kennedy Center for the first three miles. We dodged toward Hains Point on Ohio Drive before coming back and looping past the Jefferson.

Mile 1 – 7:23
Mile 2 – 7:16
Mile 3 – 7:20
Mile 4 – 7:22

I was feeling really strong, but started to tighten up a little for mile five. I passed the mile marker and was a bit down when I saw I slowed to a 7:35 pace, but instantly felt better when I heard Ian call out my name. My look of distress quickly turned into a smile and I powered up one of the few slight hills on the course.

Now that’s a race face even Mark Remy would be proud of.

Smiling after hearing Ian call my name!

Mile six took me into Hains Point and a horrific headwind slowing me down even more through mile 7.5 when we finally hit the turn around and the wind died down. Somehow I found myself running with no one within 10 feet in front of me for a bit here, so I couldn’t tuck in behind anyone and had to battle the wind head on. How does that happen in a 17,000 person race?! I practiced this section so many times, but the wind here got the best of me yet again, slowing me down quite a bit.

Mile 5 – 7:35
Mile 6 – 7:42
Mile 7 – 7:55
Mile 8 – 7:52

Not too much in the way of cherry blossoms, but my allergies are thankful for that.

I was most proud of my last 2.5 miles of this race. I could’ve given up when I realized how much I’d slowed down battling the wind, but instead I picked it up and really pushed it to the finish line. I knew I’d be cutting it pretty close to 1:16 and really, really wanted to finish under that, so I powered my way through a little uphill before the final downhill to the finish. I was so incredibly pumped when I read 1:15:54 on my watch – a new PR!!

Mile 9 – 7:35
Mile 10 – 7:23

Going hard to the finish line!

Post-Finish in front of the obviously under construction Washington Monument

My finish time was good enough to put me in 1,713 place overall, 401 among women and 127 in my age group. I actually finished ahead of 90 percent of the pack! That’s crazy to me and such an improvement over just a couple years ago. I also was a part of the DC RoadRunners team that finished second in the open women’s division! Thanks to the Cherry Blossom organizers for another great race – well organized and fun as always!

Ian and I were able to find someone to take our picture at the finish. I so appreciate him getting up before dawn and trekking all over the place to take pictures and support me and my crazy running habit!

He also got some shots of some pretty great fan signs. The bottom left is a little bit blocked by a runner, but it says, “This is what a supportive girlfriend looks like.” All I have to say about the woman holding the “Who Farted?” sign is she who brings the sign commits the crime. 🙂

From all the tweets and race recaps I’ve seen I know there were a whole bunch of you out running too. How’d it go? What was your favorite sign?

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.

Beautiful Day for a PR!

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

The Cherry Blossom 10 Miler was a blast this morning! The weather was a bit chilly when I first got out there, but was perfect to run in and the sun was shining all morning. I set a new 10-mile time PR with a 1:15:54 finish for an average 7:35 pace! Full recap to come this week, but here are a few pics courtesy of Ian. Congrats to everyone who raced today!