Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

Last week was a great start to my Shamrock training! I definitely realized I’ve gotten a bit out of running shape, so my runs were slower than I wanted, but I felt great that I got every workout in. Doing all my runs up in cold, snowy Syracuse with holiday fun mixed in, I was fairly certain I’d be making some excuses for taking an extra day off, but instead just got out there and did it!

Here’s the day-by-day breakdown:

Monday: I put in just more than 3 easy miles followed by a P90X ab workout and a leg workout that included lots of lunges, squats and single-leg work as well.

Tuesday: Today I hit the hills working six 1/4 mile hill repeats into my 4+ mile run.

Wednesday: Similar to Monday, I got in just more than 3 miles followed by a tough leg workout. Then I enjoyed Christmas dinner!

Thursday: Rest Day.

Friday: I was back at it today for a tempo run close to 4.5 miles.

Saturday: After doing battle with various tech projects in my parents house all morning then watching the ‘cuse game, I managed to sneak in a quick 3+ miles around the old neighborhood.

Sunday: I somehow got myself out of bed before daylight and put in about 9.5 miles. With temps in the mid-30s and no wind/snow, this turned out to be one of the best days of the week for a run!

Merry Christmas!

Posted on December 26, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

Hope everyone who celebrates Christmas had a good one and that all are enjoying the holiday season! Ian and I have been enjoying a fun week up in Syracuse with my family – one of my favorite time’s of the year!

We got a white Christmas which was great, but one of my not-so-favorite things about this time of year is the cold. Now I can handle running in the D.C. cold, but up here in Syracuse has been a whole different ball game. Being the first week of training for the Shamrock Half though, the elliptical in the warmth of my parent’s basement wasn’t an option. Instead I’ve hit the streets in temps from about 30 all the way down to under 10 degrees. Burr.

Running into the wind with snow blowing into your face brings a whole new meaning to running in a headwind! While I don’t envy people who have to run through these conditions all winter, I have found that having the right gear makes a big difference. Layers is the most important thing. For my chilliest run I wore fleece-lined pants, calf sleeves and wool socks. On top I layered up with a sports bra tank, my Oiselle flyte tank, the flyte long sleeve and a new under armor long sleeve meant for ultra cold weather that Ian got me for Christmas.

I topped it off with a hat, gloves and a neck gaiter I could pull over my nose and mouth during the first few minutes when the air felt too cold to breathe in. Keeping my head and hands warm is the biggest thing for me and makes running in the cold much more tolerable.

Another cold weather running tip that has really helped me is that you should dress for 20 degrees warmer than the temperature outside. Your body will quickly warm up and feel comfortable once you’re moving. On top of helping me know how to dress better for the cold, I use this as a mental trick to get out the door on the coldest days. If I can convince myself it’ll really feel 20 degrees warmer, then it doesn’t seem that bad.

Do you run outdoors during the cold? What are your tips and tricks for battling the weather?

Secret Santa Fun!

Posted on December 24, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

The Oiselle running team hosted a Secret Santa gift exchange this year just adding another reason why I love this team! Allison (@_RunACE) drew my name and sent the most thoughtful gift.

She sent a customized ornament from GoneForARun.com that included my name and the Oiselle logo! It’s probably too late for this year, but such a great future idea for the runner(s) in your life.

She also sent me an Oiselle spike bag, which just happened to be on my wish list. I was extra excited that it came in one of my favorite colors!

Special thanks to Allison for putting a smile on my face when this arrived last week!

Let’s hear it fellow birds…what did you send to/receive from your Secret Santa?!

In Training: Shamrock Half Marathon

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

After almost two months of my no-plan-training-plan, I must say I’m very excited to be starting a regimented plan again. I know both my body and my mind needed the break as I was pretty burned out after an up and down year of racing. It also gave me the chance to get a whole lot of spinning and strength stuff in that I sometimes let slip when I’m running more often. Still, my motivation was pretty low so I just wasn’t getting out there and running nearly as much as I would have liked, so now it’s time to change that.

I’ll have my race calendar up soon, but my target spring race is the Virginia Beach Half Marathon that is part of the Shamrock Marathon weekend. It’s also the site of an Oiselle team meet-up, so I’m super pumped to get to fly fast with a bunch of my fellow birds!

I’m back to training on my own without a coach, so as usual I’ve been doing obsessive research into the best possible training plans for me for this race. I settled on my old favorite – the Hal Higdon Advanced Half plan. I’m a big fan of Hal’s plans and have had success with them in the past.

While I have a goal of getting in as many of the planned workouts as possible, I also want to make sure I stay flexible. By that I mean a few things including being smart and knowing when my body might need a break as well as not missing out on group workouts/runs because it’s not the exact mileage I have on tap for the day.

In addition to my runs and strength training built into the plan, I’ll be spinning at Revolve when I can fit it in, stretching A LOT and becoming good friends with my foam roller!

I don’t have a goal time for the race yet, but I do have a PR in mind knowing it’s a very flat course. After I have a few more weeks of training under my belt I’ll have an update for you on my race goals.

Have you used the Hal Higdon plans before? How’d it work out for you? What other training plans do you like?

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

OK, well I’ve officially ruined my Run Streak with more missed run days, but it was still a pretty good work out week. I got a few good strength workouts in, which is something I’ve really needed to incorporate more into my workouts and plan to stick with it regularly. Ian is joining me at the gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays now to help keep me accountable – and because he enjoys strength workouts a whole lot more than cardio ones!

Here’s the day-by-day breakdown:

Monday: Quick treadmill run and core workout.

Tuesday: Body ride at Revolve in the AM. Ten minutes on the treadmill followed by a leg workout and core work Tuesday night.

Wednesday: Core work.

Thursday: Today I tried to make up for my missed run by running to and from my spin class in the morning where I got a great Real Ride in at Revolve. Thursday night I hit the gym for a quick treadmill run, more core work and another tough leg workout – this one included a lot of lunges!

Friday: I got home from work and picked up a package from the office to find the new Mizuno’s I won on Ashley’s blog, Running Bun, so I immediately changed and hit the gym to test them out! I also got some core work and upper body lifting in too.

Saturday: 10 minutes on the treadmill followed by 20 on the elliptical and my full P90X ab routine.

Sunday: Another no run day, but I did get in an early morning Real Ride at Revolve before heading out and about all day running errands.

Resolution Check-In

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

During my mini hiatus from blogging last week, I missed my usual beginning-of-the-month resolution check-in. I swear I was just writing those resolutions and now the end of the year is just about here. Crazy!

I didn’t hit everything I was hoping for, but overall it was a pretty good year filled with a lot of fun races, a couple PRs and a couple more challenging ones!

Last month my focus was cross training and recovery. I mixed it up a bit before starting up with the Runner’s World Run Streak on Thanksgiving giving myself just the break I needed. My legs feel completely recovered and strong, and ready to get back into racing.

For this month I’ll focus on strength training and slowly building my mileage again, so I’m ready to start a new training plan in late December for the Shamrock Half Marathon!

How did you do on your resolutions for 2013? Have you started thinking about 2014 yet?

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

Sorry for being MIA on the blog last week. Last week was a busy and tiring one to say the least, and it shows in last week’s workouts too. I missed a day on my run streak already, but am still going to finish it out with hopefully no more days off!

Anyways, here’s the day-by-day breakdown:

Monday: After getting in around 1 AM Sunday night and still having to get my run in, it was not too easy waking up Monday morning. I slept right through my alarm and fortunately woke up in time for work meaning my run would wait till later. I made it to the gym for just a mile and some core work.

Tuesday: Still recovering from lack of sleep, Tuesday was another one mile and limited core work day.

Wednesday: Wednesday was more of the same – just over a mile on the treadmill and a little bit of core work.

Thursday: Thursday is when the wheels started to come off. I was supposed to have a work-trade shift up at Revolve in the AM, but woke up at 6 to an email that I needed to be in to work by 8. Knowing I wouldn’t get my ride in I ran the half mile too and from Revolve to still help out with set up and cleaning before class…in jeans. A late night at work too meant I didn’t get to enjoy the beautiful 70-degree weather, but oh well, there will be more days like that…eventually.

Friday: Today is when my run streak came to an end. I didn’t get in my core work either. I slept in as late as I could before work and traded in the gym for four hours of playing Nintendo with Ian and an early night. Waking up well-rested for the first time all week on Saturday made this totally worth it.

Saturday: 20 minutes on the treadmill. P90X ab workout. 20 minutes on the elliptical.

Sunday: I got in a quick mile on the treadmill and a core workout followed by a great barre ride at Revolve.

I’m Going STREAKING!!

Posted on November 29, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

Runner’s World run streaking that is.

I’m taking part in the Runner’s World third annual holiday running streak by pledging to run at least one mile every day from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day.

Running to the Finish

This is the first time I’ve done the holiday run streak, and I’m really looking forward to it as I’ve taken a solid running break since my marathon. Too often the holidays get used as an excuse to put off getting in shape until the New Year. This is such a great way to stay fit – and maybe even get fitter – even through holiday parties and extra sweets.

I kicked things off with chilly runs in Maine the last two mornings. I’ll be tweeting my progress with the hashtag #RWRunStreak.

I’m also doing a core streak too. I figured since I started the year off with more than 100 consecutive days of my P90X ab ripper workout – why not end with a decent streak too?

Have you ever done a run streak? Are you joining the RW Run Streak this year?

Things I’m Thankful For Today

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have a whole lot of things to be thankful for in my life, but here are a few things I’m especially luck to have…

Getting welcomed with open arms to spend the holiday weekend with the family I get to marry into next year.

Knowing I get to celebrate another awesome wedding next year with these two. My big brother, he’s OK :-p haha, and his fiancée who I’ll get to call my sister soon, but am already lucky enough to call my friend.

Having amazing parents who helped me become who I am today and are always supporting my crazy endeavors even if it means trekking around D.C. in the cold to watch me run a race. Here I am with them at the finish line of my first marathon in San Diego – yes, they flew across the country that time to watch me run.

San Diego Rock N Roll Finish LIne Party

And, especially having this guy in my life and getting to spend everyday with him.

Hope everyone has a great Turkey day!

What are you thankful for today?

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

I had some really good days and some really lazy days last week. The nice thing is, I’m not training for anything so I’m okay with that. I really enjoyed the workouts I got in and I took it easy when I was tired.

Here’s the day-by-day breakdown:

Monday: P90X abs and push-ups.

Tuesday: Rest Day.

Wednesday: Today was a busy one. I was up right away when my 5:30 alarm went off and got in my P90X ab ripper workout before heading into D.C. for my second week with the November Project. We ran the steps of the Lincoln Memorial mostly nonstop with quick “breaks” where you found your group of four and did five push-ups and five burpees. I book-ended the day with another tough workout doing a late evening Barre Ride at Revolve DC.

Thursday: Rest Day.

Friday: Rest Day.

Saturday: I started my weekend off right with a tough one-hour Body Ride up at Revolve. This class was awesome and seriously kicked my butt. My arms were shaky all day from the weight portion!

Sunday: I was up early, but ended up spending a lazy morning on the couch before running errands making Sunday another rest day.