Meeting a Running Idol

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

On Sunday I volunteered to help out at the U.S. National Road Racing Championships right here in Alexandria. The day started with a 5k followed by the 12k women’s championships and the 12k men’s championships and community race.

I checked in at the volunteer tent at 5:30 in the dark and jumped at the chance when they asked a few of the volunteers to staff the elite/masters area. Shalene Flanagan, Abdi Abdirahman, Molly Huddle and more amazing runners were going to be there! Ahh! I also spotted Oiselle Haute Volee runner Caitlin Comfort!

Naturally I was too nervous to go up and say anything to any of them – not to mention I didn’t want to mess with anyone’s pre-race prep, so instead I wandered around in awe and tried to do my assignment of keeping people who weren’t supposed to be in the VIP area out. I probably didn’t do a very good job of this, but I was a bit better at running checked bags to masters finishers after they crossed the line and worked their way through the finisher’s chute.

It was such a cool day. I got a front row seat at the finish line to see Molly Huddle beat out Shalene Flanagan and set a world record in the process finishing in 37:50. Aaron Braun nearly broke an American record in the men’s race as he coasted to the finish in 34:28 waving to the crowd.

To top it all off, Deena Kastor was at the race. It was her record that Molly broke. She holds the American records for the fastest marathon and half marathon among others and is one of my running idols! I was so excited to get to meet her and talk for a minute, and she graciously took the time to take a picture with me too totally making my day!

Weekend Adventure: Hiking

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

Over the weekend Ian and I got an invite to go hiking with some friends. I’ve never been hiking with the exception of once as part of a project adventure class I took my sophomore year of college. Yes, that was a real class. I didn’t really remember much about it though, so I googled the Billy Goat Trail in Great Falls to see what we’d be getting ourselves into.

I quickly skimmed through the page and told Ian it sounded fun and would probably be like a nature hike. I should have looked deeper into it though – or maybe tried to find out what rock scramble meant. This in fact, was a legit hike that would take four or five hours and a whole lot of effort.

It was so worth it though! We had a really good time and got to take in some amazing views!

After just a 30-minute drive, we checked out a scenic overlook area near the falls before making our way to the start of the Billy Goat Trail. It’s split into three sections with a bit of walking along the C&O towpath in between. We started with section A, which was by far the hardest part involving a bit of rock scrambling and climbing a 50-foot traverse!

My pride over completing this was only hurt by looking around at the many young kids who seemed to be having no troubles with any of the trail.

We skipped past section B to do C first. This section was a bit more my speed. Lots of great views, mostly easy walking around the trail and just a few challenging parts. I nearly landed myself in the water crossing over one creek when I stumbled mid-crossing and instantly started laughing. Luckily I was able to pull myself together and didn’t end up splashing in!

The rest of the group soldiered on and made it through Section B too, but Ian and I decided to call it a day and meet them back at the car. We took our time along the 3 mile walk back along the towpath enjoying some snacks we packed and snagging a few more pictures. It was a great day and something I’d definitely do again… at least once I forget how exhausting it was!

It’s so amazing to me that there is this huge place full of nature and beauty so close to the city. If you live near the D.C. area and haven’t been to Great Falls, this needs to be on your list.

Footprints: Workout Recap

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

I’m a bit behind with my Monday morning recap, but better late than never. Last week was a hodgepodge of activities as I get back into working out, but don’t have anything I’m training for.

Here’s the day-by-day breakdown:

Monday: 75-minute hot yoga class at Dancing Mind Yoga.

Tuesday: P90X Abs and push-ups.

Wednesday: I tried out a November Project group workout at the Lincoln Memorial. It was legit. Check out my recap if you’re not familiar with it.

Thursday: Body ride spin class at Revolve.

Friday: Rest Day.

Saturday: Hiking – 8ish miles at Great Falls along the Billy Goat Trail. More to come on this, but it was one heck of a workout day for me!

Sunday: Rest Day – although I was on my feet for a few hours in the morning volunteering at the U.S. National Road Racing Championships followed by an afternoon of vacuuming the car and apartment, laundry and other cleaning. Sometimes I feel like that kind of stuff should count for working out!!

Just What I Needed

Posted on November 15, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

For the first week after Marine Corps Marathon I went into recovery mode and exercised very little. I spent a lot of time stretching, foam rolling, icing and heating. Then another week went by and I still hadn’t gotten myself out for a run. I did do plenty of spinning, yoga and strength training though, so I wasn’t too worried about it.

At the start of the third week I felt fully rested and recovered, picked out some winter/spring shorter races and was ready to get back into full-on working out. For some reason, though, I still didn’t feel like running.

Lingering disappointment hangover from MCM? Fear I’d lost my fitness during my two-week run hiatus? Just being lazy? No more daylight after work? I don’t know. Whatever it was though, I was in a funk and I needed to bust out. An early-morning Wednesday workout with the November Project did just that!

Last Wednesday I saw a tweet about the November Project and clicked through to learn more. It sounded awesome. Then I saw that a DC group had started up. Even better! Over the weekend my latest issue of Runner’s World arrived featuring the November Project on the cover. Read the article if you haven’t already, you won’t regret it. Now I had to try this out.

The November Project is a free, grassroots workout group started in Boston by two former college athletes looking to stay in shape through the winter. Now it’s blowing up. It’s roughly an hour filled with a hard workout, hugs and a few curse words.

I showed up at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday morning at 6:30, and it was everything I expected and more. An obvious newbie, I was greeted with a hug and introduced myself to a few others there…more hugs.

Close to 40-50 people showed up to sweat, shared some hugs and dropped a few F-bombs. About 10 people were given tennis balls that instructed them to do push-ups, burpees, squats or sprint to Abe! If you didn’t have a tennis ball, you started running what they call Lincoln Logs – up to the top of the steps and back down to the reflecting pool. When you finished your tennis ball workout, you started running, handed off your tennis ball to someone while introducing yourself and they were off to do the workout.

Doing some push-ups... photo stolen from the Nov. Project DC Facebook page

Doing some push-ups… photo stolen from the November Project DC Facebook page

I had a blast and found myself smiling through parts of it even when I was exhausted. I lost count, but I think I completed 12-13 Lincoln Logs, 30 push-ups, one sprint to Abe and about 30 burpees. We wrapped things up splitting into teams for a relay race and taking a group picture. It was so much fun and just what I needed to start enjoying running again!

Post-workout group photo from November Project DC Facebook page

If you live in D.C., check it out for yourself next Wednesday, 6:30a.m., on the steps of the Lincoln. I already can’t wait to go back. Hope to see you there!

Cross Training on the Cheap

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

My major focus for this month post-marathon is recovery and cross training. I’m including strength training in this since it’s something I need to kick up a couple notches, although I know some runners only consider cross training as other cardio activities.

Cross training can get expensive though, especially when you live in a city where fitness classes can easily range from $15-30 dollars per class. I already talked about how I was trying to pick more budget-friendly races, so I thought I’d share how I was keeping costs down with cross training also. After all, there are plenty of Christmas presents to buy, holiday happy hours to attend and plane tickets/gas money to shell out for this time of year, so saving a few bucks is always nice.

I can always count on a kick-butt workout from my favorite spin studio, Revolve. I saw a Facebook post on their page awhile ago about a work-trade program and decided to check it out. In exchange for helping out before and after certain classes, I get to ride that class free.

It’s pretty simple, I show up early to help riders checking in with lockers and shoes, get the room reset/clean if there’s a class just ending and help newbie riders with setting up their bike. Then after getting a killer workout in I hang around, wipe down bikes, sort and clean shoes and make sure everything is ready for the next day or next class. There are a few others plus staff helping out, so it’s a quick and painless process. I did my first “shift” last week and really enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to getting in more rides like this! I’d highly suggest checking with your favorite gyms or studios to see if they offer something similar.

Awhile ago I did a post on a community class I took at Dancing Mind Yoga. It was a fun and intense workout and one I definitely wanted to try again. Well, just my luck, a Groupon came out recently offering an unlimited month of classes at the hot yoga studio for just $30! I just activated my month yesterday and look forward to telling you how my yoga adventure goes!

I’ll be honest, it used to really bug me when I taught boot camps and people would only come when they had a Groupon or Living Social deal even if they really liked the class. From the other side though, I get it. During times when the budget is not as tight, I will certainly go back to places that I got great workouts at, but why not take advantage of the plentiful discounts available when you can? It’s a great way to try out new kinds of exercise and really mix things up too. Check Groupon, Living Social, Amazon Local and other daily deal sites for local fitness deals whenever you can!

Finally, moving on to strength training. I’m lucky enough to have a gym right in my apartment building I can use for free, but if that’s not available, you’re certainly not out of luck. I’m a huge proponent of strength exercises that require nothing more than your own body weight. Think push-ups, planks, lunges, squats, wall-sits and more. There’s no reason you can’t get a great strength workout in wherever you are. Check out this Runner’s World article listing essential strength exercises for runners – many of which don’t require equipment.

How do you cross train? Do you shop around for budget-friendly deals or stick to your favorite spot regardless of price?

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

After an incredibly lazy/recovery week after the Marine Corps Marathon, I continued to take it pretty easy last week and actually still haven’t gone running. I hope to change that today, but I have gotten in a little bit of strength and cross training in.

Here’s the day-by-day breakdown of last week:

Monday: My version of P90X Ab Ripper and push-ups.

Tuesday: More P90X Abs and push-ups.

Wednesday: Again, P90X Ab Ripper and some push-ups. Are you starting to see a theme here?

Thursday: I mixed it up a little bit and added a great extended body ride at Revolve DC’s spin studio to my P90X Ab Ripper routine and push-ups.

Friday: Yet another day of P90X Ab Ripper and push-ups. Sorry if this is the most boring weekly recap I’ve ever written!

Saturday: I got in just part of my ab routine and some push-ups today before heading over to Revolve for a real ride.

Sunday: Rest Day. I did get some good motivation today though spending the morning cheering and volunteering at the Veterans Day 10k and the afternoon on my couch reading my latest issue of Runner’s World cover-to-cover.

Resolution Check-In

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

It’s that time again for my monthly check in on my New Year’s Resolutions. I’ve been putting this one off since I didn’t hit my big goal of a BQ at MCM, and I have no plans of running another marathon before the end of the year. While I’m not going to give it another shot right away, I know I will eventually cross this off my list!

Last month’s big focus was drinking less soda. I did better than I have been doing and managed to go a couple days a week without grabbing a soda. I’m planning to keep working on this and add a few more days without it each week. Damn that fridge full of free soda just steps from my desk!!

Core strength and staying injury free were other resolutions I had this year. I continue to work on my core strength and also was smart enough to get myself in to the physical therapist last month to check out a problem before it became an injury.

With the year winding down, I’m turning this month’s focus to recovery and cross training. I want to get back into working out after my marathon by embracing yoga, spinning, the elliptical and the weight room. Of course, I’m sure there will be some running in there too, but overall it’s going to be a November filled with other activities.

Are you still working towards those resolutions? How has your year gone so far?

NYC Marathon Fun – Volunteering at Mile 22

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

I headed up to NYC this past weekend to give a little back to the sport that gives me so much. I signed up to volunteer at the 22 mile water stop for the NYC Marathon with a bunch of my Oiselle teammates. After a fun Saturday in Hoboken visiting my brother and his fiancée, I was up bright and early Sunday morning to make my way into the city.

As usual, I had a bit of trouble figuring out the Subway system, but was able to take a fairly quick cab ride to my volunteer spot. I checked in, got a poncho and plastic gloves and met up with the other Oiselle ladies volunteering there. Most of them I only knew through twitter, so it was very fun to meet them in person, and not surprisingly they were all awesome.

We got a quick orientation from the volunteer leader. It’s amazing the things you don’t realize that go into race day. He went over set up and what to expect once things got rolling. Safety was the emphasis. He pointed out the closest medical tent, then talked about how to form a safety circle around a runner if someone were to drop, and asked anyone who was CPR certified to raise their hands. After thanking us all, we were off to work.

I helped fill up water cups and stack them three rows high across the table to get ready for the onslaught of runners. After that, I enjoyed my front row seat to one incredibly cool marathon experience. The Marine Corps Marathon, which boasts finishers in the low 20,000s each year has always seemed HUGE to me. On Sunday, more than 50,000 runners set out to take on the five boroughs of NYC. Wow.

The wheelchair and handcycle divisions came through first. I don’t usually see most of these racers after they take off, but wow they are impressive. Soon the elite women were making their way through mile 22. It was so cool to see the pace trucks coming and know the first runners were right behind them.

These women were amazingly fierce and fast. It was so cool to see. I still can’t believe Priscah Jeptoo came away with the win – what a finish!

Also, I want her abs!

Not long after, another pace truck was coming through and we saw the elite men. Getting to see Geoffrey Mutai fly by up close on his way to his second straight NYCM victory was awesome. I couldn’t wait to see Meb come by, but of course had just put my camera away when he did, so I don’t have a shot of him. I know he didn’t have the race he wanted, but it was still so cool to see him and he is such an inspiration!

Soon the everyday runners started pouring through and just kept coming and coming. There were so many volunteers and I was near the back, so I didn’t actually hand out that many cups of water.

Still getting to cheer these runners on and see the determination and pain in their faces (or limps) as they passed us with four miles to go made for a great day. I yelled out for the runners who had names written on their shirts, cheered like crazy for random strangers and tried to pick people I knew running out of the crowd. So. Much. Fun.

Congrats to everyone who raced NYCM Sunday! You are all amazing!

What’s Next? Races on the Horizon

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

OK, I’m officially ending my pity party over not reaching my goal in my last race and setting some new ones. What better way could there be to get over it? While part of me would love to go right after that BQ again, I know mentally and physically I’m not ready for that.

Instead I’m going to focus on shorter, speedier races and a half marathon next March, which will be part of an Oiselle team meet up race weekend and all kinds of awesome.

With the holidays approaching, a wedding/honeymoon next year, plus plenty of fun travel weekends for other weddings coming up, I’m trying to be a bit budget conscious about the money I spend on races. Fortunately, the DC Road Runners Club ($20 a year for membership) offers tons of free/very inexpensive races for members and Pacers gives out free entries for volunteer credits giving me a long list of local, budget-friendly options.

Here’s what I’ve got my eye on so far. Some may not happen, or will switch to races I volunteer at if I don’t recover as quickly as I hope to from the marathon, and others might get added. Let me know if there’s a race you think should be on my list!

Bread Run 10k – December 8 – This is race one of the DC Road Runners Snowball Series. Price: 1 loaf of home-baked bread. Seeing as I bake bread all the time, that’s an easy one for me. (They do note that it’s free for non-baking DCRR members.)
Fairfax Four Miler – December 31 – Assuming I’m in town, I hope to race this again this year. It was a really fun way to kick off my New Year’s Eve celebrations last year. Price: $40 or 3 volunteer credits
Al Lewis 10 Miler – January 4 – Another DCRR Snowball Series race. This one is more likely if I don’t run the Fairfax Four. Price: $5 for DCRR members
JFK 20k/MLK 5k – January 18 – I’m leaning toward the 5k of this DCRR Snowball Series race. Price: Free for DCRR members.
Love the Run You’re With 5k – February 9 – A Pacers race I had a blast at last year and would love to run again. Price: $40 or 3 volunteer credits
Burke Lake 12k – March 2 – This DCRR Snowball Series race could be a fun tune-up run before the Shamrock Half.
Shamrock Half Marathon – March 16 – This fast and flat half sounds like a blast and will be part of an Oiselle team meet-up meaning lots of running friends to race with and also cheer on in the full that weekend! Price: $100 by Dec. 31 plus travel to VA Beach.

What are your winter/early spring race plans? Anyone doing Turkey Trots or other holiday-themed races?

Moving Forward

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

In my Marine Corps Marathon recap I mentioned I’d be doing a post on what I thought went wrong. After playing it over in my head a million times since Sunday though, I have decided against it. Thinking of every little possible thing I could have done differently or done better, and continuing to beat myself up for it, won’t change my finish time from Sunday.

That doesn’t mean I’m going to just forget about it and not learn anything from it. There is always something to be learned from every race – good or bad. It just means that I don’t see the need to dissect every factor that could have impacted my race.

Instead I’m choosing to focus on things I can do moving forward to help me hit my goals in future races.

Stick to a strength training plan all the way through my training cycle.
Do my best to get enough sleep on a daily basis to help keep my immune system strong and fighting off colds.
Don’t change too many things up too close to race day.
Get more training runs in at or faster than goal pace.
Conversely, make sure I have enough easy runs that really are easy runs.
Find new shoes and make sure they work for me.

It all seems pretty simple. Now, time to put it into action!

Hopefully, this will be my smile at the end of my next race – not just at mile 1.5!