I Signed Up

Guess what I did?

I signed up for the Marine Corp Half Marathon.  I said that I was going to focus on racing shorter distances for a while, but I just can't say "no:. This race holds a special place in my heart. It was the first half marathon I ever did, I always run it with my twin sister (who actually got me into running. Too bad she'll be in WV this year), I broke my foot in it, it's something I do every year for the past 6 years. Even last year, when I wasn't running too much (stress fractures) I still ran the first few miles and the last couple miles with my twin because it's what we do. 

So when my friend asked if I would pace her, I jumped at the opportunity and I signed up.

In preparation for the race, her and I have been getting into the city WAY too early to get some runs in.

This week we had a particularly fun workout at Nationals Stadium.

Nothing like a few stairs to wake your ass up on a cold morning. Great way to mix things up too! We ran a mile (some of it in 6 inches of snow!), did the stairs 10x as fast as we could, ran another mile, 10x more on the stairs, then finished up. Came out to 3.25 miles, which typically isn't too challenging.....but with some stairs added in, makes for a damn good workout.

I'm excited to help a friend progress in her running. I'm definitely getting something out of it too though. Not like anybody has to twist my arm to run.

Plus, a week full of challenging workouts means a nice, relaxing Friday night.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Ankle Weight Routine to Strengthen Those Hips (& Booty!)

 Snow, snow everywhere. 

I think I'm going stir crazy. 

Wednesday was my usual speedwork, which meant I was inside on the treadmill. This week I had 10x400. I did a mile warm-up, then ran the 400s at a 7:19 minute mile pace. My recovery jogs were done at a 9:10 pace. Total = 6 miles @ 8:21 pace. 

I'm not positive why, but this workout especially left my legs fried. Wednesday night I kept getting cramps in my feet and my calves. (Has this ever happened to you? Was I dehydrated? More sodium/potassium? stretching?)

Good thing Thursday called for an easy 3 miler (also completed on the treadmill due to the dumping of snow we received.) After my run, I decided to do an ankle weight routine that I used to complete while in Physical Therapy for my hips a few years ago. I used a 7.5 lb weight. I did 4 sets of 15 reps on each side of my leg:

Donkey Kick

Side Lying Leg Raise

Lying Leg Raise Inner Thigh

To make the workout more total-body I also did a set of 10 push ups between each 2 sets for a total of 40.

My little station at home.

It's been a day and a half since that and my obliques are still sore! You really don't realize how much you use your core in every move you do! 

Please make sure I do these hip strengtheners more often! 

and when I'm trying to make sure I do an easy run I put on some very chill jams....

Pandora introduced me to Matt Kearney. I'm digging him....

 and my dinner that night. 

Seriously, I am obsessed with adding dried cranberries and sunflower seeds to my salads these days. I have it a few times a week. The salad dressing is a Pomegrante Vinaigrette. SO good together. 

I've got a short pace run to get done today (The race is 8 days away! It's all downhill from here!) but I've got quite a few clients this morning, so I'll have to try and squeeze it in this afternoon. 

I hope you had a great Valentines Day!

Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes I made for my daughter's class, but school was cancelled due to snow.....Gotta find somebody to eat them.

My Perfect Pre-Long Run Dinner and Breakfast.

I think I finally found my pre-race meal. If you're a runner, you know how serious this is to us! I had energy during my run, but I didn't feel too full. No GI issues. No cramping. Nothing. Just one smooth long run.

I'm getting ahead of myself though, let's start with my runs for the week:

Monday: Weights for 40 minutes

Tuesday: 5 miles @ 8:30 pace (+ 20 minutes weight training)

Wednesday: 5.3 miles @ 8;29 (Tempo run. Start at 6.5, going to 8.0, and coming back down gradually)

Thursday: 3 miles @ 8:30 pace + 30 minutes weight training

Friday: REST

Saturday: 5 miles at 8:34 + 20 minutes weight training

Sunday: 13.2 miles at 8:38. 

As I've been saying, I was really trying to up my carbohydrate intake recently and see how it effected my running. 

Greek Yogurt, sliced banana and homemade granola.

Implusive buy at Trader Joes. 

Two Whole Wheat Muffins, 2 scrambled egg and a sliced apple (with a shit ton of cinnamon)

Quaker oatmeal squares, raisans, peanut butter, shredded coconut, and tons of cinnamon.

Those are just a few of my favorite things.

Seriously, going heavy on carbs is a hard job, but somebody has got to do it:-) 

Back to the running....

Saturday night, I decided to top of my glycogen levels with a bowl of whole wheat spaghetti and homemade meatballs. 

Sunday morning I tried my honey whole wheat pancakes again. 

This time, I added a sprinkle of pecans into them while they were cooking. Healthy fats for the win! I ate them 2 hours before my run (instead of 3 like last week) and felt fully energized. 

I started off more conservatively than the week before too. 

Not exactly negative splits, but at least I kept it easy. 

Then I started to pick it up a bit. 

Nasty hill during mile 6, what are you going to do.......except maybe hill work. which will be something I do after this race.....

At miles 4.5 and 8.25 I took my Roctane GU. I don't want to commit to them after only one use but I definitely felt better this week using the Roctane than last week using the regular GUs. 

I was surprised but I liked the Blueberry Pomegrante much more than the Orange Vanilla.

I'm going to contribute those GUs to my last three miles.

All in all, this training run helped me feel much more confident for my race (in 12 days!). I wasn't exhausted when I finished, which is a great sign. 

I'm not going to commit to a pace, but my goal is to run a STRONG race and PR. (This shouldn't be hard since my last half marathon I PRed running on a broken foot for most of the race).

Just to end this post with a chuckle.

A Total Body Weight Workout and a Healthy Muffin Recipe.

This week has already started out on a better note than last week!

Monday I usually take a full rest day, but I decided to add more resistance training to my weekly workouts, so I hit the weights. I really worked up a good sweat, so I thought I'd share:-) 

10 minute warm-up on the elliptical.

Back Extensions 
Ball Crunches 
(3 sets)

Dumbbell Chest Press - 20 lbs 
Supported Row - 20 lbs
(5 sets)

Leg Press - 110 lbs
Standing Shoulder Flexion - 10
(5 sets)

I did 12 reps each time, with no rest in between moves. What a great total body workout! Short, sweet, and to the point. I actually put this together for one of my clients. I hope she likes it as much as I did! 

Can you tell that I love supersets? Why take longer to do something if you don't have to?? 

Tuesday I did an easy 5 miles around beautiful (and crowded) DC @ 8:30 pace. 
**TMI - During my run, I went to blow a snot rocket (don't judge me, it's the best thing about running outside) and totally blew snot ALL over my iPhone arm band. SO crappy. The same thing usually happens if I try to spit.......I need to learn how to get some distance with these sort of things**

Today I knocked out my tempo run. I started at 6.5 mph on the treadmill, moving up every 2-3 minutes until I got to 7.3. I went up from 7.3-8.0 mph every 30 seconds, then came back down in the same pattern. 

I feel like that didn't make sense at all......the idea is to start slowly and gradually move up until you hit 10k pace (7:30 for me) and come back down gradually. I felt like I did pretty good. 

To fuel these awesome runs, I've been snacking on a batch of muffins I baked up this weekend. 

The base recipe is here.

I made a few modifications:

-using 1 whole egg vs. 2 egg whites

-adding about 1/2 a cup raisins and 3 TBSP chia seeds

-adding a splash of vanilla

Not to bad for a healthy muffin! Even the boy and my daughter ate some....willingly. 

Do you make "healthy" baked goods?

If so, please share your favorite recipe

Do you spit or blow snot when you run outside? 

I swear I'm a lady......

Do you have a great weights workout this week? any speed workouts?

A Week of Blah Running

Remember how I was recently talking about  how awesome my running has been??

Apparently, I should have knocked on wood. This past week has been an extremely blah week for me running wise.

Lets see what I've been up to:

Monday: Rest 

Tuesday: 5 miles @ 8:35 pace 

Wednesday: 9x400s (+ warm up, active recovery, and a cool down) - 5.5 miles total @ 8:35 pace. 

Thursday: 3.5 miles @ 8.37 + 20 minutes resistance training

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 5 miles @ 8:40 + 20 minutes resistance training

Sunday: 11 miles @ 8:54 

All of the runs during the week were done on the treadmill because I was recovering from some pretty serious ear infections and thought it best to stay out of the cold. 

On Saturday, I couldn't take it anymore.

Those are some pretty serious bags under my eyes. Geez.

I had to run early because I had some clients in the morning at the gym. I also had time to get weight training in and wanted to share it because it was really quick, yet effective:

Split Squats - 15 on each leg

Incline Dumbbell Chest Press - 20 lbs - 12

(4 sets)

Cable rotation - 10 on each side - 20 lbs

Single Leg Squat to row - 6 on each leg - 12.5

(3 sets)

Seriously, split leg squats hurt so good. My ass has been sore ever since. *That's what she said. *

Today I woke up and decided to go a little heavy on the carbs. 

Honey Whole Wheat Pancakes and cinnamon apples.

but it didn't help. 

My run was weak. 

I was bored and unmotivated and I just wasn't feeling it. 

I came home and over analyzed it over my recovery meal. (I seriously just need to understand that this happens and just get out of my head!)

1/2 a grilled pork chop, roasted rosemary potatoes and carrot souffle. 

That's a lot of orange in one meal.

Do you get ear infections?

I've had double ear and sinus infections twice in the last month. WTH. My doctor said a humidifier would help, so we'll see if it helps. 

How was your running this week?

Do you do split squats or one legged squats?

They Ran Away From Me.....

In case you didn't know, the East Coast got a few inches of snow yesterday. You know what that means....treadmill runs. Boo. 

Tuesday I had 4.5 miles on the agenda. I tried, I really did, but I just wasn't feeling this run. My legs were still sore from this weekend's workouts and I just couldn't find my stride. 

I even turned on some music that was sure to pump me up.

Haha. Don't judge me. 

After 3.5 miles I called it a day. Better luck next time. I was in my sweats and on the couch watching Sex and the City within 15 minutes.

The motivation today was a bit better.  I had a 40 minute tempo run on the training plan.

This was the first song that came on......it was a good sign. :-)

I started at 6.5 mph and went up to 7.6, then came back down.  4.6 miles in 40 minutes. 8:41 pace.

During my run, 2 teenage boys came to the door. When I opened it, and they saw me dripping in sweat, they both looked at me like I was crazy and took a step back. I think they practically ran away.

I guess I did look a little rough.....they should have read my shirt and realized the sweat dripping off my forehead and chin wasn't nasty, it was just me being awesome.

A quick lunch came together right after.

Turkey and avocado, veggies and sweet potatoes. I'm trying to up my carbs these days and see if I feel a difference in my running. 

Butter Lemon Whole Wheat Noodles, baked chicken, and a spinach salad.

I think dinner helped me hit my quota.

When was your last "blah" run?

Do you make an effort to eat more carbohydrates? If so, do you feel a difference?

What's your current favorite song to run to?

A 3 Day Weekend and 3 Workouts to Fry Your Legs

Hey there! How are things going for you? Who doesn't love a three day weekend? 

Three days off and three serious workouts that fried my legs. 

Saturday:

 My half marathon training plan called for a 4 mile "pace" run. As much as I love to run outside, I had to get to be by the gym for clients starting at 8 AM, so I decided it'd be best to get there early and knock it out on the treadmill. 

I warmed up with the first mile in 9 minutes, then ran the next 4 miles at an 8:00 pace. This didn't feel too hard physically, but mentally, it sucked. I am one of those people who are constantly changing the pace or incline on the treadmill to keep myself entertained....... 5 miles with an average pace of 8:12. Done and done.

After my run, I worked on some balance/core/stabilization exercises and foam rolled for about 30 minutes before cleaning up for my 8 AM client. 

I refueled that night with some awesome, homemade chicken tortilla soup.

Some people may consider 1/2 an avocado too much, but I don't think they know what they're talking about.

Sunday: 

I woke up around 8 AM and quickly threw some food in my belly so I could get my long run in.

Oatmeal squares, sliced banana, Sun Butter and milk. 

Before I knew it I was cleaning the house and doing errands......and I decided that I'd rather do my long run on Monday since I was off of work and was craving a good trail run. 

Instead of totally bailing on my workout though, I popped in my headphones, cranked the "Rise Against" station on Pandora, and picked the "Magnum" workout on the Nike Training App. At first glance the workout didn't seem too bad, but after 3 sets of squats, side lunges with rotation, single-leg deadlifts, and around-the world lunges these old legs were definitely starting to feel it. (There were other moves as well, but these were the leg killers.)

Monday: 

I woke up determined to get this long run done. I lounged around for an hour eating breakfast and sucking down a couple cups of coffee....

Whole wheat english muffin w/grape jelly and two runny eggs (smothered in Siracha before consumption) and an apple sprinkled in cinnamon

before heading to the good old state of VA. 

I had to go to Woodbridge anyways, so I thought it best to take advantage of it and go to one of my favorite places to run, Burke Lake Park. 

It's a wonderfully maintained 4.7 mile loop around Burke Lake. 

Unfortunately, the 9 miles (which turned into 9.4) didn't fly by as quickly as I'd hoped they would. My hips were tight from the "Magnum" workout (Haha. Sounds so wrong....) and I just couldn't find my groove. It didn't help that my Nike App was lying to me and telling me I was going terribly slow (Apparently, GPS devices don't tend to work too well on winding trails in the woods. How relieved was I to find it it miscalculated by an entire mile?!). 9.4 miles with an average pace of 8:40.

Long run for the week, done.

Stiffness in my legs, increasing by the hour.

Have a good week!

Have you ever done a "pace" run? Do you do them outside or on a treadmill?

How do you keep yourself entertained on the treadmill?

What is your favorite pre or post run meal/snack?

How was your long run this week?

Thinking Out Loud

Yesterday was a very exhausting day. It was my only afternoon that I didn't have something to do, and all I wanted to do was rest. I got home and immediately put my sweat pants on, dabbed a little Proactive on the mountain on my chin, grabbed a snack, and hit the couch to read some blogs.

5 minutes later, the boy walks in the door. DAMN IT. Busted. 

Two hours later, I'm in the same exact spot writing this post. It' just going to be one of those nights. At least he's joined me, heated up some leftovers, and turned on some Duck Dynasty. Quality time at it's best. 

My fancy dinner:-)

Anyways, Wednesdays are always my speed work day. The training plan that I'm following called for 8x400s today. I don't have a track nearby, so I hit the treadmill.

1 mile warm up, followed by 8x400s (pace: 7:10-6:50 min/miles), with an active recovery lap between each one (pace: 9:10 min/miles), and a very short cool down (.25 miles - I had planned to do .75 miles but I got bored) for a total of 5 miles. Average pace = 8:24 min/miles.

I actually really love 400s. They really make the time fly and I kind of feel like a bad ass:-)

Although this is probably a little more like it. 

On to the "Thinking out Loud" portion of this post. Recently, I've found that a lot of people around me seem to consider me a member of the "food police" of sorts. While I am work, the following two things happen a number of times a day:

1. People see me eating and comment on it. I don't mean comments like "oh hey, that smells good", I mean comments like "what are you eating NOW?", "are you actually eating again?", etc. 

2. People are eating, and when I walk by, they try to hide their food from me if it's bad, or tell me how good they are eating, etc.

Case in point: My office ordered pizza for everybody last week. While I was walking away with two slices, I started receiving comments such as "You're actually going to eat that?". People seemed surprised that me, as healthy as I seem to be, would indulge in 2 slices of pizza. I shook them off and walked away, but they bothered me. What makes any body think it is there business to comment on what I am eating? especially with negative connoation. Like I shouldn't be allowing myself to have a couple of pieces of pizza because I try to be healthy? 

But it gets better. 

I had actually brought homemade lasagna for lunch that day, having not eaten it I offered it to a woman in my office who had missed the pizza and didn't bring anything to eat. I even offered to plate it and heat it up for her. As I'm in the kitchen, the peanut gallery chimed in again:

Douche Bag: "Didn't I just see you eating?" 

Me: "Yeah."

Douche Bag: "Are you really going to eat that as well?"

Me: (In the bitchiest tone possible) "Why yes, I did, WHAT IS IT TO YOU?"

Douche Bag: (Shocked and surprised) "Nothing." (Looks at the ground)

Woooo Buddy, was I mad as ever.

What makes people think that I give a shit what they are eating? What makes people think they have a right to comment on the things that I choose to eat? or how often I eat? Why must they tell me their food choices? 

Because honestly, I don't care. 

What sort of speed work do you do? On the track or treadmill? 

Do you have the same issues because of your "healthy" lifestyle? 

Bad News Bears

It's Friday!! Phew. This week really seemed to drag on. Although I have a jam-packed weekend, I'm really excited because it includes a lot of good friends, good family, good food and fun times.

Remember that MRI that I mentioned (Thank you to all the nice comments, by the way!), well it didn't happen. When I called to give them my insurance information I was told that it was going to cost me $700. Are you serious?! There is just no way that I can afford that right now.

**I'm still working on paying off medical bills for the treatments I got for the Alopecia Areata (none of those were covered my insurance because, even though it's a disease, insurance companies only view the treatments as "cosmetic" procedures. I wish one of those big wigs would have all their hair fall out and tell me how insensitive they are....Anyways, I apologize for the rant and I digress....

Obviously, I was irritated by this news. So what do I go when I get really pissed off or stressed out and I can't grab a glass of wine since I'm at work?? I take my lunch break and go for a run! My foot was, after all, feeling a bit better and it had been 4 days.....

I hopped on the treadmill and told myself to take it easy, starting at a 8:40 pace and taking it from there. The first mile my foot felt a bit achy but nothing serious so I just kept cranking it up. I was stupid. I was frustrated and mad, with my body, with my doctor, with my training plan. I was determined to do this run and do it well. So I pushed, knowing I shouldn't.

After 5.5 uncomfortable miles I finally called it quits.

Today when I woke up, I could barely walk. The pain is there. I concluded that I am a stubborn idiot and I won't be running anytime soon. I have an appointment at the podiatrist on Thursday and I'll wait and see what he has to say.

Refusing to wallow in my self-pity I still went to the gym today. I made a promise to myself that I would stop anything if I felt pain, and I stuck to it.

I ended up actually having an awesome workout knocking out some intervals:

12 minutes on the bike (60 sec sprint, 60 sec recovery)
15 push ups
1:00 plank (move to elbows after 20 sec then back up after 20 sec)
1:00 wall sit
25 calf raises

Repeat entire sequence 3x.

**Another rant. I don't understand this stupid foot at all. It hurts to walk but not to bike, not to do calf raises, planks, etc. How does that make sense??**

Even though I'm pretty bummed about the fact I might not be running my marathon maybe this time off will give me some time to focus on other areas of fitness that I've been slacking it.

Froyo and Foot Pain.

Yesterday was really an awesome Saturday.

After breakfast I headed out for my run, before I could get distracted with anything. I ran 8 untimed miles on the Indian Head Rail Trail. The trail is really great since there are NO sidewalks in Southern MD but it's terribly boring.

 

I can see the end about 2 miles away from it.

 

 

My run was mediocre. I was feeling a little discomfort in my left foot (again) so I ran the last 3 miles on the grass next to the path.

 

After I got home and showered up my boyfriend, daughter and I all went to run some errands.

 

This being the most important one.

 

I have heard so much about Sweet Frog but I'd never been. It was seriously good frozen yogurt. I got the Cake Batter, Red Velvet (meh..) and Pecan Praline with Heath Bar, white chocolate chips and coconut.

 

My daughter got EVERYTHING. Reminder to self, do not let a 6 year old get her yogurt when it's a self-serving situation. Especially when paying by the pound. Over half of that went to waste....

 

After our sweet treat we went to a few other stores and just took our time and had fun shopping and spending time with each other.

 

Kaitlyn thought this hat was perfect for me.....haha. I don't know why I'm slightly cross-eyed here.

 

 

I did grab myself one of these ball to use on my nagging left foot. While we walking around shopping it was really bothering me.

 

**I also grabbed some KT Tape. Has anybody ever used this?? I'm really interested to see what it does**

 

Unfortunately, the ball didn't fix the problem. In fact, into the night my foot got more and more painful despite icing, rolling and stretching it. I woke up this morning and it's really painful to walk (read limping around the house) and my foot is even a bit swollen....

 

*sigh*

 

I guess it's time to go back to the Orthopedic....

Am I a Control Freak??

I have great news! I've been doing awesome with my mini-goals. Even though it's only been a couple days! haha. Here is what my week as looked like:

Wednesday: Zumba + 20 minute arm workout + 40 minutes of yoga
Thursday: 20 minute leg workout + 5 mile run
Friday: 15 minute ab workout + 5 mile run

And I've even been taking my vitamin. I do need to step up the veggies, just a bit.

In an effort to do this, not just for me but for my daughter too, I snuck a bunch of baby spinach into our post-workout smoothie yesterday. She didn't even notice:-)

 

I like to top mine with a bit of cereal. This Bear Naked cereal is amazing. Clusters rock.

 

I took a picture of the contraption I was confused about in my last post. I think it's a back extension.

 

 

 

Man oh man do I feel the burn in my lower back.

Something that I have been randomly thinking about this morning....I think most runners have to have a Type A personality. Don't you?

This thought was brought about because I had to push my run back today. It's not that this pisses me off, because it doesn't. As most of you know I run during my workday. I'm fortunate enough to have
supportive coworkers and bosses who allow be this luxury. But it is that, a luxury.

But it still drives me a little crazy. I plan out my day perfectly. I wake up at 4:30, eat breakfast around 5:00, get my last cup of coffee and a snack at 9:00, which makes it ideal for me to run between 10:30-11:00. It's late enough where my snack has digested but early enough to where I'm not starving.

When this gets disrupted I don't know what the hell to do? It's noon and I'm starving but I don't want to eat my lunch because it'll be too much in my stomach to run. I don't want to snack because then I'll
ruin my lunch (Plus, I'm part Jewish and I hate paying for snacks when I brought a perfectly good lunch to eat).

Serious problems. I know. I sound like a bitchy brat.

Just think about it though. Most runners plan each and every thingthey eat around their daily run, they look up the weather day after day to plan where and when to run, they track miles, the meticulously
fill planners with races and training schedules they follow plans to the T .....and they tend to get crazy when they don't workout.

I don't think I was ever like this before there was running. Perhaps running has actually turned me into a control freak.

On a random note. My new air freshener is the best thing ever!! Who doesn't want to smell cupcakes every time they get in their car?

 

Yankee Candle Vanilla Icing.

The Track is a Terrible Place.

 

Yesterday I had planned to do my Monday Pilates class but the gym didn't open until noon because a couple of pieces of ice feel that morning.....ugh.

 

So I took the entire day just to rest. It was pretty nice but I really enjoy taking that break away from my desk. I always come back chipper and energized.

 

When Kaitlyn and I got home we got right to business.

 

This week its her turn to take home Speedy, the flower pictured below. We have to show him a good time, take some pictures and Kaitlyn has to write in his journal about his adventures.

 

 

Naturally, we went and got froyo before we started playing with her Christmas presents (Yes, she still has presents IN THE BOXES. She is the most spoiled child I know. This is only about 1/5 of what she got). Speedy will write nothing but good things in his journal:-)

 

Today's weather was AMAZING. 67 and sunny! On Jan. 29?? I don't know what the hell is going on but I'll take it.

 

As much as I wanted to go and run outside during work, I felt like Kaitlyn should get to partake in this fabulous weather as well. I skipped my break today and left work a bit earlier than usual so we could head to the hell the track.

 

 

It's exactly a mile away from my house, so during the summer it was perfect to run there as a warm-up, do a speed session, and run back to cool down.

 

Running on it straight for miles?? AWFUL. Worse than the treadmill. I only did 3 miles on it (5 total miles today) and I felt like I might want to slight my wrists. Just a little though.

 

 

She helped kill a boredom a bit.

 

Today my run was a little different than usual because I actually ran with no timing device. I just ran at the pace that my body felt like it and to my surprise, I kind of liked it!

 

Sometimes, especially during my marathon training, I see the pace that I'm running at and it drives me NUTS.

 

 "Why is an 8:30 pace for 3 miles so hard when I ran 10 miles at an 8:20 pace last week and it was easy?? "

 

Thoughts like this run through my mind and I beat myself up mentally and maybe even push myself farther, on that particular day, than I should. For this reason, I've decided to not time myself during every single run. During at least two of my runs (probably my shorter ones 4-5 miles) I will not time myself at all. This is my goal. I'm anxious if it helps me fully recover from those long runs.

 

After Kaitlyn and I got home tonight, we had a pish-posh dinner.

 

She asked me for a smoothie for dessert. I happily obliged:-)