Monthly Archives: November 2009

by | November 30, 2009 · 2:08 pm

Motivation Monday: Strength edition

An injured runner-friend and I were recently talking about lifting — you know, the strength-training we runners tend to ignore until we get hurt and are chastised by a smart physical therapist who says we should know better. My friend and I agreed that when we stop lifting and then start again, we literally feel stronger and more stable almost immediately, like the simple act of doing a few sets of single-leg leg presses can increase our strength and erase our muscle imbalances.

I got lazy about lifting leading up to the Marine Corps Marathon, and even after, when my usual gym at the National Naval Medical Center- Bethesda closed. I added my routine back to my workout schedule a couple weeks ago to great effect — I’m sore pretty much all the time, since I’m basically starting over, but I already feel stronger and more balanced.

On Friday, at my new gym, I got an unexpected bonus. A trainer named Lenny saw me alternating core and arm exercises, and asked a tantalizing question: “Do you want me to show you something that’ll set your arms on fire?” This is like a Nordstrom salesman asking a serial shopper: “Do you just want those boots for free?” He proceeded to show me a series of moves that did, indeed set my arms on fire. And my abs. And my back. Just one example: He had me do chest-presses on an incline with an unweighted bar — but had me hold my legs in the air at a 45-degree angle to work my abs, too. My abs are still literally sore to the touch.

On Sunday, I got a similar treat when I attended a strength-training class for runners held by Robert Gillanders, an ultramarathoner and physical therapist I’ve profiled for Examiner.com. The class at the Water Street Gym in Georgetown included several of the exercises shown in the injury-prevention workout Gillanders created for Examiner.com, but some of the tweaks still caught me by surprise. One example: While doing the plank position, he had us move one leg back and forth. Yeowch!

This week, I’m feeling motivated by this return to the weight room, which I’m adding to my existing IT band plan. Better yet, Gillanders’ class gave me a few new moves to add to the mix.

Also motivating me this week: the promise of a post-run happy hour at Adega, a cool little restaurant and wine bar in Silver Spring, after my group run tomorrow night. Oh — and my desire to run off the Christmas cookies I baked yesterday. Because my beloved University of Colorado’s football team may have lost to Nebraska on Friday, but this CU fan is still making Buffalo-themed Christmas cookies.

What’s motivating you this week?

My CU-themed, buffalo-shaped cookies.

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by | November 27, 2009 · 2:16 pm

We eat hills for breakfast: Bethesda-Chevy Chase Turkey Chase 10K

Everyone warned me about the hills.

Somehow, the constant rise and swell of the YMCA Bethesda-Chevy Chase Turkey Trot 10K course still took me by surprise. Spectators even held signs saying: “Love those hills!”

Steve and I decided ahead of time we’d be running this race to have a good time, not to run one. My recently adopted chilled-out approach led to a surprisingly good 5K a couple weeks ago — could it lead to a speedy 10K on Thanksgiving morning?

I passed each of the first two mile markers in 7:50 minutes — on pace for a PR and feeling surprisingly great despite the hills. Buoyed by the knowledge that as recently as Tuesday, I’d held a solid 8:10-minute-mile pace in the hills with my running group, I pushed on.

I may have slowed down a bit by mile 3, but it wasn’t until the 4-mile marker that I felt like my muscles literally slammed on the brakes. Soon, my stupid sensitive stomach joined the party by reminding me that I’d spent the day yesterday munching on the Thanksgiving goodies I was prepping rather than carefully monitoring my pre-race diet.It became clear my chilled-out approach wasn’t going to lead to my running a great time this time around.

But it was a turkey trot, for goodness sake — is there any better time to chill out and not worry about one’s time? I was having a terrible race, but I could still have an awesome run. I didn’t stop trying, per se, but I definitely threw a nice, comfortable 9-minute mile in there. I was going slow enough to take in the throngs of students home for the holidays proudly wearing their college sweatshirts and fleeces. I watched dads coaching their tweenage sons to hold a steady pace, and moms tackling the killer hills with double baby joggers. The whole experience gave me a sense of contentment no PR could have, and when I crossed the finish line in 52:46, I couldn’t stop talking about how much fun I’d had.

For a more detailed course and race review, check out my Examiner.com post here.

Steve seconded my easygoing approach, and even one-upped me. When I asked what his time was, he shrugged, and told me he hadn’t even bothered to start his watch.

Easy pace notwithstanding, those hills made sure we still got an awesome workout. And after eating hills for breakfast, our Thanksgiving feast that afternoon tasted even better.

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by | November 25, 2009 · 11:12 am

Carrot and stick, part deux

I just didn’t feel like running last night.

Steve and I have both been fighting off a weird “maybe it’s a cold, maybe it’s not” throat-scratchiness, and running into the chilly darkness just didn’t seem appealing.

Then, we got an e-mail from our group-run organizer announcing we’d be going to Chipotle after the run. Chipotle changes everything.

We could have skipped the run and gone to Chipotle ourselves, but it wouldn’t have seemed right. So we headed out, more excited for the food than the run.

Of course, we had a great time once we got out there. It was a hilly route, but my pace group held a solid 8:10 pace for the 5.26-mile out-and-back — possibly fueled by the promise of yummy food after (plus, sports nutritionists say you can count on a 10-percent increase in calories burned for each degree of incline. This means running on a 10-percent incline actually doubles your calorie-burn, meaning I more than earned my veggie burrito bol).

This made me wonder why I don’t dangle carrots like these to incentivize workouts more often. My new goal, in line with my new run-happy philosophy, is to promise myself something for every workout. A month ago, I wrote about some running toys I’ve got my eye on. These are fine and good for long-term goals, but I need some rewards for micro-goals: a nice bath, an hour with a book, or some other cheap, sustainable carrot I can dangle in front of my eyes on a daily basis. I can think of lots of food-related rewards, but it would be nice to mix that up a little.

How do you reward yourself for hard workouts?

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by | November 24, 2009 · 1:44 pm

A runner-friendly Thanksgiving: turkey trot, recipes

I participated in my first-ever turkey trot last Thanksgiving, and I’m convinced this is one of the nicest possible Turkey Day

traditions a healthy family can adopt. There’s a trot almost everywhere, so even when you’re traveling, it’s possible to get in a good workout — and get a taste of that city’s running community. Last year, we ran the St. Petersburg Times Turkey Trot near my parents’ home in Florida. This year, we’ll start the day with the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Turkey Trot 10K (check out a fabulous PSA for the race here).But our runner-friendly Thanksgiving doesn’t stop there.

In the interest of helping other runners plan their own Thanksgiving feasts, here’s a roundup of the recipes I’m bringing to the table (literally) this Thanksgiving:

A harvest salad with pears, dried cranberries, blue cheese and walnuts.

Roasted turkey breast brined with vegetable broth and herbs.

Sweet-potato stuffing (made with whole-grain bread, minus the bacon)

Homemade cranberry sauce. I’d hoped to use my foodie-friend Chris’ awesome-looking chipotle cranberry sauce recipe (he swears it sounds weird but tastes great), but I couldn’t find a dried chipotle pepper. I’m making this Cooking Light recipe instead.

My own roasted butternut squash recipe: Peel and dice one large butternut squash. Toss diced squash in 1 TBSP olive oil; juice from 1/2 lemon; 2 TBSP minced garlic; and cinnamon, nutmeg, red pepper flakes to taste. Bake for about 45 minutes at 375 degrees. I like it a little crispier, so I leave it in for about an hour.

And a pumpkin pie. I’m planning to use up the sweet little pumpkin that’s been decorating my table since I bought it from my farm stand a couple months ago for the filling. I’m also planning to make the crust myself, because my dad worked in a bakery in high school and made fabulous pies my whole life, and ain’t no daughter of Ed Reinink’s gonna eat no store-bought crust on Thanksgiving.

Looking for more runner-friendly Thanksgiving fare that won’t make your dinner guests leave early in search of a Big Mac? Check out Deena Kastor’s Thanksgiving recipes here.

Still looking for a turkey trot? Check out my roundup of Washington-area races for Examiner.com.

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by | November 23, 2009 · 2:08 pm

Motivation Monday: The “run happy” edition

I never thought I’d be one of those runners who obsesses about split times and speedwork and PRs. In my short high school cross-country career, I was never fast enough to really give that stuff much thought. Swimming provided my competitive fix, and even after I graduated high school and quit swimming, I was happy to keep my running in slow-and-steady mode.

Then, I started running longer distances, and simply running a 5K or 10K wasn’t enough. I had to run them faster than I’d run before, and the need for (relative) speed started to seep into the longer races, too. This can be exhilarating — the transformative power of the clock can make us realize that if we can run a half-marathon faster than we imagined we could previously, we can do just about anything we put our minds to.

But right now, I need to do the opposite, and my motivation this week comes from easing up on the pre-run pressure. I am pulling back from time goals, and trying to go back to a time when running was more about the joy of motion. I am running how I feel, and marveling that “running how I feel” often yields the same pace as when I’m consciously pushing it.

Here’s what else is motivating me this week:

Brooks’ Run Happy ad campaign fits perfectly into my new, chilled-out approach.

The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Turkey Trot 10K on Thanksgiving morning does, too. Is it possible to take yourself too seriously when the word “trot” is involved?

A runner-friendly Thanksgiving later that day. My contributions to dinner: a roasted turkey breast, sweet-potato stuffing (made with whole-grain bread), lemon-orange cranberry sauce, roasted butternut squash and a harvest salad with pears, dried cranberries, and blue cheese. And a pumpkin pie. All homemade, mostly from goodies procured at the farmers market. Since I enjoy the cooking, I’m deeply excited about this (recipes to follow …). Looking for Thanksgiving inspiration? Check out Deena Kastor’s Thanksgiving recipes here. (Thanks to Heather, a runner and nutritionist, for pointing them out!)

Our amazing trip yesterday to Sugarloaf Mountain, a lovely landmark less than an hour from our apartment in Silver Spring, Md. If there is a better way to spend a sunny fall Sunday than by running up and down a mountain a couple times (literally, a couple — it was so much fun, we ran the paved part twice!), then hitting up the vineyard at the bottom of the mountain for a wine tasting, I’m not sure what it is.

Post-run wine tasting.

Finally, I’m motivated by all my friends who ran the Philadelphia Marathon over the weekend. Marci and Jenn in particular ran gutsy races that had nothing to do with the transformative power of the clock, and everything to do with the power of finding out who you are as a human being.

What’s motivating you this week?

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by | November 22, 2009 · 9:33 pm

Sugarloaf Mountain photos

Is there a better way to spend a fall Sunday than running up and down a mountain a couple times (literally — it was so much fun, we went twice!), then hitting up the vineyard at the bottom of the mountain for a wine tasting? That’s what we did today at Sugarloaf Mountain, a lovely landmark less than an hour from our apartment in Silver Spring, Md. A few photos from our delightful day:

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by | November 19, 2009 · 1:31 pm

Running recipes: Apple with homemade pumpkin butter

I’ve been obsessed with squash lately, along with honeycrisp apples. I’ve also been My favorite pre-run (or anytime) snack. obsessed with tinkering with my pre-run snacks, and figuring out what my sensitive stomach likes and what it doesn’t.

That led to the perfect marriage of the two: a honeycrisp apple and some quick, easy homemade pumpkin butter, which I’ve been making in batches of just a few servings in the microwave. Here’s how I make the weird (but delicious!) little concoction:

1 c canned pumpkin

1/2 c apple cider

Several packs Truvia or other sweetener (Most recipes require roughly 1/2 c sugar for the quantities of pumpkin and cider I use. I find it’s tasty with less, too)

Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice – to taste, or roughly 1 tsp.

Combine ingredients in a microwave-safe container. Microwave for two minutes, or until the mixture starts starts to thicken. Cool in the fridge, then mix again. Slice apple, and garnish with cinnamon and nutmeg.

What’s your go-to pre-run snack?

Speaking of sports nutrition, the editor in chief of Prevention magazine will unveil the magazine’s “400-calorie fix” on the Rachael Ray show today (read my Examiner.com post on the topic here). Regular Prevention readers know the magazine advocates eating four 400-calorie meals composed of produce, whole grains, lean protein and dairy, and monounsaturated fats throughout the day — the good stuff runners should be eating, anyway. Obviously, endurance athletes have drastically different calorie needs than the general population, but I love the idea of breaking one’s meals into small chunks, rather than suffering carbo-bloat from overdoing it pre-race or post-run. Rodale’s recipe-finder provides a portal to both Runner’s World and Prevention’s virtual recipe boxes.

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by | November 17, 2009 · 1:43 pm

Product review: Trigger Point’s Quadballer

A Running Times story comparing some popular self-massage tools for runners says

The Stick is known as the toothbrush for muscles. The Quadballer, on the other hand, is like a dental tool.

I got turned on to the Quadballer only recently, when searching for a step up from my beloved/much-hated (it’s one of those relationships) foam roller to soothe my often-sore IT band. As soon as I started reading about its hurts-so-good powers, I had to have it. Thanks to a friend with a Trigger Point discount, I bought a Quadballer for a price that fits my race-registration-depleted budget, and it arrived at my front door last week.

The patented material the Quadballer is made from aims to simulate the feeling of an actual massage, and man, does it ever! The diagrams show its usage to be very similar to a foam roller, but this baby ain’t no comfy, cushy foam roller. There’s a reason why the instructional materials note that runners should only spend three to five minutes on each exercise — any more, and you’ll risk bruising.

For that reason, my first night with the Quadballer was kind of difficult.  I didn’t seriously overdo it; I just didn’t realize the extent to which a little goes a long way. I used to spend a good 30 minutes lolling around on the foam roller to work out post-run kinks. With the Quadballer, it’s more like five minutes, which is yet another reason to invest in one. It’s too soon to tell whether it’s the definitive cure to my IT band problems. But I can already tell it’s helping, and can a runner ask for anything better than that?

Have you tried this magical little instrument of torture? Any tips, praise or warnings to pass along?

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by | November 13, 2009 · 2:14 pm

Plotting my route to the National Marathon

The more I think about the National Marathon in March, the more benefits I see to setting my sights on this race.

One such benefit: While searching for a tune-up half-marathon that would suit my timing for the March 20 marathon, I realized I could piggyback a visit to my parents in New Port Richey, Fla., on a trip back to Gainesville, Fla., where I lived and worked for four years, to run the Five Points of Life Half-Marathon in February.

The hometown flavor that permeates the race starts before runners even cross the starting line, with a cheer familiar to anyone who’s attended a University of Florida football game:

Two bits!
Four bits!
Six bits!
A dollar!
All for the Gators stand up and holler!

Even if you’re not a Gator fan, it’s hard not to love the sense of place and friendly vibe that define this small but speedy race. The flat, fast course runs through Gainesville’s quaint downtown before winding around the University of Florida campus, with highlights including a swing past alligator-filled Lake Alice and a trip through Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (again, even if you’re not a Gator fan, this is pretty cool). The race aims to raise awareness of the need for lifesaving donations of blood, apheresis, marrow, cord blood, and organ and tissue.

I’m also psyched to run the race for personal reasons: this is the half-marathon that started it all for me and distance running. I was planning to run the Gate River Run 15K in Jacksonville in 2007, and, for the first time, was following a training schedule to the letter. Things were going well, and it occurred to me that, if I could run nine miles on long runs after a slow buildup, I could probably run 13 miles, too. That kind of thinking eventually led to my first marathon in Nashville, Tenn., in April 2007.

My time for that first half-marathon wasn’t anything special by my current standards. But at the time, 1:56 shattered my every expectation for myself, and made me realize that pushing my body a little harder than is comfortable can yield almost magical mind-calming results.

Best of all: It only costs $45 to register for it until the end of the year.

I’m also dreaming up lots of ways to improve my marathon training, while maintaining my ultimate goal of not getting hurt through the process. A few tools I plan to add to my arsenal:

Progression runs. While training for the Marine Corps Marathon, I made a point to run the last few miles of each long run faster than my first few miles. But I’m going to get even better at holding back early on and speeding up steadily until the end of the run.

More continuous running. I’m not sure how bad I was, exactly, about lingering at my personal “rest stops” on long runs. This time, I’m going to do my best to simulate race-day conditions, stopping only as long as I would at a water station during the race.

Speedwork (more of it). I didn’t get a chance to add this to my training repertoire until just weeks before the race thanks to a lingering hip injury. I think starting mile repeats and Yasso 800s earlier in the process will do wonders for my confidence, if not my actual speed.

Stepping up my efforts to keep my stomach calm on race-day. I did a lot right before my Marine Corps Marathon stomach disaster — but I think I can do even better, and not just in terms of skipping an unfamiliar chicken sandwich the day before the race. More details on this as training progresses — I’ll definitely be seeking tips from all of you!

Which workouts, foods and other training tactics helped you run your best marathon ever? I’ve got a good general route mapped out for myself, but I’m still looking for new and interesting detours.

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by | November 12, 2009 · 12:54 pm

Should I run when I’m sick? (the swim-practice rule)

In high school, any time I’d get sick enough to stay home for the day, my mom had a simple rule: If I was sick enough to stay home from school, I was sick enough to skip swim practice, too.

This had the unfortunate effect on more than one occasion of me going to school with a bad cold to avoid missing swim practice. But most of the time, her rule made me realize that if my body wasn’t well enough to function at school, then it certainly didn’t need me to suck energy out of it by beating up in the pool or weight room.

I returned to that rule yesterday, when I carefully nursed what I’m hoping doesn’t turn into a wicked-bad cold. Since I work from home, this mostly meant working in my pajamas on the couch instead of working in jeans and a sweater at the kitchen table. I made an executive decision: If I was too sick to get up and change into jeans, I was probably sick enough that I should skip the stationary bike and the core workout I had planned. Using the neck rule, I probably could have gotten away with the workout. But moms are smart, so I decided to let my mom’s rule take precedence.

The effect: I’m feeling much better today, thanks! I’m going to take the cold, rainy day as a sign I should ease back in slowly, and I’m planning on an easy stationary-bike ride and some core work instead of a full-fledged run outside. I feel like my mom would approve.

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