Grain Brain challenge wrap-up.

 The following post is sponsored by FitFluential LLC on behalf of Grain Brain. Opinions expressed are entirely my own!

Four weeks ago, I started the Grain Brain Challenge and now I'm here to let you know how I fared.

But first, let me give you a little reminder of what Dr. David Perlmutter, author of Grain Brain, recommends for optimal brain health:

Good fats from eating olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds, fish, grass-fed beef, goat cheese, and fish oils are fundamental for health, while carb-derived calories as one might get from things like bread, pasta, potatoes, below-ground veggies, fruit and fruit juices are things you want to avoid on a brain-healthy diet. -- Dr. David Perlmutter (via Facebook)

I started on the challenge 4 weeks ago, focusing on food, sleep, exercise and supplements, as laid out in the book.

For me, the challenge wasn't all that hard. I've been following a Paleo diet for a while now and the recommendations in Grain Brain are similar. There are differences, of course, but I didn't have to make the same sort of changes as someone who has been eating grains on the reg.

Basically, I stuck to eating lots of vegetables and high-quality protein and good fat.

Avocados! Such good fat.

I also experimented with . . . READ MORE -------> http://happyrunnergiveaways.blogspot.com/2013/11/grain-brain-challenge-wrap-up.html

Good-bye to Grain Brain!

The following post is sponsored by FitFluential LLC on behalf of Grain Brain. Opinions expressed are entirely my own!


Have you heard of Grain Brain? The full title is Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar -- Your Brain's Silent Killers, a new book by Dr. David Perlmutter, outlining lifestyle changes you can make today to keep your brain healthy, vibrant and sharp. Last week I received a copy to read and review. I also received an invitation to join Dr. Perlmutter's Grain Brain Challenge, a 4-week challenge designed to improve brain health through some diet, exercise and sleep recommendations.

I gladly accepted the invitation and agreed to take on the challenge.

The timing couldn't be more perfect because I'm not training for any races right now, so I don't need to freak out about changing up my diet. And, as you'll see, Dr. Perlmutter's dietary recommendations really aren't that different from what I'm doing now anyway . . .

READ MORE -----> http://happyrunnergiveaways.blogspot.com/2013/10/good-bye-to-grain-brain.html

13.1 New York half marathon race report

Twelve weeks of training came down to this: The half marathon on Saturday. One day. Would I rock it? Or would I fall short? If you read what I posted after the race you already know the answer. But, on Friday as we were driving to my mother-in-law's on Long Island (where we stayed for race weekend), I wasn't sure.

I was sure that I had done the training . . . I just needed put it all together on the race course!

After a peaceful drive to Long Island, a nice dinner of tortellini with some of the family at my mother-in-law's house, and a night of little sleep (thank you, breastfeeding 5-month old!), I woke up at 6:30 raring to go! I ate my usual pre-race breakfast of an English muffin with peanut butter and drank some coffee and water. 

Once we hit the road to head into Queens I started to get really nervous. And when we couldn't find the parking and found ourselves mired in a detour, well, let's just say my nerves started to fray.

But, it all worked out. Owen dropped me off and went to park while I met up with my running pals. When Owen met me after parking, it was time to feed the baby one last time before the start. So, yes, that was me nursing my baby on the tree stump near the starting line:

Hey, you can hardly even tell!
Running breast-feeders of the  world, be proud!

With my boys right before the start:

My 3 year old and my 5 month old. 

I lined up right around the 1:50 mark because my A goal was 1:51:17 and I figured I needed to give myself a good shot of getting it. As I waited for the race to start, I concentrated on my race plan. I told myself not to start too fast but also to remember to push it. You can run 1:51, Happy Runner. Go do it!

We were off and what did I do? I ran faster than I wanted to. But, I felt good and the pace felt comfortable so I just ran with it.

The course was a strange one. It was in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, which was a beautiful place for a race because there was a lot to look at. But, it isn't huge so for the 13.1 mile course there were a TON of twists and turns and past the same sights two and three times. I didn't love that.

I did love that my guys had plenty of diversions while I was running:

Conal by the Unisphere and the fountains (which were not on).

Posing by the NYPD.

Since the course was twisty and repeated some loops, Owen was able to bring the guys around to cheer me on. Here I am at mile something, getting a high-5 from my little guy:

Yes, my outfit was slightly ridiculous. But, I wanted, nay needed to wear my compression socks (thanks, CEP!) and I had no shorts that matched. I could have worn my black shorts that are now too big (thanks, breastfeeding!) but I thought that would look even worse than the crazy colors. So I went with raspberry and neon.

Loved having my name on my bib!

So, back to the actual running part of this race.

I wanted to run 8:30 miles to reach my A goal. I started off running the first 5 miles in 39:23, a 7:52 pace. So I needed to slow down or I was going to implode. And no one likes an imploding runner. No one.

For the next 5 miles I ran at an 8:20 pace. All along, I was sipping my Gatorade and chomping my jelly beans -- when I remembered to.

At mile 10, I was ready to be done. I felt my body start to slow more than I would have liked and my legs started to feel heavy. I had 3 miles to go but, I swear, they were the longest miles ever. I ran them in 8:49, 8:52 and 8:55 -- a severe drop-off. Not exactly a bonk, but definitely proof that I needed to consume more jelly beans earlier in the race (I finished with almost half of my jelly beans left -- the plan was to eat them all).

Over the last 3 miles I had to give myself some major pep talks to keep up the pace. I knew I was going to reach and probably beat my A goal and I didn't want to let that go so close to the end. At mile 11 I saw that I was almost 3 minutes ahead of my goal. Keep it going. Don't stop. 1:51. 1:51. You can do anything for 18 minutes. Just run!

And I did. I kept running and even picked up the pace over the last quarter mile. I crossed the finish line (looking down at my Garmin, grr...) in 1:49:29 (chip time)!!

Look up, Happy Runner!

 Yeah, I was a little proud:

Showing off the bling for the paparazzi :-)

After I finished, I met up with Owen and the boys and then watch my awesome running pals cross the line. Amanda ROCKED the race, running a major PR! Suzy ran strong and looked so solid and ready to keep on running as she crossed the line. And Bridget and Janis? Well, those first time half marathoners -- who just took up running a year ago -- finished together, holding hands. Cutie patooties, as Conal would say.

Janis, Bridget, Amanda and me, after race.

The half marathoners with some of the other girls who went down,  including Jen and Monique who ran the 5K and Stacey who cheered us all on.

The fam!

With Conal, in front of the Unisphere.

I felt terrific after the race. Just elated. I hadn't let my mind go to sub-1:50 for the race and what happened? That's what I ran. I felt like I was on cloud 9 for the rest of the weekend. Honestly, 5 months after having my second child, I rocked a half-marathon. I guess all my pregnancy running and quick return post-baby helped keep me race ready!

Today, two days post race, I still feel good and shocked that I ran faster than I expected. Of course, now I'm thinking about my next race and what my goal will be for that. But I have time.

Anyway, this report is long enough. Here are my official stats:

Chip time: 1:49:29
Overall place: 444/2484
Female place: 112/1389
Age group place: 8/107 (females, 40-44)

And my splits:


mile 1: 7:47
mile 2: 7:49
mile 3: 7:53
mile 4: 7:57
mile 5: 7:58
mile 6: 8:16
mile 7: 8:14
mile 8: 8:24
mile 9: 8:25
mile 10: 8:25
mile 11: 8:49
mile 12: 8:52
mile 13: 8:55
last .1: 1:45 (8:22 pace)

Thanks for all of your comments and support throughout my training. Along with my long runs and my mile repeats, your support helped me through the race. So, thank you!

And to the Happy Runner Half Marathon Challengers who ran this weekend -- congrats! Leave me a comment with your race report by Friday and I'll link you up and you'll be in the running for some great prizes!

Thanks for reading!

~ Felice

Half marathon training: Check-in #7.

Welcome to check-in #7!

(More information on the Happy Runner Half Marathon Challenge can be found HERE)

Oops! I missed last week so it looks like I'm going to have to double-up and give you week 6 and 7 at once. Fortunately, both were decent weeks, running wise. Otherwise? Well, there were some issues but we won't dwell on them.

What I planned to run / what I ran:


Week 6


Mon: 6 miles easy / Nope. Had to squeeze in the run and only made 4.6 miles.
Tues: rest / Done!
Wed: 4 @ tempo / Done! Ran 5 @ tempo and felt great.
Thurs: rest / Done! 
Fri: 4 miles easy / Nope. Turned into a rest day . . . darn kids! Ha!
Sat: rest / Done!
Sun: marathon relay / Done! Had a great race (wrote about it HERE)!

Total miles: 19.4 


Week 7 


Mon: rest / Nope. Went for a recovery run: 4.15 nice-n-easy miles
Tues: 5 miles easy / Nope.  Opted for rest since I skipped my rest on Monday. 
Wed: speed: 3 x 1m @ 5k pace / Nope. Body needed to skip the speedwork. Ran 4.2 easy instead.
Thurs: 4 miles easy  / Nope.  Went for rest.
Fri: rest / Nope.  Ran 3.25 easy.
Sat: 12 mile long run /  Nope.  Sick baby. Couldn't run.
Sun: rest /  Nope.  Baby was still sick, but somewhat better. Ran 12.5 miles on the treadmill. Yikes!

Total miles: 24.1


As you can see, flexibility is the name of the game for me. Although I missed some runs and had to shorten others, I'm still pleased with my training so far.


And that's good because . . . there is just ONE MONTH until race day! Yup -- 13.1 miles in Queens in one month. Can. Not. Wait.


How's your training going?


Happy Wednesday!


~ Felice


PS: There is a ROKIT FUEL giveaway on my other site. Check it out!

Half marathon training: Check-in #6.

Welcome to check-in #6!

(More information on the Happy Runner Half Marathon Challenge can be found HERE)

Yeah, I know. I'm a posting slacker. I've just had lots on my mind and stuff going on and I haven't had a chance to sit down and write. Or stand, since that's what I do (did you know that? That I stand at my computer? It works. I love it. G'ahead, try it!).

Anyway . . . it's week 6 of half marathon training. Half way there! Here's what I planned to run / what I ran:


Mon: 5 miles easy / Done! 5 nice-n-easy miles
Tues: rest / Done!
Wed: speed: 3 x 1m @ 5k pace / Done to the DONE! (Wrote about them here.)
Thurs: 4 miles easy / Done! 4.25 easy miles
Fri: rest / Done!
Sat: 11 mile long run / So very done! 
Sun: rest / Done!

Total miles: 25.25

Yeah! This week just clicked: A solid speed workout and an equally solid long run balanced by two easy runs. My 11-miler was my longest run in YEARS and I'm glad I have that mileage under my feet right now. I'm also glad that I was finally able to slow my overall pace because I haven't been able to do that on my last few long runs. Here are my splits:

Mile 1: 10:23
Mile 2: 9:16
Mile 3: 9:25
Mile 4: 9:50
Mile 5: 10:31
Mile 6: 10:17
Mile 7: 9:41
Mile 8: 10:04
Mile 9: 10:27
Mile 10: 9:53
Mile 11: 9:36
last .02: :13

Total: 1:49:34, 9:57 per mile

How about you? How is your training going?


From the feedback I have been getting via comments and email it looks like people are making it through the winter with their training intact. Keep it up!

I don't have a help a reader question this week but feel free to check out the past questions (you can find everything related to the half marathon challenge HERE) and leave an answer if you'd like. Also, if you have a question that you'd like readers to weigh-in on, leave a comment.

Happy Thursday!

~ Felice

PS: WOW on the new Boston qualifying times, huh?

Half marathon training: Check-in #3.

Welcome to check-in #3!

(Have you signed up for the challenge? Read about it HERE. Past check-ins, participants list and other resources are on that page, too. If you signed up for the challenge and I have you listed incorrectly on the participants list, please let me know!)


Wow. What a week. It was tough -- really tough -- and I thank you all for your kind comments and emails. 


Since the week was full of those curveballs, I didn't get to run exactly according to plan. We traveled to Maryland and Virginia for my brother-in-law's wake and funeral and it meant that my running plans were shelved. But, I did get some good runs in, which helped.


Here's what I had planned to run / what I ran

Mon: 4 miles easy / Sorta: 3.25 miles
Tues: cross-train / Done! 
Wed: 5 miles easy / Sorta:  4 miles
Thurs: 4 miles easy /Sorta: 3.7 miles
Fri: rest / yup 
Sat: rest / yup 
Sun: 10.3 -- 15k race + warmup & cooldown / Sorta: Didn't race (it was too flippin' cold) but did run 9.3 miles on the treadmill, at a nice, slow, long run pace.

Total mileage: 23.3 / 20.25

Overall, it wasn't too bad, running-wise. I wasn't too pleased about having to run 9.3 miles on the 'mill but I got it done. Although, I did have to pop off about 5 miles into the run to quickly nurse my 3-month old. Not sure how I should count those 12 minutes . . . 


Here's this week's plan:

Mon: rest
Tues: 5 easy 
Wed: 5 miles w/3 @ tempo
Thurs: rest
Fri: 4 easy
Sat: rest
Sun: 10 miles @ long run pace
Total: 24


No problem. Today's run will most likely be on the treadmill, as will tomorrow's run. Friday? Who knows. Sunday's long run? I better be able to get outside!


How's your training going?


Do you have a question about half-marathon training or anything else running related? Leave a comment and I'll post your question this week so you can get feedback from others.


Have a great week, everyone!


~ Felice

Half Marathon Challenge: Participants

OK, folks. Here's the list of the Happy Runner Half Marathon Challenge participants.

(Need more info on the challenge? Go to the intro post HERE. You can still sign up, if you are interested.)

There are three categories: Those of you running the 13.1 NYC --  with me :-), those of you running a half marathon (distance or race) all at once, and those of you running 13.1 miles over 2-3 days.  If I missed you or mis-categorized you, please let me know!

13.1 NYC racers!





Amanda
Bridget
Janis
Suzy
BrooklynRunner


Half marathoners!


Rose
Savannah
Nobel4Lit
Maggie
The Turtle
RunningOnCoffee
Lauren @ merrymishaps
Marlene
SMG2008
Sarah Richie
Jess @ Blonde Ponytail
Brian
H Love
MCM Mama
Cynthia O'H
HudkinsFamily
Melissa
Marthacooper
Christine
Tricia
Oz Runner
Bev
Elliott
Liz Z
JOYFilledFamily
Janine
Laura
Jill @ Run for the Hills


Weekend milers!


sTyliSH1
Amy Lauren @ proudpatriot07
Jen F
Darlene
Leah
Lisa
macnic
massage momma
amandainbalance
streak
Karen
J


The challenge prizes will be category specific -- stayed tuned for that info!


~ Felice

Half marathon training: Check-in #1.

Welcome to check-in #1!

(Have you signed up for the challenge? Read about it HERE.)

It's Day 1 of half marathon training for this happy runner. 12 weeks to the 13.1 NYC. The schedule for this week looks like this:

Mon: 4 miles easy
Tues: cross-train
Wed: 5 miles w/3 @ tempo
Thurs: rest
Fri: 4 miles easy
Sat: 8 miles @ long run pace
Sun: rest

I can't tell you how excited I am for this training cycle. I haven't trained for a race in over a year and I've missed it. I hope that those of you who are training along with me are as excited as I am!

Challenge housekeeping

The sign-ups are coming in! I'm really pleased that so many of you are into the challenge! I'm going to post the participants later this week but that doesn't mean I'm going to close the sign-ups. You can sign-up any time between now and the weekend of the race. (Sign-up HERE.) The benefit to signing up early is COMMITMENT. So, consider doing it! And, remember, you don't have to run the full 13.1 miles all at once -- any time from Friday, 4/1 through Sunday, 4/3 works.

Later this week, I hope to post the preliminary list of goodies that I have for prizes. Yay!

Call for questions! Do you have a question about the 13.1 NYC, half marathon training or running in general? Leave a comment with your question and I'll post it later this week so you can get feedback and answers.

Last -- would you like weekly motivation via email? Leave me your address (or send it to me at felicehalf at yahoo dot com) and I'll put you on my Happy Runner Half Marathon Challenge e-mail list.

Hope you all had a good weekend -- thanks for stopping by!

~ Felice

Happy Runner Half Marathon Challenge!

Yesterday I wrote about my plans to run the 13.1 NYC marathon on April 2. I'm really looking forward to the training and the race, especially because several of my friends are also running it.

Because I think it will be such a fun time, but also because I know that training for 13.1 is a big deal, I'm looking for YOU to run the half-marathon with ME in the

Happy Runner Half Marathon Challenge!

(or HRHMC for short)

Now, don't worry, it doesn't have to be in person (although that would be great). We're all kinds of virtual in this here blogging world. And, you don't even have to run all 13.1 miles at once. If you're not up for training for the full 13.1, you can run the half marathon distance over the course of 2-3 days. The rules are very flexible :-)

All you have to do is commit. Commit to running (virtually or in person) a half-marathon (all at once or over 3 days) with the Happy Runner! If you do, you will be rewarded, I promise.

What's in it for you:

• Weekly training updates -- each Monday I'll post an update of my plan and how I did with my training. I'll also give you updates on how the other runners are doing and you can share your updates too.
• Forum for questions -- I'll put out a call for questions each week. You can comment with whatever questions you have and then I'll collect them and include them in a post for all readers to give their opinions. We'll all benefit from our collective running wisdom!
• Motivation -- I'll share some motivational quotes and tips throughout the training period. Committing to the challenge will help you keep up with the running through the dreary days of winter.
• Goodies -- People, there will be prizes. Fun, fun running prizes!
• A discount -- If you would like to run the 13.1 NYC marathon with me, I have a discount code to share. Woo hoo!

Here are the specifics:

• The Challenge starts Monday, January 10, 2011. This will give you 12 weeks to train for the full half, if that's what you'd like to do. (Here are some plans: Hal Higdon, Runner's World, Cool Running.)  
• There are THREE options for running the half: 
• Run the 13.1 marathon NYC and meet up with the Happy Runner, et al, on April 2, 2011.
• OR run some other half marathon that weekend. 
• OR run a total of 13.1 miles anytime from Friday, April1 through Sunday, April 3 (two 5m runs and a 5k, for example).
• On Monday, April 4th, I'll post a race report and ask you to do the same and to leave a comment with your half marathon time.
• I'll post a list of all the participants, your results and link to your race reports. 
• I'll chose the lucky prize winners. I'll keep you all updated on the prizes as more come in.

To sign up:

• Leave me a comment -- feel free to think about it for a bit; I'll post the first list of participants on 1/14.
• If you plan to run the 13.1 NYC marathon as part of this challenge and would like the discount code, include your email address and I'll send it to you.

That's it! Feel free to share the challenge with others -- the more, the merrier!

I hope you'll join me! We'll have fun. I promise :-)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

~ Felice

Fitting it all in.

My fear of encountering ice while out on a run in the dark kicked into high gear this week. There's ice all over in the back part of my neighborhood loop. So, my evening runs have been shelved. At least for a little while.

And I am totally OK with that because I've been using this time to shake up the cross training. After two great runs over the weekend, I got in an hour of cross training on Monday and yesterday. Today, I awoke with a tired butt, arms and hammies. I guess that cross training has been working!

I'm looking at this period of lower mileage as a necessary part of the cycle. In January, I'll pump up my mileage again, in preparation for the marathon relay, and I'm sure I'll be better off for these weeks of relative rest. And my strength should be improved from all of the cross training. I hope so, anyway.

Now, there are a bunch of other things going on that I wanted to share today:

• I've been continuing to post my reviews over at my review site. My latest review, of GoLite, is here.
  
• I've also joined a little challenge to run 1,010 miles in 2010 at RunninAround's site here. Check it out!
• Today, I received some Mia Mallows in the mail -- a gourmet giveaway that I recently won! And, OK . . . YUM! These are decidedly not your regular ol' grocery store variety marshmallows. These are decadent. They come in tasty flavors like coffee, lemon, strawberry, eggnog and a bunch of others. My son and I have tried them out and love them! Here's a quick pic of what I won:
  

And on that yummy note, I'll sign off. Happy Wednesday!

~ Felice

OK, arms. The party's over.

Once upon a time, I participated in the hundred push ups challenge. I worked hard to do tons of real, straight leg push ups. I made it through week 5 (of 6) by repeating weeks 3, 4 and 5 over and over. It was tough. I never got to week 6 and never was able to perform all 100 push ups consecutively.

But all was not lost because my arms (and core) had gotten a lot stronger just by doing the push ups three times a week. So, really, it was a win. And I took that win, patted myself on the back, and gave up on push ups for a good year or so.

Sure, I would do them when working out with Jillian Michaels and her Shred girls. That was about it, though. I rarely, if ever, did them just to do them.

Well, the time has come to get back to kicking my own butt. Bring on the push ups!

Lisa over at Chasin' Bunnies wrote about how she's doing the challenge and invited others to join her. I seem to not be able to pass up a challenge because I signed up. I'm in. Get ready, arms! Today, I did the initial test and was able to squeeze out 15 good form, straight leg push ups. I almost made it to 16 but that one was crud and my back was all archy, so it didn't count.

Yes, 15 is a far cry from 100 but I'm not so worried about getting to 100 this time around. Lisa is all low-pressure with this challenge so it's more about building strength than actually reaching a certain number. That should work well for me.

Now, speaking of Jillian Michaels (because we were, right?), I went back the Shred last night. I did Shred level 3 using 6lb weights and I feel a little sore today. I'm going to cut myself some slack because a) I've hardly done any cross training in the past few months and b) Jillian and her girls use 3lb weights. So I'm practically a rock star hoisting my mighty 6lbs. Ha!

Right. So, it's almost Friday! Woo hoo! Enjoy it, everyone!

~ Felice

Birthday sack races.

I was going through some old pictures when I came across one from my 8th or 9th birthday. I think we had a different definition of fun back then:

Yes, those are actual burlap sacks.

Do people still do this? Do they do things like step into sacks and then race across the driveway?

It was a different time, for sure. But, man, we were into it. I mean, look at those girls in the back, jumping up and down and cheering away. They're not even in sacks! This was fun stuff. Sure, it was an inefficient way to race, but that was the point. You were hampered by the sack. And yet you still tried to win.

Today, I am hampered by my toe. I'm not entirely sure it is a bunion because my toe does not angle in toward the others at all; it lies straight. I don't have a bump on the outside of the joint nor is the pain there; the pain is on the top and my up and down mobility is limited. Bunion or not, it gave me more pain on yesterday's run so I'm completely off today.

Hampered though I may be, I'm going to keep on trying to win (in a manner of speaking. I'm not entered in any races right now and even if I was I know it's unlikely I would come in first. So winning, it seems, means running. Just being able to run. Heavy, no? No? OK, you're probably right.). I'll rest the toe, wear my Birkenstocks and perform the toe exercises that I found online.

I may even bring back the sack races. In the spring, perhaps. Not now. I think this icy weather would make the game a little too dangerous.

A cheer, some work, a little about running and an interview.

A few things --

First, cheers to all the veterans on this Veterans Day!

Now, let's talk about me. I'm swamped. When it rains, it pours. Be careful what you wish for. All good things come to those who wait. I know there are more cliches that apply, I just can't think of them now because my brain is worn out.

As you know, I don't work full time. Ahem. Oh, right. I take care of my son, which is a full-time job. So, I should more accurately say that I don't work for pay full time. I freelance. This summer I had very few projects. I ran. I vacationed. I kept up with this and everyone else's blogs.

And I worried. "What if this is the end? What if I'm done? Washed up?" I was nervous that no new jobs would come my way.

What was I thinking?

I have more projects right now than I've had since I started freelancing. I'm a little over-loaded but pretty sure I can handle it. I'll probably have to ask for help (in the childcare area) in order to get through, and that is something I always struggle with. I just need to do it. I'll also need to be diligent about finding time to run because I will need that stress relief!

And here's the other thing (It's pretty cool. To me, at least!): Lori from Fake Food Free and Charity Mile interviewed me for the Charity Mile blog. The interview is up now so check it out!

I might have to change my name.

Not my name name. My blog name. I'm thinking The Happy Cross-trainer.

OK, not really.

Running is still my #1. But, I'm getting into this cross-training thing. I worked out with Jackie Warner on Thursday and did one of the Biggest Loser workouts on Friday. Saturday, I felt the effects in my core, my butt, my arms, my whole body! I'm hoping that this renewed enthusiasm for cross-training will have a positive effect on my running. I think it will. It certainly can't hurt. I had a decent run on Saturday and an enjoyable, although fairly slow, run on Sunday.

In other news . . . I made my September to Remember goal! If you recall, I set out to run more than 60 miles this month. As of yesterday, I had run 71.1 miles -- well past 60 and I will probably sneak in another run before the month comes to a close! I'm so happy with how I did and grateful to JKRunning for setting up the challenge.

Almost the weekend. Phew.

Wow, am I ready for the weekend. The weather looks like it will be great so my plan is for a regular run this evening and then a long run on Sunday. Nothing like what all you marathoners will be doing, but long for me!

I also have push ups on the agenda. Nope, I haven't given up! I'm still pushing through Week 5, although you could say I'm hanging out in Week 5 because it's been a while and I'm still stuck on Day 2. I had better be done with this by the end of the year.

And, I have 2 toddler birthday parties to go to. So, yup. My weekend will be toddler-rific.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

The good news is that I now have a new goal.

After my failed mile test last week, I decided to try again today. I thought I could run under 7 minutes. Well, not so much. I finished my mile in 7:10.

I was a little disappointed, only because I had built up this test in my mind all week. I pictured myself breaking the imaginary tape in well under 7 minutes, with my hands in the air and a smile on my face. Instead, I made it to the 1 mile mark feeling like I was going to puke. Oddly enough, I think I started out too slow and I had to seriously pick up the pace in the last half mile. For the last quarter mile I was really pushing it and I felt it at the end.

Lesson learned and new goal established. I will now add, "Running a mile in under 7 minutes" to my other goals for 2008. I can handle it.

Have a great weekend!

When you head out for your run . . .

it's a good idea to bring your brain along with you. Otherwise, you may find yourself timing .71 miles instead of a full mile. And no one wants to be that person, right?

Right.

Sadly, I'm that person. I had mapped out a mile on my route. Unfortunately, when I started to time it I misremembered the marker where I was supposed to start. I was supposed to start as I headed up the small hill (I know, hills aren't what people usually include in their mile tests) but I started timing as I turned at Windy Way (real name!).

Grrr . . . I have no mile test time. I just have .71, run in 4:44.

The good news is that now I have an idea what my mile time might be, based on the wimpy .71: I think I could break 7 minutes. I just need to bring my brain along the next time I head out to time my mile.

One challenge not enough for you?

Well goodie for you! I've entered another challenge. So, not only will I be able to regale you with stories of my push up progress (Week 5, Day 1 is going well, thanks) but I will now have jkrunning's "September to Remember" challenge to tell you about. I know! You can't wait for the updates!

Settle down, please. You don't even know what the challenge is yet (unless, of course, you're in on it). The challenge is to beat your highest mileage month of the year (biking, running, swimming, whatever). I'm looking to beat 60 miles of running.

Do you think I can do it? I'm pretty sure I can. Whatever happens, though, I'll pass along the updates.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Week 5, Day 1.

In this alternate push up world, today I began Week 5. In the real world, I have been working at this challenge for 10 weeks. For some reason, I have stuck with it. I don't know whether that reflects something good or weird about my character . . .

Either way, today I started Week 5 with the following sets: 30/24/22/20/31*

I did them all. They were tough. Day 2 looks to be even harder but since it has taken me 10 weeks to get to Week 5, I plan to repeat today's schedule for the rest of the week. Call me a slacker, I don't care.


*That last set nearly killed me.

Day 1 of Week 4, Day 3. Huh?

I'm still slogging away with the push ups.

Today was Week 4, Day 3: 25/19/19/17/27, for a total of 107 push ups. Since I gave up completing a week in one try, I'll repeat today's routine on Friday and move on to Week 5 on Monday. Taking two weeks to complete one week by doing each day twice (sounds more confusing than it is), is working for me. It's less stress.

I'm all about less stress.