Week 21: Day 6 (...and contest details!)

Good afternoon!!

Up to 33 followers...love it!  :)  I have to tell you that I was in a bit of a funk yesterday after the no loss weigh-in, and I was seriously thinking "Why do I care about weight anymore?  Why don't I just eat whatever I want and just focus on the running for now?"  Wanna know why?  YOU!!  You readers and followers and especially commenters!!!  I need it.  I crave it.  I know I would feel sooo bad if I failed at this point.  Every day when I hear a new person tell me they are "inspired" or "motivated" by something I have done...well, it makes tracking my food worth it.  It makes analyzing every little sliver of pizza worth it.  It is really gonna be worth it when I randomly drop 5 pounds after a few weeks of plateau, right?!  Yay!!

So, today is exercise recap for the week.  I have had a really good week!!  Monday was the Firecracker 5K (see previous post).  I am still pretty excited about the outcome of that race.  I don't think I posted the "latest news" from the race...when I went to the Nashville Striders website (here) I discovered I actually should have placed 3rd in the Athena category!  I could have sworn I registered correctly, but my time was definitely faster than the woman whose name is listed as 3rd place.  Woo-hooo!!!  My father thinks I should call a lawyer.  :)  I just assume God knows she needed that cool water bottle more than I did!  Next year's goal...finish 1st in the category, or no longer qualify for the category!!!  (Athena is 150+ pounds for women - in all honesty, I will likely always qualify for that category.  I'm 5'8"+, so it's fine)

Anyway, Wednesday was a rough run.  I mentioned getting back outdoors, so I am expecting some tough transition days.  I got up at 5 am and headed out to the quarter mile track for my 30-minute run.  My legs were super tight and I just kept "deciding" to quit...every lap was my "last one".  When the music finally stopped, I was SOOO happy.  I figured it out to be 3.1 miles, so basically another 5K, but almost 2 minutes slower.  Still, happy to have completed it and felt really good at the end!!  I got home and "journaled" about how I felt so I would have something to refer back to when I think I'm going to quit in a few weeks.  (hotter weather, longer runs...whew!)

Friday was awesome.  I felt good and rested, I slept through my alarm so I headed back to the Y.  Air conditioning and an indoor flat track - yes, thanks!  3.33 miles in my 30 minutes of running and that marked my final workout for the Couch to 5K!!!  I was so excited and happy to end on a positive, good note!!  Hooray!  I had planned to do something today, but cannot get motivated to get out the door.  I'm tired, I'm working on a photo book for my father-in-law's birthday, I took the kids to the park all morning while my husband went golfing (for his birthday)...I just have a million excuses to stay home!!!  There is a body pump class at 4...it's 2:30 now...we'll see.  I'm not making any promises.  ;)

This week's running schedule:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
2 miles, 4x1:00 AI, 2 miles	REST	4 miles, 3 GP	REST	5 miles	REST

"AI" - Aerobic Intervals 
"GP" - Gentle Pickups

Here are the explanations for Monday and Wednesday's routines...
2 MILES EASY, 4 x 1-MINUTE AEROBIC INTERVALS, 2 MILES EASY Start by running at a comfortable pace that feels easy enough to carry on a conversation. For your aerobic intervals, push the pace a bit, but don't run all out. After each bout of fast running, jog slowly until you feel rested enough to speed up again. Finish with two easy miles.
4 EASY MILES 3 GENTLE PICKUPS Maintain your easy, conversational pace for four miles. Then do three gentle pickups. Gradually increase your pace over 100 meters until you're running at 90 percent of all-out effort, and hold it there for 10 to 20 meters, then gradually decelerate. Walk in between the pickups to recover.

I have mapped out a route at http://www.mapmyrun.com/ that is 2 miles from my house to the quarter-mile track I have been running, then I will do my aerobic intervals at the track and run back home.  I haven't mapped out a 4 or 5 mile route just yet...my neighborhood is not a great one for running.  Taking it one day at a time...I can always do the 2 mile route and back for the 4 miles, then my gentle pickups in the street.  We'll see.

****Very frustrated with a Blogger FAIL that just occurred.  I had a nice lengthy blog posting written and something happened with the auto save and then the "post" button didn't work and this is the last time it saved.  Great.****

SO - with that in mind, here are the details for my very First CONTEST!!  Fun!  I am planning to conduct a very official drawing on Saturday, August 16, 2011, at 12:00 noon CST.  Wanna be involved in this drawing??  Well, here's how you get your name in the hat...or, more likely, a large bowl. 

        *Be a follower of this blog!  That's right, click follow and your "user name" will be on 1 entry.
        *Be my friend on Facebook! Search for Audrey Jeffries.  I should be the ONLY one.  ;) 1 entry.
        *Post a comment on this post with details about your current fitness goals!  1 entry.

During the week, I plan to post a question a day to give you more opportunities to comment and earn entries!  Also, if I see you "share" this blog link on your Facebook page, you will get another entry!  Isn't this fun???  Oh...you wanna know what you can win?  In an attempt to promote fresh fruit eating, here is the prize...the Core & More!  It is the best melon baller I have ever used with a strawberry corer on the other end.  I use this every single day.  We eat a lot of fresh fruit.  AND YOU SHOULD, TOO!!  So, get going..."follow", "share", and, of course, "comment"!!! 

xoxo