Ready to Rock and Roll

I just added up my mileage for last week: 17 miles. And the week before was only 16.75. After months of logging 25-38 miles per week (except for that pesky week at Disney), it has felt strange to run so LITTLE.

I've actually had time to do other stuff.

1. I've been reading up on clean eating and spent no less than 2 hours at Kroger last week in the organic/natural food section reading labels and trying to clean up my family's diet.


2. I attended a PTO meeting and am co-chairing the Spring Fitness Fling at my kids' elementary school (and it wasn't even my idea!).


3. I taught myself to do pull ups! I can do 3 unassisted. Then I have total muscle failure, but I'm pretty proud of three.


4. I figured out how to use the rowing machine last week and rowed 1/2 mile (ok, that's only 5 minutes, but it's a start).


5. I cycled 3 or 4 miles TWICE at the gym.


6. I joined http://www.dailymile.com/ to log my runs.


7. I've even blogged twice in the past 3 days. That's pretty unusual for me!

Not running as much sure leaves time for other things! I did enjoy those 17 miles though.

On Tuesday evening, I ran 2.5 miles of them while watching the Biggest Loser, which I cannot watch without exercising. I think I must feel, "There but by the grace of God go I" or something, because watching it makes me feel the need to do squats, lunges, crunches, lift weights, or run. (Thanks for putting that t.v. in the home gym, Honey!) I can really relate to the people on the show. I grew up on fried chicken and fried potatoes and green beans from a can and corn bread.... good southern comfort foods. I know the lifestyle they are leaving behind because I've lived it. I would say that MOST of my family on my mom's side struggle with their weight, and my paternal grandmother was very close to morbidly obese. I think it could be in my genes, and that scares me.

On Thursday, I just popped into the gym and ran a couple of quick miles, did some pull ups, and experimented with the rowing machine, which I loved. I'm really trying to make myself crosstrain, but I think I have crosstraining ADD because nothing quite does it for me like RUNNING! Maybe rowing will be a good option.

On Saturday, my training group met for their first 9 miler. It was new mileage territory for everyone in the group except the couple of folks who trained with me last fall. I had a 4-mile out-and-back set up for them, then a 5-mile out-and-back portion. I decided to run the first section as a tempo run, and it felt so good! I have only been doing easy running in the name of recovery, but running at a pace between half-marathon and marathon race pace felt amazing. (And that's on the slower side of the "tempo" spectrum.) I'm excited to ease into faster running once a week again.

During the 2nd part of the group run, two folks from my Couch to 5K class joined us. One runner had run 3 miles nonstop a few times before, so I focused a little more on the teenaged novice runner who had NEVER completed 3 miles before and wasn't overly confident that she could. (It's so neat--she's a visiting exchange student from a small village in Israel.) We aimed for a 7:4 run/walk, but we wound up only walking about 2 minutes between runs. She was so proud of herself at the end! She was tired, but elated.

I'm really blessed to have such a great job! And I managed to get in 10 miles in the process!