Hey girls. Just a quick update: I hopped on the treadmill without a specific distance goal in mind, but I ran 6.2 miles in 59:55!! I know it wasn't outside, but it gives me hope that I can finish next week's 10K in under an hour! It's my first race so I really just wanna finish and get my little medal and fun t-shirt (it's designed by Ed Hardy..welcome to LA!), but secretly I'd love to make it in under an hour, so we'll see!

IDream - What kind of HIIT do you do? Is it with weights? Happy bday to your 9y.o.!

Sharon~ thanks! Yeah, I thought the extreme weight loss numbers were a little on the low side and the other one a little high--so I figured if I hit somewhere in the middle it would be good. I wish I would have scheduled mine around my running days--actually thought about doing that, but being so close to my goal at the time I just left it as it was. Hope you like calorie cycling! It was nice to have some variety in my meals doing it that way. :)

TC~ woo hoo! That's awesome about your 6.2 miles!! Wowza!!! I'm looking forward to getting my shirt tomorrow too--and that little paper number as well! Might just frame that bad boy! ;) The HIIT I do is just brisk walking/running without weights. I had started the program a few months back (it was an 8 wk program) and when I finished that's when I decided to do the C25K. It's basically brisk walk for 5 mins, 17 intervals of brisk walking for 30 seconds and then running (currently running at around 7.0-7.2) for 30 seconds, 5 mins brisk walking (which sometimes turns into more and maybe--if I'm feeling extra spunky--a few dance moves on the treadmill to Dave Matthews while I'm cooling down ;)). Thanks for the Birthday wishes! :)

Ok, I'm behind already!

TC, awesome time on the 6.2 miles!

I've recently started calorie counting again. I use thedailyplate to calculate my calorie goal and then tweak as needed... right now I'm going back and forth trying to decide if I am "moderately" or "very" active... the difference being about 300 cals/day. Maybe I should look into the calorie cycling idea!

you guys have convinced me to start calorie cycling ( little)
Im entering in "maintenance" and i think im going to take the idea of calorie cycling to gradually bring my body up to the calorie levels its needing, and help keep my metabolism active!!

Ok, its 7 :48 am
GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE RACING TODAY!!! ( or just running)

I am trying to get my butt out the door for my last (gulp) 20 miler..... Grrr...I bought an audio book and put it on my ipod. We will see if that helps bust up the boredom so that i FINISH the damn run!! I better finish it, i just had a MASSIVE breakfast to fuel it, so now i am just waiting for the food to move a little further along my digestive tract!!

also, im back up to 137.5 pounds.........very upset...almost lost it yesterday...im pretty sure its entirely bloating from having bathroom issues the past two weeks...... but i need help guys! How do i bring the bloating down??? Ill take something over-the-counter if you know of anything that works!! OF course i already drink like a crap-ton of water~appr 120-150 ozs a day (but thats my NORMAL amount i usually drink) any suggestions??

Iris~ I never know where I fall on those activity scales--I mean, what's moderate to one person might be intense to another ya know? That's part of my reasoning between splitting the difference ;)

MK~ Good luck with that audio book! I've never ever listened to one and I think if I were to attempt a long run like yours that that would really help! As for your gain, if you're thinking it's related to digestive issues and bloating you could try fiber. I mean, you mentioned you started having issues since you quit smoking, perhaps you just need to up the fiber for a bit until your body works out the kinks. I usually take acidophilus every other day (a probiotic) and eat fiber bars daily as a snack--that's helped to keep things on an even keel for me. Besides that, since you're drinking more than enough water, I don't have any other suggestions. As odd as it sounds, you could try decreasing the amount of water you're drinking to 64 oz or so, sometimes if I drink too much (and I often do) I end up retaining a bit.

Well girls! I am no longer a 5K Virgin!! :lol: :carrot: I did it! I ended up getting there super early because I hadn't picked up my registration packet yet and was worried there'd be tons of people there--there weren't. So, I ended up sitting in my car for a bit and then headed inside to get warm (it was chilly and windy this morning--brrr!). Met my ils and hung out with them until the race started. I have no idea what place I took in my age group, but I do know I ran that bad boy in 30:40!!! My best time yet and there were HILLS!!! So I honestly don't care where I placed, I'm just thrilled I didn't walk, barf or quit. :lol:

Anyway, it was fun and I definitely see more 5Ks in my future! There's even a mini coming up in May...hmm...I wonder if I could manage that?

Well ladies, thanks for all the wonderful advice, support and kind words! I really appreciate it!!! To everyone else racing today--Good Luck!!!! :)

idream - wooohooo! congrats on your race -that's great!
mk - I'd try maybe that activia yogurt that's supposed to help and something like prunes, raisin brain or fiber supplements (I think a lot of people have luck with metamucil but I would think it would be hard to drink). Good luck!
Off to run again in this great crisp fall weather...

IDream - CONGRATS!! Not only did you not "walk, quit or barf" (hahaha), but you finished with a freakin awesome time! I see many great races in your future!

Mk - I agree with all the advice about fiber and activia. Or you can try the really low dose laxatives. That'll definitely get things moving and make you feel better! Hope your 20miler went well!!

Dancer - Don't you just love the fall weather? I love a little bit of a breeze while running. It's just the best experience!

No run for me today. I'm pretty sore from my 6 miles yesterday! Hope everyone's having a great Saturday!

iDream, congrats on your first 5k and your awesome time! Not barfing is also always a plus :D

MK, my mom swears by black licorice when she is "blocked up." Also I find that if you're not used to the caffeine that can do it... but I drink it so much it doesn't have much of an effect anymore (maybe it'd affect me if I stopped)!

Dancer, I'm longing for the crisp fall weather you mention! Hopefully this is my last fall in the desert, it's not suiting me so well.

I have 6 miles to do, preferably today, but I was outside all morning and my allergies are bothering me, so I'm debating pushing that back till tomorrow... probably I should just DO IT NOW!

Idream---BIG HUGE FAT CONGRATS ON YOUR 5K!!1 30:40 is a FANTASTIC time!! Thats just UNDER a 10 min avg--AND with all those hills!! I bet it was this chilly that got you moving, huh??? How did you feel throughout the race? Did you feel like you paced yourself well?? that you went out too fast? too slow??

LAST 20 miler
 

Marathon is 2 weeks from today...:carrot::dizzy::?::devil::o:(:D (obviously im very confused as to how that makes me feel) :)

Ok, yesterdays run was just about as wonderfully fantastically relaxing, easy, incredible and perfect as a 20 miler can possibly be!!!! It was actually EASY, and AWESOME> I listened to that audio book i downloaded onto my ipod, and frequently glanced down at my garmin to make sure i was running at approx a 9 minute and just put myself on cruise control! It was chilly, and sunny and beautiful out!! Took my 3 hours and 7 minutes (needs to be 3 hrs even if i want to break 4 hours at my marathon) but thats ok. i wasnt TRYING to push myself. Im starting to REALLY think maybe i was built for endurance you guys. I was barely sweating, my HR never got very high, i dont even FEEL like i just ran 20 miles!! I am elated. you know what i think is the reason for how easy this was?? 2 things...#1 of course, the QUITTING SMOKING. Duh, no brainer.
but #2, those extreme damn 12 mil lactic acid threshold runs i do twice a week. I am a FIRM believer now in their power. Ive raised my threshold,( or increased the pace that it starts to accumulate at) to such an extent, that i can easily run 20 miles at a 9 minute mile with NO LACTIC acid buildup. My legs felt as fresh at mile 17 as at mile 6. This marathon is in the bag!!

on a sadder, more frustrating note....i BINGED last night. Now, my def of binge and anothers is different. But we went to a afternoon party thing, and i did good avoiding the chips and dip for a while, and then just one taste led to another taste of some thing else, etc etc, ended in me eating an entire cupcake covered in frosting!! (i dont DO sugar) oh, and then when we got home i found the opened and half empty jar of frosting USED by my BF to make the cupcakes, so i ate two spoonfuls of just FROSTING! UGGHHHHH>...oh, and THEN the peanut butter...peanut butter, my love, my nemesis..... i CAN NOT rationalize it with, "oh well, you just ran 20 miles, its ok" thats how i got fat in the first place!! :) Luv you guys!! :)

iDream - AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!! Your time knocked my socks off when I read it. Incredible! I'm so glad you had fun and did so well!

MK - 2 weeks!!! SO exciting!! It must feel great to have such a fab 20-mile run under your belt. I will definitely have to find out more from you about this lactic acid training if I ever start going for serious distance running. And on the binge note...yeeeeeaaahhhh it's so hard, once that junk-food door sneaks open, to slam it back closed. :p I have to keep reminding myself that my body is a machine and it deserves A-1 fuel. Sure, I could burn off Doritoes and hot dogs (which I may have had yesterday) or I could burn fruits and veggies, clean grains and lean protein and be running sleek and smooth! What I tell myself and what I listen to are two very different things, however :p

Didn't get any running in this weekend, as I feared might be the case. :p But yesterday I did a 6-Mile Walk Against Homelessness downtown, so I'm telling myself that counts for some cross-training :D Tomorrow morning, 5 miles, no whining, no quitting!!

iDream :bravo: on the great race!!

MK -- Sorry to hear of your binge, I know how if feels when you get the "taste" and then it snowballs :hug:

Ran this morning finally, I hadn't run since Wednesday...5k, 39 mins... man I am so slowww :lol:

Ilene: This is my dream time now :lol: I SO want to break that stupid 40 minute mark :( I haven't run since Wednesday either. I did a 5K walk for breast cancer today though, with a friend that is battling.

I am going to sign up for my first actual 5k. I think I am going to do a "resolution run" on January 1st. I will definitely need some winter running advice before then as it is usually well below zero here that time of year.

Mk - Congrats on the awesome 20 mile run! That must've felt so wonderful. I can't wait to hear all about your marathon! You're gonna rock it! Sorry about the binge. I unfortunately totally understand and have done the same thing for a few days now and feel GROSS, so it's back to the basics...gum, tea, protein, veggies, fruit, plan plan plan! You'll be totally fine so don't beat yourself up. Just get back on track. You need the best fuel possible to get ready for your marathon!

Sharon - A 6 mile walk definitely counts for something! But get out there and run your 5 miler tomorrow...no excuses! :)

Ilene - Hey, at least you're out there running. That's what matters! Way to go!

Mom - I love the idea of a resolution run. I totally wanna do that!

Since I did my long run on Friday, I did a short 3 miler today. It was CRAPPY. Every minute was miserable and I couldn't wait to get home. Happens to the best of us, right? The outer side of my left lower leg is really really sore, not sure what the deal is with that. So I may try to cut down a little this week before the 10K, but I can't decided if I should run 3 days of shorter distances or 2 days or longer distances (ie 4 miles on Tue/Thur and then Sunday 10K or 3 miles on Tue/Thur/Fri). Any thoughts?

Back to grind tomorrow...booo...Have a good week everyone!

Takingcharge--how LOW is the pain on your outer lower left leg? IS the 10K THIS weekend?? HOW EXCITING!!
do you feel like you NEED to run more 4 milers to be e ready for it?? or will you be ok with only a couple more 3 milers??

Sharon- i agree that a 6 mile walk counts as exercise!!! Being runners, we are silly because we compare and equate every other thing to running! If it doesnt make us sweat as much as running, its not exercise! if our HR doesnt get up as high, its not exercise!! If its not RUNNING, it just doesnt FEEL like exercise!!!

ILENE- if you are down becuz you run "slow" then try to think of it like this--- If you were a FAST runner you would have only got like 20-25 minutes of exercise in yesterday! Instead you got DOUBLE that amount of exercise in, and burned even more calories!! :) :)
and before you all start chiming in that if you run faster you burn more calories, blah blah blah.....it is my opinion, based SOLEY on my own experience, that as i have gotten faster (faster in the "my base pace/comfy pace is faster sense) my body has to work equally as hard to run fast as it did to run slow, IF NOT LESS HARD now. Seriously. Before when i was running 10Ks in approx 1 hour i would burn about 600 calories (so about 100 calories per 10 MINUTES, not per mile, like they say). Now i run a 10K in about 45 minutes, and im LUCKY to burn between 400 and 450 calories!! That pretty much the ONLY reason you guys never hear about me running only 3 miles or doing 5ks!! I just dont burn enough calories doing them, so i dont run them!!

on a more interesting a funner note...my 8 year old puked this morning!!! Im debating leaving her hanging over the toilet while i run out and buy those surgical/germ prevention mask thingies (think SARS in china!) i CANNOT, i repeat CANNOT GET SICK WITH MY MARATHON LESS THAN 2 WEEKS OUT!! That would be, devastating, to say the least. Nuthin like a good flu/upper respiratory thingy to help me with my marathon...!!! i would SERIOUSLY dump her at school and make it their problem, but they would only make me come get her right away, and then yell at me for being a bad parent..... She doesnt have a fever though, so thats real good news.....

MK -- Oh Oh!! Get the masks an wash, wash, wash your hands.... Thanks for the encouraging words on my slowness :lol: ... I do look at the extra time it takes me as extra calories burned...

Yikes, MK! You need a has-mat suit!

Soooooooo we headed out and had an awesome 5 mile run this morning...except then when I was logging it with gmap, it turns out it was actually 4.73 :( I screwed up in calculating which streets to take and when to turn :( So that's kind of a bummer. But we felt great and were talking at the end that we could've run a bit farther if we HAD to, like if it were race day or if we had a longer run scheduled. Plus we won the mental game of running a mile farther than before. So I'm kind of sad that I can't have 5-mile bragging rights yet, but maybe tomorrow!

Hey ladies...you all have been busy!!

iDream - CONGRATS on the 5k!! That's a FANTASTIC time...you should be very proud of yourself!! :D

MK- glad the 20 miler went well... I love runs like that, just putting yourself on auto pilot and going...those are the best!

sharon - Every mileage increase is something to be celebrated! :D

--------------------
Well... I'm not really in the mood for Monday. At all. I didn't run all weekend, just ran out of time. I feel like I barely had a weekend! Anyway, today WILL be 5 miles, I don't care how bad the wind is, I will not wimp out! My 5k is on Saturday, definitely not as nervous about this one as I was my first. I think it should be a pretty good race.

Morning ladies!

Thanks everyone for the congrats! I tell ya, I was feeling those hills yesterday in my hips and butt! :lol: But it was a good feeling. :)

Dancer~ hope you had a great run! I'm loving the cooler weather for sure!

TC~ aww, thanks! I'm so new at this running thing that I have no idea what a good time is--I was getting passed left and right so I knew I wasn't breaking any records :lol:, but I just kept on truckin'. I kinda wanted to try to sprint the last little bit--but figured that I'd probably fall on my face if I tried--because that's the kind of goofy thing that would happen to me. ;) Sorry to hear you had a crappy run! Sorry I don't have any advice for you on training this week...I hope whatever you do that your leg feels better asap! I can't wait to hear about your 10K!!! :carrot:

Iris~ soooo, did you get your 6 miles in yesterday? :)

MK~ thanks so much! I felt pretty good--it helped not knowing the course and when it ended kwim? When I run in my subdivision I start to peter out about 2/3 in and I'm guessing it's just mental because I feel fine. I started of kind of goofy though. Hubby bought me a new iPod Shuffle (dang those things are teensy!) and like a total dork I hadn't turned it on when the race started! So I spent the first couple of minutes running wonky and fiddling with my headphones/iPod--plus I did kind of start off faster than usual so I had to find my usual pace once I finally got the music on. :lol: Note to self: Turn iPod on BEFORE the race begins next time! ;) Congrats on your wonderful run!!! Sounds like you did awesome! And as for your binge--hun, trust me when I say I topped your binge a million times over this weekend! Don't sweat it, just move on and know that it's a new day! I second the hazmat jumper! Hand sanitizer, boiling water, masks, plastic bubbles--do whatever it is that you have to do to stay healthy!!!!!!! And big hugs to your dd, hope she's feeling better soon!

Sharon~ man, that stinks that your calculations were off--but you got out there and RAN! That's all that counts! You'll nail that 5 miles tomorrow!!! :carrot:

Ilene~ WTG on the run!! I bet it felt good to get back out there! :)

momof5K~ Oh you're going to love your first 5K! It feels great! I gotta say, I don't envy you training outside in Winter, but I'm sure you'll get tons of great advice from these ladies--looks like there's tons of Winter runners here! I'm still waffling on bringing it inside when the cold weather hits or just sucking it up and braving the snow and ice! Brrrr!


Ladies, I was horrible this weekend! I ate so Off Plan that I don't think 'Off Plan' quite covers it! We celebrated my ds' birthday twice and I just went completely off the deep end! I have the worst food hangover EVER! I shudder to think how I'd feel if I had drank alcohol on top of it! :eek:

With that said, I did manage to get my workout in this morning and will be doing my HIIT tonight come heck or high water! ;)

I'm switching up my running routine starting this week--I'll be running at night now instead of in the morning. I starting P90X today and since that workout is an hour long I need to be able to get it in before the kids wake up so I can finish the whole thing without interruption. So, after hubby gets home I'll hit the road and try to get my 3 miles in before the kids' bedtime. Wish me luck!

Well girls, I'm off--I need to get some more water and flush all of this crap out of my system. Groan...it sooo wasn't worth this misery!!!

Oh, I almost forgot--here's photographic proof that I earned my 5K stripes! :lol: And proof that my form definitely needs some work!!! ;)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2431/...dbd2555a_m.jpg

FatPants~ You snuck in on me! :) Sorry to hear your weekend went by too fast! I hate that!!! Thanks so much for the kind words. :) Hope you have a great run and that you don't have to battle any wind today!!!

iDream - LOOKING GOOD! Love that pink top - and you're smiling! Your energy and enthusiasm jump right out of that pic!

Here's an article a college buddy posted on Facebook about a guy he knows who just won a marathon in Minnesota - thought y'all might find it interesting, especially our very own soon-to-be marathoner, MK! Jason Hartmann weathered what could have been a disastrous drop of a energy drink bottle to win his first marathon.

Starting to get back on track tomorrow... I just got through 1/3 major tests I have in the next two days. I don't even have time to run... Ugh! :( But, I'm so going tomorrow!

Mkroyer: I might be doing a 5K on New Years Eve, but I'm going to look into a 10K around January in my area so I can slowly work up to that and get a very good time. :) Does that seem like too slow progress in terms of increasing endurance/speed? I feel like I should amp it up to be sooner... but, I'm not sure it's a good idea. I already pulled my hamstring this summer and I'm terrified of getting another injury by doing too much!

Mk - The pain is right along the outer side of my shin bone. I think it's the anterior tibialis muscle (just looked in my anatomy book, haha), but it doesn't feel like regular shin splints, which for me are normally along the inner side of my shin. I do think that's what it is though, just overuse, but it's only been bad when I ran outside both times, not at all on the treadmill. I don't really need more 4 milers because I'm pretty ready to run 6 at this point, but like you were saying, 3 miles just doesn't feel like I'm burning enough calories! I may do a few runs on the treadmill and then just take a long walk outside on saturday or something. I can't believe you have an 8 year old and still manage all those runs! You are amazing! And YES, please keep yourself healthy!

Sharon - 4.73 is an awesome distance!! I would say that deserves some bragging rights! Good luck on your 5!

FatPants - Sorry to hear you had such a busy weekend. Hope you get in a great run today!

IDream - You look GREAT! So athletic, but I love the girly pink touch. And that sucks about the weekend binge. When I first decided to maintain (3 months ago now!), I had a lot of trouble regulating my calorie intake and feeling so comfortable with my weight that I would eat way more than I needed to because I felt like I could now. But that's just not how it works. I've managed to maintain within 2-3 pounds, even with really bad eating days, but I feel miserable after those days. It's exactly like a hangover! I'm sluggish, in a bad mood, and know that I did something bad for my body. It happens to everyone and I'm sorry to say will no doubt happen again, but it's how you deal with it that's the key. Just learn from it, move on, and get back to treating your body right!

In other workout news, I signed up for boot camp!! It starts 10/19 and I can't wait. Is that weird? Haha. After my 10K, I'm officially training for my half in February, so I'll for sure be running 4x/week, then maybe 5 as I get closer to the race, but I think the hardcore strength training (not my wimpy 20 minutes at my apartment gym) will really help with my running and should be fun. I love trying out new workouts!

Idream, great picture!

TC, good luck with the boot camp - I'm sure it will be intense!

loquacious, I wish you the best on your exams. I should be getting two back from last week and of course I'm a little nervous.

Also, proud to report that i DID run my 6 miles this weekend!! I alternated running/walking with every other song on my ipod. I don't have an official time, but based on when I left and returned to the house (drove to the park to run) I'm estimating about 1.5 hours.

iDream--you are HOT!!! wow :) Congrats on meeting and PASSING your goal!!! You look like a lean mean running machine!! You have the long legged look of a runner!! I have these short fat tree trucks for legs....if i want to run fast i REALLY have to get those short leggers movin'!!

TAKINGCHARGE--sounds like you are on top of the leg pain issue, but i do have one more quick question....how old are your shoes?? Sometimes i start getting tendon pains when its time to replace them, even if they *should* have more miles in em.....not that you should replace your shoes 5 days out from your big race...... then again, if you need to go ahead and do it NOW and make sure you run in em once or twice before the race....just a suggestion any how..... :)

Loquacious-- i think between now and january you could make significant improvements in both endurance and speed!!! But racing is FUN!! why wait so long?? Just do it, its not like youre going to go out and win either way, right?? And racing takes practice too......
In anycase, if you are bent on waiting till January, make sure you are increasing the distance you run each week or two during one run, your *long* run. Even if your longest run right now is only 2 miles, every couple of weeks try to increase that distance on just ONE of your weekly runs, but not by much, maybe a quarter mile at most (only because you have so much time till January). Then ONE TIME a week, devote your run to *Speed Work*. But ONLY ONCE a week. There are a gazillion different varities of speed work and they all reap different benefits, but for now if i were you i would keep it simple and do intervals. 1/4 mile running at your comfy pace, and 1/4 mile running HARD for YOU, but NOT A SPRINT. you WANT to be uncomfortable, but you shouldnt be dying, and you should be able to finish the interval. Do 4 to 8 repeats, with a couple minutes walking or light jogging in between. As you get better, you can increase the distance of your interval ( up to a half mile, or more) or you can increase the SPEED you are runnign at, OR You can increase how many times you repeat it.......

Dont expect HUGE improvements in your pace..im not entirely sure what you are visualizing being able to run a 10K in....any idea what you are thinking??? and what is your pace now?? Just curious if your goals are realistic or not (in a helpful way, coming from an experienced(?) runner)

mkroyer: I really do like racing... but I'm kind of content going on the treadmill. It's my chill space and I got time on my side... I'm definitely going to take your advice though about increasing distance/speed. I did a 5K two weeks ago and finished in 29:44. But, I'm hoping by the 10K, I can do a 8.5 min/9 mile... which doesn't seem unreasonable, though I trust you on this to tell me whether it is. I'm working towards getting faster now since I don't have THAT much time and if I could pack more miles in during my runs, that would be awesome. :)

iDream -- Great pic, you look like an athlete!!

ok, now more than ever I support the concept of a recovery day. We planned on 4 miles this morning and I was hoping to feel awesome and tack on another mile to hit the number 5 for real. Ha. Haha. I forgot that I've only been running 4 miles for a week, after a couple months of running 2 miles, and I've almost never run two days in a row!

After the first mile or so, my legs felt like two sad walruses that were kidnapped and put in the circus. They did NOT like what I was making them do - not sore or painful, just heavy and tired and DEAD! But I muscled through!! Meanwhile Maggie was flitting ahead of me like a butterfly...

MK- thanks for going through some info on speed training again. We're thinking of signing up for an Oct. 25 5K and focusing on improving our speed for the two weeks after the 10K.

Loquacious--a 9 minute mile is DEFINITELY a reasonable goal!!!! SOunds like you are running just under a 10 minute mile now (for a 5k, at least) just remember, if you want to run fast, you have to practice running fast!!
Right now, based on your previous 5K time, you should be able to run a 10k in approx 1:01. if you want to run a 10K in a 9 minute mile, your finishing time will be approx 55 minutes (give or take), which means you need to be able to run a 5K in 26:50 minutes!! I hope this gives you a good yardstick to measure yourself against as you are training!! The numbers i am giving you account for the fact that a 10k is twice as long and that you naturally will run it SLIGHTLY slower than a 5K. As you are training, aim to get your 5K under 27 minutes over the course of the next couple months!

Sharon- i had one of those runs today too!! My legs werent sore, they just had NO GO. It was a SUCKFEST! Grrrrr...... Humbling, to say the least. :)

Howdy, runners!
I ran in the cold windy rain yesterday evening - brrr!! But it made the bubblebath afterwards all the better.

fatpants - did you do your 5 miles? I'm thinking about giving that distance another try today as most of my runs lately have been around 4 and a half.

tc- hope the shins are feeling okay - shinsplints are such a bummer.

idream - thanks for posting your race pic - that's so fun to see and you look wonderful.

mk - sorry about the bummer run today. Must have been chilly based on the frost I see out the window.

I did not :o I did get in 3.5 miles before it got super windy and started to rain, but Wednesday is supposed to be FABULOUS (68, no wind!!). I tried out my tights yesterday. If you're still on the fence, definitely get some! They kept me SO warm! I wore them under some regular track pants and felt pretty warm the whole time until the very end. I'm still in need of a thermal/moisture wicking long sleeved shirt though... I've got the jacket but that and a t-shirt weren't enough.

So I found out my race on Saturday will be officially timed. I'm pretty excited. I was hoping to use this one to qualify for a wave in the BolderBoulder but I just looked at the very LAST qualifying wave for the BB 2010 and I would have to shave 5 whole minutes off of my latest 5k time in order to be in that wave! :rofl: so not going to happen, but I'm excited to have an official time nonetheless. This will apparently be a very fast and flat route on pavement. I'm starting to get very excited!

OH!!! I forgot to post on Monday... this weekend I bought a pair of size 10 jeans :carrot: I can't even remember the last time I wore a size 10, ya know?! So now I feel like I can officially say I fit into my "skinny jeans." :lol:

:woohoo: Skinny Jeans!! :carrot: :carrot:

Afternoon ladies!!

Aww, thanks for all the kind words! An 'athelete' WOW! I don't know if I've ever been called that before--even when I was! :lol: I've been hunting for a light pink top for ages! Seems like every time I find one it's in the wrong size or crazy expensive. I got that one at Target (pants too). :D

Sharon~ great article!! Sorry you had a sucky run today--I'm with ya though, recovery days are a must for me! I'm pretty sure if I tried to run every day that I'd fall flat on my face! :lol: WTG getting out there and doing it though!

MK~ thanks so much--hubby always calls me short so I'm going to have to tell him that someone thinks my legs are long! :lol: Sorry about your run today--but I'm sure your next one will ROCK!

Iris~ Thanks and congrats on the 6 miles! :carrot:

Dancer~ Brrrrr!!!! Oh but you got to have a bubble bath afterwards? Ahhh, that sounds heavenly!! Great job getting out there and braving the elements!

SkinnyJeans~ bummer about your run getting cut short! Glad to hear the tights did their job! Still haven't decided on how long I'm running outside, but if I do decide to brave it--they'll be on my list! :) Congrats on the size 10's!!! :woohoo:

Well, feeling a bit better today, although I think that the cold I fended off last week is trying to get me again. Bah!
So last night was my first night run--it went well! I ran it in about the same time as the 5K so I was happy. However, I did get my first side stitch--a mild one, but there none the less. I'm guessing it was due to the fact that I ate a good size dinner a little over an hour before my run. I think next time that I'll have a much lighter dinner and then have a snack after I get back. Trouble is, I'm leaving for my run after I put my girls to bed and that's 7:30-7:45...I really don't want to eat too late kwim? Oh well, I'll work it out.

In other news, I did day 2 of P90X today--Plyometrics--wowza! Talk about a workout!! And I am nice and sore from yesterday's chest, back and abs workouts--ouchie!! Ah, but it's all good. :)

Still working to get my weekend weight off of me and felt it necessary to change my ticker--I felt like I was lying leaving it where it was. I hope to see the rest of this weight leave me in the next few days--it's mostly water--dang salty snacks!!!!

Hope everyone is having a great day!!

SkinnyJeans!!! Congrats on the 10s!!!! What a great feeling!!!!

iDream - I had a stitch on a run the other day. Not fun. Hope the meal switch prevents it for you next time!

fatpants - woohoo on the size 10s - that must feel great!!!
idream - don't you hate a sideache? I just figured out what kwim means and am all pleased with myself ;)
Still haven't bought new running tights but I think I may have some old ones that I used to use for cross-country back when I was about this size - will check them out.