Running, Teaching, Eating

Hello readers-

I have good news...I ran today without pain!!!!!!!!!! I was so nervous that I would be hurting, but after a week off of running, and a new way to tie my shoes (thanks Brian!) I ran without pain! It felt great! I am going to ice tonight though, just in case :)

I also did my third day of the Whittle My Middle II challenge from Angela from Ohsheglows.com. I really like this program. I have started some training programs I have seen on blogs and have given up for various reasons...mostly, they weren't convenient for me. This is perfect for me. It takes about 5 minutes and I can do it at home or at the gym.

Day 1 February 7:

Front Plank: 30 seconds

Side Plank with bent arm: 20 seconds on both sides

Torso twists with 5 lb weight: 20 on both sides

Plank Ups (The death of me!!!!!!!!!): 10 reps on both sides and without the leg lifts

Boat Pose: 30 seconds

Side Plank with rotation: 8 reps each side

Bicycle crunch: 2 sets of 30

Day 2 February 8:

Front Plank: 30 seconds

Side Plank with bent arm: 20 seconds on both sides

Torso twists with 5 lb weight: 25 on both sides

Plank Ups (The death of me!!!!!!!!!): 10 reps on both sides and without the leg lifts

Boat Pose: 30 seconds

Side Plank with rotation: 8 reps each side

Bicycle crunch: 2 sets of 30

Day 3 February 10:

Front Plank: 40 seconds (10 seconds more than last time!!)

Side Plank with bent arm: 20 seconds on both sides

Torso twists with 5 lb weight: 25 on both sides

Plank Ups (The death of me!!!!!!!!!): 10 reps on both sides and without the leg lifts

Boat Pose: 30 seconds

Side Plank with rotation: 8 reps each side

Bicycle crunch: 2 sets of 30

While on the treadmill, I followed this plan:

Minutes	Speed
0:00-2:00	3.5
2:00-5:00	5.5
5:00-7:00	3.5
7:00-10:00	6
10:00-12:00	3.5
12:00-15:00	6
15:00-16:00	3.5
16:00-20:00	5.5
20:00-22:00	3.5
22:00-25:00	6
25:00-26:00	3.5
26:00-30:00	5.5
30:00-33:00	3.5

at a 4% incline

I also did 28 minutes on the Crossramp for 2.52 miles. Great workout!!! I was a sweaty mess! I also got to the gym early because I got out of an all-day training early. It was so nice to work out with the sun shining into the gym!!

On the topic of running, I have signed up for my first race that I INTEND to run in at least 10 years. I am running the St. Patrick's Irish Traditions 5K. The race is around Como Lake. I have registered for a few races in the past few years, and have decided not to run. MARK MY WORDS: THIS WILL NOT BE THE CASE WITH THIS RACE!! I have set this goal and I am going to do this race.

But I am nervous about it as well...in the pictures from previous races, everyone looks COLD!! This is a problem!! I have ONLY been running on the treadmill...some call it the dreadmill, but I happen to enjoy the treadmill. It monitors my calories, mileage and time. It keeps me on track and I know I am running as fast as I want. I worry that when I run outside, without the aid of a heart-rate monitor or GPS monitor, I will run a lot slower. Once all this snowing stops, I am going to attempt running outside and see how it goes. Plus I have to get "outdoor running" gear. I just have to justify this to the husband :)

On a different note: I picked up our wedding albums last night! BEAUTIFUL!!! I say "they" because we got an album for us and 2 parent albums for each of our parents (4 books in all). My mom was having book club last night so I had to stop by to show it off! Mom loved it too!!

Now I know we aren't getting as much snow as DC...(I really wish we would...I want our whole city to shut down for a few days :) but we do have a lot of snow. This is evident in how many times Chad and I have gotten stuck in our driveway/alley/street. Also evident in my parents' yard...

This is the snow bank in front of my parents' house. You can barely see the house...and not the front door at all!

Bank from the side...all I could think, when seeing this, was "When do I get to play in this?" I was hoping Valentine's Day with my sweetheart but he has "Das Boot". Bummer. Maybe he can watch me :)

Last but not least, dinner. I decided to go to Panera to get my homework done for tomorrow's class. There are too many distractions at home and I wanted a nice cup of soup (we have none at home). I had a 1/2 sandwich and cup of soup: vegetable sandwich and broccoli cheddar soup...yummy! The sandwich was a little weird; it was almost sweet.