Check it out!

Hey everyone!  You can check out the fitness challenge that my favorite girls and I are doing with KPVI More and Gold's Gym at http://www.kpvi.com/content/news/kpvi_more/6_figures/default.aspx  We got together for Book Club last night and it was so much fun to talk about our first week.  Each of our stories will debut this week on KPVI channel 6 at 4 pm.  My story will be on Thursday.  It's going to be awesome! I have always wanted to be on TV, bearing my soul and fat rolls to all of Southeast Idaho.  Maybe after this I will be on my own reality show.  Watch out Snookie!

I met with my trainer, Evelyn, on Monday and she ran me through some running drills on the treadmill, Rip:60, and then we did some jumps.  I thought I was going to die.  Before meeting with her, she had me go to Monica's Pilates class.  I actually loved it since my 15 mile run on the Saturday before had left my muscles tight and fatigued.  After the class, she had me do some upper body work and then we went right to the treadmill.  Yep, it was official- with her prodding, I ran my first 7 minute mile and I didn't even fall off the treadmill.  Then she put the treadmill at an 18% incline at 2.5 miles per hour and had me run backwards for about 5 minutes, turned me around and had me run 1 mile at a 1.5% incline at 6.7 mph.  I tried to turn it down to 6.5 mph and she told me that if I had enough energy to talk, then I could run at that pace.  That might sound mean, but she really isn't.  She just knows that I need to get out of my head and push myself more.  I honestly can't remember if she had me do it 1 or 2 more times, I just know that my thighs were on fire.

Tuesday was a moderate cross training day and I had to be to work early, so I just did the elliptical at home.    Every 10 minutes I did a tabata to work my core (push ups with side planks, high plank to low plank, and stability ball pull-ins).

Wednesday she wanted me to do my 8 mile run at 10K pace and then finish it out with sprints for 20 seconds, and then jog for 40 seconds. I haven't ran a 10K for awhile so I decided that I would run it as hard as possible so that I could find out what my 10K pace would be. I headed out at 5 am since I had to be to work early.  I ended up running it at an average pace of  8:58 min/mile, so I guess that will be my reference point.

Thursday was another cross training day.  I rowed for 20 minutes and then I decided to give my body a break from any type of pounding and swim laps.  I forgot how much I love to swim laps since I haven't done it for some time.  It is one of those exercises that when I'm doing it I think that it isn't really doing much, but afterward I can feel that every muscle has been worked.

Friday I was supposed to do Monica's kettlebell class, but I had to work at the time of her class.  She kindly emailed me a list of ladders for me to do instead.  After work I went to the gym and did it.  I added in the ropes and some of the jumps that Evelyn had told me to do.  When I was done, I was dripping sweat and my upper body was spent.  I texted Monica that I had finished it.  It was at that point that she informed me that she had added in some extra exercises because she thought I could handle it.  Sneaky, right?!?!  I came home and did some pull ups (I'm up to 2 1/2-yea I'm counting the 1/2) and pushups and tricep dips.

Saturday I had to take my turn working.  It was a fast day and I was done by noon.  I went straight from work to do my long run.  Evelyn wanted me to run it 30 seconds slower per mile than my 10K pace.  It was a downhill run for the first 10 miles so I kept the pace below 9 min/mile until I reached the bottom of the hill.  At that point I had a head wind so I ended up averaging 9:05 min/mile.  The last mile she had me run 100m sprints with the same distance in rest.   Since I had already ran 15 miles, I was tired and sore already so that last mile was a killer.

Today is a rest day, of course, but I am also using it to stretch out my sore muscles.  I don't know what it is about downhill running, but it seems to really beat up my legs more than the flats.  I am feeling it in my hips more than anything today.