the Dreadmill

You all know what it is....the Dreadmill! Some love it, I know, and prefer it to running outdoors, but I am one of those who *needs* to run outdoors. I need the scenery to change, to be interesting, to be different. I will run different routes each run, although I do have a few out-and-back favorites. I do like people watching, and the Dreads at Gold's Gym are upstairs, overlooking the weight machines. It dies tend to be the same ole view though, so I avoid it at all costs!
I woke up, wanting to walk the dogs with hubby and then go right out and run 4 miles. I was excited for it, until hubby called out that it was raining. I checked the forecast and it was rain all morning. I was afraid I would not run if I didn't go in the morning, so I dropped Morgan at her babysitting job and went right to the gym.
I decided to make the most of it, and try running a little faster for short bursts. I started off at 5.0 and about 4 minutes in I realized that I left my water bottle in the car. UGH...sweaty mess, here I come! After I ran a little over a half mile, I walked a bit and then ran the last quarter mile at 6.0 which was easier than I thought. I repeated this for mile 2 and then during mile 3 I walked a little longer than planned, so I ran 6.0 for the last 4/10 of  a mile. My 3 mile run was over in 33:50ish, which was just over an 11 minute mile. Hooray! That 6.0 was way easier than it used to be, so I am going to start making a point of doing that on all of my runs!
I cleaned the machine, and then went to the stretching area, stretched my calfs extra, stretched everything else, and then prepped to do my 6th plankaday. The darn mat kept shifting, and constantly trying to shift my body back into good form really burned, but I managed a 1:06.8 plank. Not my PR, but more than a minute so WOOT! I cannot wait to hit 90 seconds!
I also wanted to keep up with my BurpeeBOOM Challenge, so I did 60 burpees today while waching TV. I have 250 on the schedule this week, and I want to beat that number early, so I can email my final calendar in to RoadRunnerGirl. I am amazed at how much easier they are getting!
Pat on the back for the day:While running I suddenly realized how *thin* I felt. Weird, right? But I noticed that my belly wasn't flopping around. At all. WOW! Hubby commented on that the other day, but it really hit me today. The weight loss is slow, but the firming up is definitely still going on!
19 days til Philly!

 

 

OOOHHHHH I almost forgot to add.....I have been doing alot of Virtual Races. It is a great way to stay motivated, help charities fundraise, and get bling! One of my faves so far is the Great Cupcake Race. The bling actually has a cupcake on it! As an extra bonus, there wa a drawing and I won a decal for my car: Will Run for Cupcakes! I will post a pic when it arrives!

Great day!