For the past three weeks guys, I've been running 5K's for my weekly timed/distance run. Now when I began running the long run it was roughly about 20 minutes since I hadn't really run for a long distance since my 5K back in October '10. That was followed up with an injury which sidelined me for a few months. I built my muscles and tendons strength up slowly and got back upon the proverbial horse. Since I strive to push myself to run a little faster, farther, lift more weight, etc...I would inch this 20 minutes up little by little. Soon I was running 2 miles in 30. Well now I'm running 45 minutes - 50 minutes and my 5K best time was 42:32 minutes. Hows that for starters?
You have to keep in mind that I'm not a runner, at least I wasn't before last year. I'd jog a few, but never really focused on the mechanics and economics of running. Now that I have, I'm proud to say that out of my four day a week string for exercising, I can claim three consecutive 45 minute average 5K runs. YAY! And of course on the other three days, I usually do speed drills using HIIT speed/recovery. I've even claimed 6.0 once or twice on the last three weeks worth of training. YAY! And last but not least, I can actually run at 5.5 for 5 minutes! See, that is my biggest accomplishment I think in static speed. I'm well on the way to running an injury-free 6.0 minute mile.
I'm in no rush, but I definitely want to get there solid by Oct '11 Brooksie Way.
The cardio kicked up a notch has shown to be invaluable. I still have a long way to go to achieving my goal weight, but I can tell that I'm more confident in wearing garments that fit a little closer to the skin. I do alternate, because in the gym, there are simply times when I feel more inspired when less of my curves are showing. The men are definitely noticing. They stare like for long periods. I see a few things that strike me as interesting, but I'm an old-fashioned girl who wants to be wowed and courted.
I also wanted to mention that my Bally's Membership is still active. I was able to get the Customer Service Rep to lower the payment to $14.99, else I'd have to cancel it. I'm glad to have both Bally's and Planet Fitness because of travel. If one isn't close, then the other is. And if ever I'm in the neighborhood of one of the sister facilities, I'm in. I like to see what the other clubs are doing. And after touring the online info for Planet Fitness Sites, I'm inspired to walk in.
Because I only work out 4 days a week, I try to kill it in the gym. My workouts generally go from between 90-180 minutes. This depends on what day and which theme I'm working on. Usually my lower body day is the longest because there are more machines and I do 4 sets on each apparatus. However, now that I'm running for almost an hour, on my LR (long run) day, I have gone from 60 minutes to up two hours.
I'm having a blast, and hopefully inspiring those around me and where I blog. I know I can be a little 'back seat' and I don't mind. It's just that I can't stand to watch someone go down a long path that leads them back to start, again and again. You truly have to do your research when it comes to fitness because there is so much bullshit out there that can break your bank, leave you depressed, undernourished, etc. So if I can't say anything, I simply try to inspire people who take the time to watch me.
Peace.
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