5K Friday : Week 7

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Are you a runner? Working on becoming one? Are you training for a 5K? A 10K? A marathon? Maybe you're not a runner, but you are dusting off that forgotten gym membership and getting things in gear for a healthier (and smaller!) you! Maybe you're looking for a few new friends to help encourage you along the way?

You've come to the right place!

Joining in the fun is easy:

• Create a post about your training, your struggles, your questions, or your victories.
• Add a sidebar button or a button in your post to send others back here for directions.
• Copy and paste the link to your 5K Friday post in the amazing Mr. Linky.
• Visit the other 5K Friday-ers and share your expertise, insights, and encouragement to help them along!

See you there!

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I have to tell y'all that when I started this journey 6-weeks ago I wasn't even convinced that I could do the program, let alone enjoy it. The motivation that I've gotten from all of your great comments has been fantastic, and I'm hoping that opening 5K Fridays up to all of you will help make friends and spread that motivation that much farther! So, thank you for the encouragement, and I look forward to reading all about the journey you're on!

Without further ado, here's what my week looked like:


Pretty straightforward, right? Workout #1 & #2 have both ended up being at the gym, on the treadmill. I'm not a huge fan of running without actually getting anywhere, but when you live in Kansas and it's (almost) July, you make some concessions. For Workout #3 I'll finally get to hit the streets with Rachel to see if we can cover a little more ground this week than we did last week. It's all about improvement, right?

I'm within 2 weeks of finishing Couch-to-5K Training and it just blows me away. 7 weeks ago I couldn't hardly finish a 3-minute jog...the thought of running even a mile seemed laughable. The progress I've seen through this training has been nothing short of miraculous! God is good and He even answers the prayers I shoot up (breathlessly) as I'm starting mile #2 and think I might die.

So, what about you? How is training going for you? Are you running? Are you walking? Are you a fan of the elliptical trainer? I'd love to hear all about it, so write that post, add it to Mr. Linky, and start making friends!

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Oh, and be sure to grab a button to include in your sidebar or your post so others know where to find all the fun! :)

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5K Friday : Week 5

Welcome, welcome, welcome to another sweat-inducing edition of 5K Friday!

Remember last week when I requested prayer for this doozy of a request?

Well, if you were praying, thankyouthankyouthankyou!!! It's absolutely amazing what our bodies are capable of, should we give them a giant little shove in the right direction. Our progress has been growing by leaps and bounds.

I'm happy to report that Rach & I met up on Wednesday for our 2-mile run, and we did not die, throw up, or pass out. We pushed right through the side stitches, aching calves, and heavy breathing, and finished in good time!

Yesterday and today are my "rest days," and then Saturday morning starts Week #6! Hard to believe we've been at this for 6-weeks!

Here's a little preview of the Week #6 festivities:


That little beauty at the end? The "jog for 25 minutes with no walking?" Yeah. It might only be 5 minutes more than what we did Wednesday, but it's still a little intimidating.

Anyone else training for a race? Anyone else thinking of taking up running just because? I would love to turn 5K Fridays into a friend-making endeavor. A little Mr. Linky action? Let me know what y'all think and if there's enough interest then I'll throw a twist into next week's 5KF.

Gotta run! (ha!),

5K Friday : Week 4

It's the end of the week, I'm back on The Wagon, which can only mean one thing. It's time for another......

*If you missed the beginning of 5KF you can play a quick game of catch-up here.*

We're jumping right back in to things with Week 4 of the Couch-to-5K Training Program. It goes a little something like this:


Monday started workout #1, and let me tell you something...it pretty near killed me. I made it through the first cycle of intervals with just an average amount of huffing & puffing, but come the second half, I wasn't sure I was going to live through it. I must confess, I did end up walking 2 minutes into the last jogging interval, so I wasn't feeling terribly triumphant once I finished.

All that to say, Wednesday I was feeling just a skosh nervous about meeting Rachel after Bible Study to have our Mid-Week Running Date. We settled in to a decent pace and realized halfway through the first 5 minute jog that we were still talking to each other! We were running...yet our lungs still had just enough air left for us to giggle about boys have an intelligent conversation.

Will wonders never cease!?

We finished Wednesday night's workout feeling rather triumphant. We were both truly amazed at how quickly your body adjusts to working out again. In a week's time we've gone from near death during a 3 minute jog, to chit chatting away while jogging 5 minutes. Maybe this can be done, after all!

We'll see if we still feel as triumphant come the end of next week, when our Ct5K Trainer tells us to do this....


Pray for me, Poodles. I'm going to need it!

Staying On the Wagon

Hi, I'm Lindsay and I have fallen off the wagon.

Well, actually I had fallen off the wagon...but I caught up to that sucker and I'm firmly planted again.

No, I'm not confessing to you some deep, dark, secret habit involving Shirley Temples consumed in my closet after work. I'm talking about that age-old female struggle. You know the one...

...eating right and excercising!

Ew, right?

If you're a loyal GM Poodle you have noticed the absence of a semi-regular feature. OHF has been MIA for quite some time now. (If you're not familiar with OHF click here.) All excuses aside, there have been weeks (on end) where I simply haven't cared about my progress in this little competition. Those days, Poodle Dears, are over!

Couch-to-5K Training is still under way...big time. The whole "eating right" process? That's a little slower in coming, but thankfully I'm not alone in this...Philippians 4:13 backs that statement up, right?

So, keep your eyes peeled tomorrow for the return of 5K Friday! Oh, and OHF? Monday is the start of a brand new day in that neighborhood, too...with a possible twist.

Until then, I would love for you all to share your tips, tricks, hints, and helps on how you keep yourself firmly planted on the Eating Right & Exercising Wagon.

<3,

5K Friday : Week 2

Welcome to Week 2 of "5K Fridays!"

This week they kicked it up a notch on me. It might not sound like much, but bear in mind the name of this program is "Couch to 5K." I was doing well with the couch part, so it's baby steps on the way to 5K.

Here's what my work-outs looked like this week:

5 minutes: Brisk walk warm-up (3.5 mph)
90 seconds: Run (6.0 mph)
90 seconds: Walk (4.0 mph)
3 minutes: Run
3 minutes: Walk
90 seconds: Run
90 seconds: Walk
5 minutes: Cool down (3.0 mph)

Let me tell you something. I now realize just how SHORT 90 seconds of walking feels when you know you've got a 3 minute run coming up.

Tonight is my last work-out on Week 2, then Monday it's on to Week 3. Week 3 has me a little unnerved...they think I'm going to be able to run 1/2 mile next week. They've sure got a lot of faith in these legs!








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Listening to: Bart Millard - Softly And Tenderly

OHF - 04/20/09

It's about dang time.

This is about the most appropriate illustration I could find of the OHF Contest to date.



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Week 8
Lindsay: 7
Jason: 2
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Welcome back, lead. I've missed you.







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Listening to: Stevie Wonder - Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours

5K Friday : Week 1

Wait a stinkin' minute here! Another post!? From GM!? On the weekend!?

Why did I not know about scheduled posts before right now? ♥♥♥ them!

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Now then, I realize that the title of today's post is "5K Friday" and today is not Friday. I promise, in the future 5KF will actually show up on Friday...but darn it, I'm playing with my scheduler...you'll manage somehow!

Since I momentarily lost my mind and decided to start training for a 5K, I figured I should keep myself accountable and post about the training. I would love your feedback, encouragement, ideas, etc. as they come up.

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This week was week #1! The schedule looked a little like this:

5 minutes: Brisk walk warm-up (3.5mph)
90 seconds: Run (6.0mph)
2 minutes: Walk (4.0mph)

Repeat run/walk combination for 20 minutes, finish with a slower-paced walk as a cool down.

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Obviously, this wasn't too bad. I've been doing my own version of interval training before 5KF started, so I wasn't dying. Next week (Monday) I'll bump up a little, and that's when the rubber meets the road.

Can't wait to get this bad boy started! I've talked Twin and Rach into training with me, and our first 5K is July 4th!

Ready or not, here we come.






haha! I can't believe I'm listening to "Back That Thing Up." Gotta love Pandora!
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Listening to: Juvenile - Back That Thing Up

Couch-to-5K Training

I am about to type something that will shock some, surprise others, and might leave those closest to me saying "no way!"

I have decided to start training for my very first 5K.

We're talking running here, folks. Not walking a 5K. Running a 5K.

I'm tired of my OHF results being less than stellar (and that's putting it nicely!) I'm tired of being out of shape. I predict I will grow tired of Mr. Elliptical in the very near future. Plus, I am always up for a challenge, and I would love to see if I can do this.

I've found my way to a great website a few friends of mine used a couple years ago, and I start tonight. If you're a runner, check out the website and let me know what you think of the program. I'm going to start on Week 2 since I know that running for 60 seconds is too easy for where I'm at now.

If you're the praying type, PRAY. FOR. ME. If you're not, PRAY. FOR. ME. ANYWAYS!

Hugs and snorgles (while I'm still alive!)
L-Dubb




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Listening to: Pink Martini - Lilly