Oh 'mill of competition

"Hello. My name is Jennifer."

(Group responds) "Hi Jennifer!"

"I am a nosy, competative runner when on a treadmill and I need help."

Off the treadmill I could care less what other people are doing or how fast they're going. It's just me and Minnie on the open road. The wind at my back (hopefully) and a spring in my step. Minnie tells me my pace and I slow down or speed up according to how I feel. "Oh, look! Another runner just passed me. Enjoy your run speedy runner!!" I shout at their backside as I eat their dust. And I could truly care less.

On the treadmill at the gym however I am Xena Warrior Runner Princess! Hear my primal roar!!! I am drawn to glance at other people's paces to determine how fast they are going. And then I have to increase my speed to beat theirs. "Nu-uh...no way that little gym rat, soccer mom with her cute little Nike hat on is going to out pace me!" ...annddd I speed up. ...annnnnddd I run longer. Where is this animal coming from? I'm truly not a competative person by nature.

I think part of it has to deal with what Willie posted about a few weeks ago - runner snobbery. "I don't need to come to the gym. I'M a runner. And I'm not going to be outdone by theses GYM people." Pfffff... But, the good thing in all this is that I am pushing myself to speeds I never thoiught possible. Like today I ran three miles at 8:50. Crazy fast for me! But the sociology of it all is interesting to me. The mind games we play with ourselves.

Great week so far. I've logged 24 miles all while on travel. Give it up for me and my gym willpower! I even made myself go twice in one day a couple of times while I was at the hotel. I'm going to need all that stress relief this weekend as I have to deal with the in-laws until Monday. :S

Today I LOVE: my capris running tights. I always "feel" like a runner when I wear them.

GOOD LUCK WILLIE AND TATER!!!!

Sending a shout out to my boy and girl for the Mardi Gras race this weekend! Sorry I won't be there to run with you guys, but I'll be thinking about you on Sunday! Go kick some running butt!!

I'm in Atlanta all week at a training and then to the in-laws at the end of the week. I am starting to change my complete hatred of the dreadmill to a relationship of tolerance. :). Actually, I've come to enjoy it for recovery runs. On those days where I'm a bit sore the treadmill is a great tool to log a few miles. The impact is much less on the joints. It's also great for speed work and confidence building. I've been able to run several runs at a sub-nine pace on the treadmill - something I thought was impossible. The downsides are still boredom, boredom, and yes, boredom. Runner's World this month had a great treadmill tip: press a button on the treadmill every few minutes. Alter speed or height frequently to keep from getting bored.

I'm still doing really well with the mileage. Here's my question though: I really have to take breaks from running to give my joints and shins a rest. On those break days I'm trying to get time in on the elliptical. Does mileage on the elliptical count toward total mileage??

Willie you're off the hook.

Monday = 12 miles, avg pace = 10:13

Sorry, sorry, sorry....I've been a blogger slacker lately. Last week was CRAZY. They are re-configuring our office and I had to move cubes and it took a couple of days for them to get my internet connection back up and running, not to mention the time-consumingness of having to go through the huge accumulation of CRAP at my desk. (But I got a half foot more space!! WHOOHOOOO...it's the little things in life.) Seriously, do I really need to hold on to that presentation that so-and-so did three years ago? Do I REALLY need to hold on to the Life Safety standards FROM 1996???? Do I REALLY need the Emergency Response Guidebook from 1992?????? So, needless to say, I was a purging fool last week. And I decided to take the time to take my cube from chaos to organized chaos. I was on a mission.

AND speaking of mission, I've been a running fool lately!!! I logged 25 miles last week and 23 the week before. I think I'm going to sign up for the V3 challenge - 30 miles a week for six weeks. I wanted to ease my body into it by slowly ramping up the mileage. So far so good - no knee pain and little to no soreness. AND I'm still in shock over how much faster I've gotten. I'm still not fast by any means, but I can hold a 9:40 pace for six miles. That has now become my standard pace. I ran an out and back 12 miles yesterday. The cold front was moving in, so the wind was brutal and fighting it slowed me down a bit. But, I still came out at 10:13 for 12 miles!! That's the best I've ever done for that distance - races included!

Willie and Tater - I'm not going to make Mardi Gras this year. I'm bummed, but we're going to be in Atlanta visiting the in-laws. It just worked where that was the best weekend to go in. We'll be able to spend time with the whole family and it's my MIL's birthday. So, we're going to celebrate that and have a Superbowl party. I'm still bummed I won't get to meet you guys. We'll all have to coordinate a race this year. Willie - when's OKC this year? I have several friends running in that one.

On another note....I'm getting REALLY, REALLY tempted to run the Chicago full. I know SOOOO many people that are running it and it would be an awesome race to enter. I think registration opens Feb. 2nd. Do I want to put my body through that torture again? Bad thing about that race is that it comes relatively early in the fall - which means that I'll be training my long runs in the August south Louisiana heat and humidity. UGGGGHHHHHHH......

Today I LOVE: NOT being sore after a long run!!!

Not. Saying. A. Word.

The Time Has Arrived!!!!

IT'S THE DAY FOR THE BIG GAME!!!!! GO GATORS!!! GO GATORS!!! GO GATORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm wearing my orange and blue today. :)

I had to stay a little late for work last night. By the time I got home it was dark and Jeff's not real keen on me running at night by myself. So, I made myself go to the gym (yeah me!) and not sit on my rump like I really wanted to. I had to face that dreaded treadmill again. Blech. I only ran 3 miles, but I did a speed workout with those three miles. I would crank that puppy up to 8:50 mph and run as long as I could and then recover at 10:00 for a couple of minutes. Repeat. I managed to hold that pace for a mile! I was shocked. So, it was a good workout, albeit short. I should be getting home early enough today for a nice, long run outside. I miss running outside (ha - I've only had to run on the treadmill twice now!)

I mentioned The Biggest Loser yesterday. I truly heart that show. It is just so inspirational what the human body can do! I'm always amazed at how much these people can tolerate and withstand, and they're in terrible shape. There's NO reason I can't push myself like that. What I would give for just one training session with Jillian or Bob!

Jeff and I decided at the beginning of the year to do our own little Biggest Loser thing. We both weighed in Saturday morning for our starting weight and we both have a goal weight to achieve. We have to weigh in each Saturday morning in front of each other and then we write each week's weight and % loss down on a spreadsheet that he developed (he loves spreadsheets - the enginerd is coming out in him). Let me tell you, it is truly keeping me accountable! We're both using The Daily Plate to track our calories and we are both working out consistently. Knowing that I have to weigh in Saturday in front of him has pushed my butt to the gym and really motivated me.

Ok....back to work now.

Today I LOVE: that it's potato soup day!!

Rain, rain, go away!

Of course....as SOON as I get all geared up and step out the door to go for my run yesterday it starts raining. *sigh* So, I had to un-gear and then load up and head to the gym and run on the (ACK!!! BLECH!!! ICK!!!) treadmill. I truly dislike running on the treadmill. I get bored to tears on it. But, I pushed out 5 miles at an average 9:45 pace. The only thing I like about the treadmill is that I tend to do a lot of speed work while I'm on it to keep from getting so bored I pass out. So, I did several sprint and recovery sessions. And I guess it's a bit easier on my knees to do some treadmill work every now and again.

My most favorite running store in the world, Varsity Sports (http://www.varsityrunning.com/mandeville.html), has started the year off with a bang! They have three sets of challenges for the next six weeks. The challenges consist of:

1. Running 60 miles, 120 miles or 180 miles over the next six weeks - depending on the challenge,
2. Volunteering at a local race,
3. Performing two core or weight workouts each week,
4. Completing one super workout (5 miles in the a.m. and 5 miles in the p.m. or 10 miles in the a.m. and 10 miles in the p.m. - again depending on the challenge), and
5. Running a set distance on a specific marathon race course.

They're posting charts in their store and you can go in and update your progress each week. I think it would be a blast to take on. I just have to decide if I want to do the V challenge (the 20 mpw) or the V2 challenge (the 30 mpw).

Today I LOVE: that the new season of The Biggest Loser started yesterday!!!

Nice start

Mileage this week = 32 miles - YUP that's right! 32 miles baby!

I had a good start to the new year. I just got the running bug and went out and ran and ran and ran. It felt great! One of my goals (NOT a resolution, mind you. I hate New Year's resolutions) for 2009 is to log at least 20 miles per week. Last year my total mileage was 652 according to Minnie. Now that doesn't include any treadmill work and a few runs where I was missing Minnie. So, I'm thinking it's probably closer to 700 miles. Not bad considering the two hurricanes we had to deal with last year.

I got a new hot pink ipod shuffle for Christmas from my wonderful hubby to replace my old silver one. And of course I just had to test out my new toy by running with it. It has twice the memory, so twice the songs. LOVE IT. AND did I mention that it's HOT PINK!! And hubby got me some awesome lightweight fleece jackets and vests from Land's End. Love 'em!

My 10 miler this weekend was good. I averaged a 10:21 pace which included one water stop and bathroom break. The humidity here has been horrendous. That slowed me down a bit. Willie - you're going to HATE it. Ugh...seriously, I hope it lets up for you before the race. It was 72 degrees yesterday and I was sweating buckets during my run because of the 85% humidity. Whew. Running in shorts, short sleeves and STILL sweating in January. Crazy.

Cool thing about the Mardi Gras race this year is that they opened up a half-marathon relay for the first time. I'm excited about that. I had a total blast doing the marathon relay in Little Rock last year. I might have to grab three friends and do the relay next year.

Ok, work is piled up from being off last week. Gotta get back to the grind.

Today I LOVE: coffee breaks