November 26, 2012

Muscles

This morning, I was scheduled to do speed work: 8 x 400m (which means running 400 meters, about 1/4 mile, 8 times at a very fast pace, with rest/walking in-between). I do intervals like this every other week. Two weeks ago, I did it on the treadmill; and four weeks ago, I did it on the track. Today, I decided to just run it on a normal route outside.

I set up my Garmin for intervals--short warm-up run, then 8 repeats of 1/4 mile hard, then 1/10 mile walk. My plan was to run the hard intervals as fast as I could while still reserving enough energy to finish. It was rough!! These interval workouts are hard, but very rewarding when I see my pace at the end ;)

My interval splits (first number is time it took me to run the 1/4 mile, second number is pace):

Split 1: 1:55.3 (7:42/mi pace)
Split 2: 1:54.1 (7:37/mi)
Split 3: 1:54.4 (7:38/mi)
Split 4: 1:49.2 (7:17/mi)
Split 5: 1:51.7 (7:27/mi)
Split 6: 1:43.9 (6:56/mi!!)
Split 7: 1:50.0 (7:20/mi)
Split 8: 1:51.0 (7:24/mi)

My splits improved quite a bit just over the last month--and I'm stunned I managed a 6:56 pace for the sixth split! For reference, these were my splits one month ago:

Split 1- 1:53 (7:34/mi pace)
Split 2- 1:55 (7:40/mi pace)
Split 3- 1:58 (7:53/mi pace)
Split 4- 1:57 (7:52/mi pace)
Split 5- 1:59 (7:56/mi pace)
Split 6- 1:56 (7:44/mi pace)

I know I keep saying this, but it's so exciting to see the numbers to show that I'm actually getting faster :)


While I was eating breakfast, the FedEx guy pulled up in front of the house--always exciting! I was expecting a package that I had been wanting for over a year now.

It's no secret that I am very cheap when it comes to clothing--I almost never buy brand new clothes, because I can get them super cheap at garage sales and thrift stores (I do buy new undies, however!). When I do buy brand new clothes, I don't spend much at all. I think the most I've ever paid for a pair of jeans was maybe $25? The most expensive pants I've ever bought are my Under Armour Cold Gear running tights, which were $50.

When I saw these particular leggings online, I wanted them badly. They aren't specifically running tights, but I thought they would be so much fun to wear at a race! I was not thrilled about the hefty price tag, however. They were $75 AUD (which is about $78 USD). I didn't buy them because I just couldn't justify spending that much on a silly pair of leggings.

But every once in a while, I would go to the website and look at them some more, and even went as far as to put them in my cart; but I just couldn't put the payment info in. Jerry told me, "Why don't you reward yourself with those? Pick a goal and use the pants for a reward..." So I said, "Okay, when I get back in the 130's, I will buy these leggings."

Well, 139 came and went a while ago, but I still felt horribly guilty. But last week, I finally bit the bullet and bought them. And today, they showed up on my doorstep!
Aren't they awesome?! They look so realistic, and I think they will be super fun to wear to a race. I cannot believe I spent $78 on them, but it does make counting PointsPlus for the past couple of months in order to get my weight back down worth it. At least I feel like I've earned them!

They're super comfy (very stretchy and soft), but they require waaaay more care than anything else I've ever bought. Look at this care tag:
I'm going to do my best to make them last as long as possible.


After lunch, Jerry and I went Christmas shopping. We spent about two hours at Toys 'R' Us, and we were done! We got ALL of the shopping done for the kids in one go, which was nice. On the way home, we got a vanilla ice cream cone from McDonald's (5 PointsPlus). I was freezing, but I still wanted ice cream, so I just cranked up the heat in the car.

We got our Christmas tree out of my parents' attic, so we're spending the evening putting that up. Well, Jerry is doing the work, and I'm sitting under my electric blanket with Estelle ;)
Jerry is ridiculously into Christmas, and it cracks me up. HE is the one who starts listening to Christmas music and watching Christmas movies in November. I guess that's a good thing, though, because I'm kind of a grinch--I'm not into Christmas decorations or music or any of that. We balance each other out!

30 comments:

  1. I do all the Christmas shopping myself. Charlie gets to worry about the bills.

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  2. ok I had a totally different idea what the post was about when I read Muscles! haha!! I bet those pants would really get some second/third looks during a race!

    My hubs is the same way as Jerry with Christmas music. He plays piano (for fun) and started playing christmas music about a month ago. He is being stingy on letting us watch Home Alone - he says that has to wait until he is on Christmas break from work. :( *I love HOME ALONE!!

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  3. Love the tights! I saw someone wearing a trisuit like this at the Chicago Hot Chocolate race. It was so cool!

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  4. Absolutely LOVE the tights.. they're awesome!!

    So jealous reading about setting up your Garmin... they are on sale with Amazon in the States for $159. I live in Canada and they won't ship electronics to us... I would have to pay over a $100 more here... I'm still pouting!!

    But love the tights.. they'd be fun to see at a race!!!

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    1. Hey Blondie what if you found someone in the US to get it shipped to them and then they shipped it to you...I would confirm the rates of regular post first but it should be cheaper.

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  5. How are you supposed to wash those pants?? hahah I can't stand when I buy clothes and they say hand wash only. Hope you can make them last!

    BTW if you are willing, I would like to see a comparison of the number of points plus you eat in a day vs the calories. Just curious, you're making me really want to join weight watchers!

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  6. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE those tights! I may have to get a pair myself!

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  7. Those are incredibly awesome tights!

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  8. The tights are hilarious!! I would so love to see you where them in a race!!! Congrats on the speed improvement! I'm still in marathon recovery;ready to start a little speed work now
    -Deb from TN

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  9. Oh my, those tights are made of awesome!

    My husband loves Christmas movies. This time of year his favorite channel is the Hallmark channel. hehe I'm not into that stuff at all, but I love to see my husband enjoying his warm and fuzzy holiday movies :)

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  10. I love Christmas and the movies and music that come along with it! Oh, and the decorating...

    I have never seen anything like those tights. They are kinda creepy, but my husband (an EMT) thinks they are awesome. I like the idea of setting goals and rewarding yourself. I have about 15 more pounds to lose, and I have been lusting over a Lululemon Skirt... Maybe I'll reward myself after I've shed the pounds. Win,Win!

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  11. LOVE the tights! I know you will turn a few heads with those on! And I would be the random person that comes up asking if I can take my picture with you! LOL!!!

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  12. That's fantastic that you're getting faster, well done. You motivated me to be faster too, after you're post on improving times the other day. I did my first sub-30 min 5km training run, in 28:36. I was stoked! :) Thanks for the inspiration.

    Haha, love the tights - I showed my partner Paul & he said they're disturbing lol I would be looking twice if I saw someone running in them.

    Neither Paul & I are into Christmas shopping, we don't have kids so that's prob half the reason. I sometimes buy for my nieces & nephews, but I'm more about family time at Christmas than anything else. I'm with Jerry on this one though, I love Christmas music. Makes me happy!

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  13. Those tights totally freaked me out. They are hilarious! I've never seen those. You'll be such a hit at your next race...

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  14. those tights are so cool, you'l catch 'extra' attention :)

    BTW--I dreamt of you last night. And, you know the best part? I was 'slim' too and I'm walking with you :)

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  15. Sounds like a very successful day!

    I don't know if I would wear the tights myself, but they would be pretty cool to see!

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  16. That's so funny that he is so into Christmas. My husband is the grinch and I love Christmas stuff. Although it's hard to get the tree up w/ a one-year-old and a five-year-old cause my hubby works a lot of 12 hr shifts.

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  17. LOVE the last little instruction on the care tag for the crazy new tights: "Be a HOT LITTLE BOSS!" You are indeed fulfilling that requirement. Enjoy running in those extravagant and well-earned tights.

    Thanks too for your comment about my appearance on the Today Show. I cried when I watched you on Dr. Oz too. Crazy how emotional we get over friends who we've never even met--but from your daily blogs--I really feel like I know you. Maybe it's the weight-loss connection. We all know what it's like to be fat and how wonderful it is to hit NORMAL. I think it's the one thing all of us share and it strikes a note of commonality that we can relate to in others who are fighting this battle!

    Love ya Katie.

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    1. OMG! I knew you looked familiar when I watched it!!!! Congratulations!!

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  18. I just bought a pair of leggings from them this weekend!! I held off because of the price too but this weekend they were on sale!
    I wanted the purple ones but they did not go on sale and the red are nice too...http://blackmilkclothing.com/products/galaxy-red-leggings

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  19. I love those leggings!!!! Given the price and the care instructions (YIKES) I'm not sure I'll be buying a pair, but ohhhhhh how I want them!

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  20. You are motivating me more and more with interval training ideas! Thank you!

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  21. Those pants are crazy!! How fun! You are getting SUPER speedy!! Wow!

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  22. Thou shalt...be a hot little boss.

    I die.

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  23. I'm not gonna lie, those leggings completely freak me out.

    Congrats on the improvement on the speed! That's so awesome when you can actually see the numbers and know you're progressing.

    Christmas is awesome. My husband is the grinch, only because he didn't grow up doing a lot of Christmas-y stuff.

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  24. Oh my gosh! Those leggings are crazy cool!!

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  25. Out of curiosity.....what did you get your kids for Christmas???

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  26. LOVE the leggings!!!! very cool!!!

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  27. Oh man girl those pants are flippin AWESOME!!!!! You are getting so freaking fast too!

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  28. LOVE those pants. Can't believe I hadn't seen this blog til now. They would be so fun to wear- i'm sure you'll get lots of double takes. Have you worn them out to run yet?

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