Mayor's 5k Challenge in Nashville

On Sunday, November 13, I participated in the Mayor's 5k challenge in Nashville. It was a great experience. Mayor Karl Dean urged Nashvilians to get out and get healthy by running with him. I also took this as an opportunity to get one more 5k in before my next event on Thanksgiving, which is a 4-miler. It's less than a week away and I walked/ran the course today. This is my second year doing Borodash so I was familiar with the course. It's mostly flat - which I like and this morning was fine weather-wise.

Finish line at the top of the hill!

I hope you enjoy my pictures. Nashville is a great place to run! But there are lots of hills. I'm hoping to end 2012 strong on my last race next week.

I can do 9 miles!

We finished the 9 mile Fallen Soldiers March yesterday. I was very happy that my husband decided to join me.

The thought of 9 miles was daunting to both of us, but knowing it was walking and not running gave us confidence. It was a wonderful event to be a part of, honoring the fallen soldiers from Tennessee. This is the 7th year of this event and there were over 150 participants. Most of the people walking were soldiers, but there was a good turnout of civilians as well.

Safety meeting and roll call -John & I are in the blue shirts surrounded by soldiers

Roll Call

And we're off!

It began at 4:00 p.m. and it was a hot day in Tennessee. I am used to working out on a treadmill in an air conditioned gym. So, its no surprise that the heat began to wear me down.The first 4 miles were pretty easy, but when the sun was beating down on me I started feeling exhausted. I drank tons of water. Thank goodness they had several water stations along the way. I did have to cool off in one of their vans for a few minutes but soon was able to catch up with the group. I think I was a little surprised that since I've been working out I thought I would be able to do this with little difficulty. My husband got quite a bit ahead of me at one point. I was very impressed that several soldiers passed me and asked me how I was doing. I felt a little guilty of complaining about the heat when the soldiers were dressed in uniforms and carrying packs. Since I took a short break, my total distance was 8.06 miles. We were finished in 2 1/2 hours. That was a shorter time than I expected since we were walking, not running.

Finish at the Wilson County Fair

After the walk, my husband and I felt like we had really accomplished something. We are doing a 5k next Saturday, so that should be a breeze! I'm really enjoying doing fitness activities together. I am a little sore today with a few blisters on my feet. I think it was a great idea for me to schedule a massage for today.

Back to training

It's a lovely Saturday morning here in Tennessee! The sun is shining, its going to be warm today, and as far as I can tell, the end of the world did not happen as they predicted. I'm hoping to relax today since yesterday was extremely busy for me. I had cleaning to do, cooking, buying a new car, and a high school graduation to attend. I'm glad I didn't have to work on top of all the other things going on.

new car!

Whitney at Graduation 2011

Whitney & her band friends before the performance

Today is a XT day for me, so I'm planning on doing a Tae Bo workout. Actually yesterday should have been my XT day, but Friday left me feeling a little frazzled. Tae Bo is a great way to include cardio, strength training and flexibility into one workout. Soon as I have my coffee and a quick breakfast....I'll be punching and kicking to the max!

Tae Bo - I have several workouts to choose from

Must have coffee first thing in the a.m.

Kashi cereal with skim milk

Silk Light - my favorite way to start the day!

This Couch to 5k challenge has me feeling like an athlete. I never thought I would say that. I've gotten serious about the training to the point that I have 2 5k's and one 4 miler on my schedule for the fall. One in September, one in October and the last one on Thanksgiving Day.

5k registration - Women's Half Marathon/5k in Nashville

I also took advantage of a free Active.com training plan after registering for the Women's Half Marathon/ 5k a few days ago. I'm using that in addition to the c25k training. I like this plan since it includes email reminders of the daily workouts and motivational words to keep me on track. Also, when I log in my workouts, there are fields to enter vital statistics as well as b.p./ pulse readings. Its a helpful tool.

I hope your weekend rocks!

Staying on track

I'm staying on track with fitness this week. One motivator is that I am scheduled to have my yearly physical soon. I have done well with sticking to healthy eating and exercising all week. So, it CAN be done! I really need to post a note somewhere where I can see it...to remind me about how much better I feel when I exercise and eat right. That alone should motivate me to stay on track! I am glad that I found a co-worker that likes to walk and we have started walking on our lunch break, as long as the weather allows us to. Unfortunately today that was not the case! We are having storms passing through Tennessee today with tornadoes and heavy thunderstorms. It looks like I'll be hitting the treadmill when I get home.

I am very pleased to announce that I found a Couch to 5K challenge via @EatMoveWrite on Twitter a few days ago and I signed up. I began the program a while ago, but didn't finish it. I want to start over with this challenge and make it through to the end! Here is the link to the challenge, if you are interested too! Couch 2 5K Challenge

I'm proud of myself

We had stormy weather here in TN today. Its so different than the weekend. We had such a beautiful weekend. I was sad to see the sunshine go away. I was able to spend a lot of time outdoors on Saturday and Sunday. I managed to get in an outdoor walk/run and mow the lawn. I will mention that I also got a sunburn from that activity. I didn't expect that at all. I love spring.

One of my goals has been to get a workout in during the workweek. It is hard for me to do, especially when I have to work late. But for the record....I did it today! I am so proud of myself. Usually I come home from work and sit down with my laptop and don't get up until time for bed. I made myself an "appointment" to workout. And it worked. My workout consisted of a treadmill workout and weights. I decided to get back on the Couch to 5K plan. I'm glad to say that I was able to do it without too much difficulty. I still have ankle problems and after 20 minutes or so I start feeling pain. But I managed to get through it. Happy about that.

March Madness

Are you a college basketball fan? At our house, we filled out our brackets and are watching ALL the games. The NCAA tournament takes priority in our house! It's my husband's favorite time of the year and I can honestly say that I enjoy it too. But my bracket picks aren't doing so well. Our favorite team is Gonzaga. Luckily our team won in the first round. I hope they keep winning. Let's GO ZAGS!

John & his sister at Gonzaga for a ballgame

We are having lovely weather in Tennessee. It was in the 80's today. I took off half a day early to enjoy the sunshine! And to watch some college hoops, of course. I believe grilling out a little later will be on our agenda. I have already been to the grocery store for grilling supplies.

I'm glad its the weekend. I plan on spending some time outdoors. Maybe a nice outdoor run in the morning. What are your weekend plans?

Cardio Max

I woke up to muscle soreness from the Cardio Max DVD I did yesterday. A little soreness is good. I decided to use the stationary bike and exercise ball to try and loosen up. I really like the DVD. I was surprised that several contestants from the last 2 seasons were on it. I didn't realize this one was released recently. I got to workout with Sunshine, Tara, Ada, Ashley and Bob Harper! I think I'm gonna like this one.

I am also logging my workouts on my Biggest Loser calendar I bought last week at 75% off. Thats a sweet deal! The calendar is cool with tips and recipes from Bob and Jillian.

Biggest Loser calendar

After working out, today was a pretty lazy day. I went out to lunch with my husband and daughter to Jason's Deli. I love that place. They have an awesome salad bar with tons of fresh fruits and vegetables to choose from. Here is a picture of my salad plate:

We bought a humidifier today. I'm hoping this will solve the sinus trouble I've been having. Fingers crossed.

I plan on relaxing for the rest of the evening and waiting for the snow to arrive. It's always a big deal when snow is forecasted in Tennessee. People rush off to the grocery store for water, milk and bread - so I avoided those places. They are saying we might get several inches overnight and more tomorrow. I'm a little cynical though, it seems like when they say we are getting snow, it's just a flake or two.

I hope you have a great week! Stick to your resolutions!