The Whole Nine Yards- Er, Miles

Now don't get crazy on me, and go thinking that I ran all 9 miles yesterday, because I didn't. In fact, far from it (but I'll get to that). However, I did accomplish my goal of finishing 9 miles (just not in the 90 minutes that I hoped for).

Let me cut to the chase (I know, that's so out of character for me). I was doing great, and had my route all mapped out to just over 9 miles. The first 5 miles were fantastic, and I think I hit that point around 48 minutes. I wasn't focused on speed, I just wanted to maintain a good pace to be able to finish. Unfortunately a little after 5 miles I started having some knee pain. So I slowed down a little (even on the steep downhill), and staved it off for a while. At 6 miles, I paused to drink some Powerade Zero. This is new for me as I usually just do water. I tried the Strawberry and it wasn't too bad, although it was a little bit like liquid jello. Maybe I'll dilute with water next time- if there is a next time. Not long after the 6 miles the knee pain was back and it was fierce. So basically I ended up walking most of the remaining 3 miles home. I did try to run again a few times, and it just wasn't good.

Arrrgh! And it was going so well. The rest of my body was actually handling things okay, breathing and lungs were good, legs weren't too heavy or sore, and miles 7 and 8 were mostly flat and in a new part of town that I've never explored. Mile 9 would have been a little tougher with quite a bit of uphill, and the wind was blowing like mad (I'm talking 25 mph- it really, really sucked), but I think I would have still finished under 90 minutes. So after all that, I'm probably going to be "resting" from running this week. Yesterday I had my knee wrapped up with an ace bandage (still can't find my brace) and iced it off and on, which helped, but going up and down stairs still hurts, so I know I won't be able to run for at least several days. I guess I'll have to go back to the elliptical and/or my Leslie Sansone walking DVD (at least on the elliptical I can catch up on all the Olympics that I've Tivo'd).

Even though it was a disappointing run, I finished in an hour and 38 minutes (9.42 miles, 10:27 pace). And I burned 960 calories! (isn't that outrageous?) It's so frustrating to be progressing and then hit a wall. But I've been there before (unfortunately much too recently) and so I'll power through again. It looks like I just tried to do to much too soon. Although my mileage last week (17.2 was lower than the previous 3 weeks- (24.1, 25.3 and 22.9). This week will be all about cross-training, healing and of course, the Ab Challenge.

Regarding the Ab Challenge, remember to let me know if you want to participate. I'll be taking my "before" picture tonight, and you'll get to see it in a month. I will probably try to do my ab workouts on Mon/Wed/Fri, but if it doesn't work with my schedule, I might switch to Tues/Thurs/Sat. I plan to start with basic crunches, and maybe do some on a stability ball. I can't wait to see how it turns out. A month may not be long enough to get amazing results, but I figure it should be enough to motivate me to keep going.

There are a few things about the challenge that I wanted to comment on. It is not required to post pictures of bare skin. I will be doing a shot in a bikini (waist up), but you don't have to. If you're more comfortable in some kind of form-fitting shirt, or a one-piece swimsuit, that works, too (Viv?). As long as you're able to see your progress. I realize that everyone's goals are different. For some it might be to lose inches off a larger waist. For me, the goal is to create definition, and in the process strengthen my core to take some of the load off my lower back.

Another idea that I got from Cyndi, is to keep track of your measurements. This might be something that you want to post only at the end, or you can add it to your weekly update (or not at all). I thought this was a great idea as an extra motivator.

Anyway, tomorrow I'll do my official starting post of the challenge, and list the participants thus far. But again, feel free to jump in at any time. Good luck everyone, and happy "ab"-ing.

Oh, and I always forget about my weigh-in. With all the drama yesterday, I didn't weigh-in, so I stepped on the scale this morning. Great news! I'm down another pound (must've been that 960 calories I burned- LOL) to 133.6 lbs- a number I haven't seen in months. So that gives me some solace after my crappy knee pain. Although without running this week, I hope I don't gain it back.