Friday, January 25, 2013

Virtual 5K

Today, I participated in a Virtual 5K to celebrate the birthday of blogger, Runs for Cookies.  It was a great reason to get me into the gym.  No, a training plan is never a great reason.

Since I had missed a scheduled 3 mile run yesterday, I decided to run my 5K on the treadmill and then do 3 miles on the elliptical.

My last couple of times on the treadmill have sucked.  I forgot how hard, mentally, it is to run on that thing.  I use to only run on treadmills when I started!  Now, it's torture.



So, I had to go in with a game plan.  I decided I would run the 5K on the 'random' option in order to feel more like I was outside.  That way, I could increase and decrease the speed as the incline increased and decreased.

I walked for five minutes to warm up and then started my program.  I plugged in 36 minutes for a finish time, since that was my goal time for the race that I had made for myself.

It was a rough run, but better then I have felt lately.  I ran between a 5mph (12:00 min/mile) and a 5.8 (10:34 min/mile).  My first mile was 11:19.  While that is usually a little faster then I do outside, it was way too fast for the treadmill.  I took a walk break after I hit mile 1.  Then, another walk break at 1.5miles.  Then, another one around 2 ish miles.  Mile 2 was a little over 12 min/mile average pace.  I didn't even pay attention to mile 3, but I was getting a little worried that I wouldn't finish in time.  The last two minutes I kicked up the pace and came in right under my goal at 35 min 45 sec!



I was dripping sweat everywhere!  I felt good though.  A bit tired, but strong.  I did another 41 minutes in the cardio cinema watching The Ghost Writer.  I really had no idea what was going on, but I like the idea of watching a movie while I work out so there are no commercials.  I finished with 2.76 miles on the elliptical.

After that, I rushed home to get ready for Craft Night.  It was only going to be Laura and I, but that was okay since I don't see her enough!
I made my version of a stuffed pepper casserole.  It turned out pretty good.  Laura made a pear crisp that was really YUM!

Stuffed Pepper Casserole

3c. cooked rice
2c. spaghetti sauce
1 whole, green pepper, diced
3 mushrooms, diced
1.25c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375.  Mix all ingredients except the cheese together in a bowl.  Spread into a 9x13 pan.  Sprinkle the cheese over the top.  Bake about 40 minutes, or until cheese starts to turn a golden brown around the edges.  Makes 8 servings.

Since I have been doing Weight Watchers, this dish was 5 PP per serving!

I work a short shift tomorrow and then a lot of running around.

Sunday is weigh in day and my 5 mile long run.

What are your weekend running plans?

No comments:

Post a Comment