<p>It must be one of those days, Deborah! You did well!</p>
<p>BB, just so I can groan, how fast did you do your five?</p>
<p>Today’s workout turned out to be yard work, specifically, mowing the back yard in a record-setting 25 minutes. I was more or less dressed to go somewhere, when I realized 1) the back yard REALLY needed mowing and 2) it was supposed to rain today. So I threw on shorts and RAN around the back yard behind the mower. (It’s not self-propelled.) :)</p>
<p>I knew if I waited for S to get home from work there would surely be rain. Later in the day I dug a few holes to put some perennials in (it actually didn’t rain until later.) And that was today’s workout.</p>
<p>And I agree with setting tiny goals. I’ve been working on the pullup bar, and am happy that I can now do the flexed arm hang for um, more seconds than before! …without feeling my tendons are going to pop. (Goal: Build muscles, avoid tendinitis.)</p>
<p>5 miler today for me too. Felt very sluggish and every aching bone and sore/tight muscle was screaming at me. Tough to run when the mind says yes but the body says no.</p>
<p>"“If you are going to win any battle, you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do… the body is never tired if the mind is not tired.”
-General George S. Patton"</p>
<p>A pretty good quote. :)</p>
<p>Deborah, please don’t get discouraged by my time. I ran fast because I felt great during my run. Started at about 9 min pace and descended to 7:50 at the end. I have my fast and slow and just awful days. When I ran last Sunday, I wanted to stop and walk so many times I lost count of them! That was quite awful.</p>
<p>BB, I don’t get discouraged by your times. I’m inspired by them! Reading about what you do helps me remember to push a little bit more.</p>
<p>I was also motivated by Mommusic’s post and went out and mowed the front yard. Cleaned up the spring bulbs area, too (part of it anyway 
).</p>
<p>Question for the protein shake experts:</p>
<p>Have you tried any of the ones Costco carries, and if you did, what did you think of them? Somehow I think I saw more than one kind there. Apologies if this was already covered and I wasn’t paying attention at the time.</p>
<p>Haven’t tried Costco brand but I use a LifeTime Fitness Chocolate Whey protein powder and mix it with a TBS of almond butter and ice…yum! Like peanut butter and chocolate! I also like a banana with the chocolate, too!</p>
<p>Thanks for the recommendation and tips, NMinn!</p>
<p>Deborah T–thanks! Glad to know I inspired <em>someone</em>! :D</p>
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<p>As you may already know, I need to have a goal to work with. And, typically, I set goal on grand scales. </p>
<p>After running the 1/2, there are only two ways to go - distance or speed. Even so I said I would like to try for a full. The reality is that I probably would not be able to do that. So, the only thing left is to get my speed up - finishing a 1/2 under 2:00. That is a workable goal, don’t you think?</p>
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<p>Thank you MOWC, that is the stuff I like to hear. Having talked to several others runners, and saw a couple of references here. I kind feeling pretty good now for my time. For an old guy who has been running for less than 10 months, starting from 0.5 mile. My pace for the 1/2 with that big hill isn’t too bad.</p>
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<p>You are upping your distance. Good job. </p>
<p>I did not get to 20 mile per week before my 1/2. As a matter of fact, I only did two 6 miles, one 8 mile and one 10 mile run in all my training. The rest runs are all 4 miles or shorter. </p>
<p>If you are running 5 mile on weekday and a long one i.e. 10 miles, in the weekend, you are ready for a 1/2.</p>
<p>Day 3 of Week 7 in the books. Had to quit benching halfway through due to pain in my left shoulder. I’ll have to watch it and see how the shoulder responds…</p>
<p>Otherwise, a decent workout.</p>
<p>Deborah, I’m a little late but I’ve been using the EAS Lean 15 Protein powder. Target had it for $17.99 a while back. I like the chocolate and add raspberries or blackberries with ice and water. Haven’t tried the Costco varieties.</p>
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<p>That is interesting information about your prep for the 1/2, Dad II. Thank you. 5 mi is currently my long run. I am starting to feel like a 10K could happen one of these days, but I’m still working on a 5K finish time starting with a 2. :)</p>
<p>Thanks, Sabaray!</p>
<p>Hops, how many weeks is the program altogether? Do you think there are others in this group who might like it?</p>
<p>I spent four hours measuring a house this afternoon. I can’t say I felt like exercise after that. On the plus side I was on my feet the whole time, but that’s about all you can say. I will head off to gym tomorrow for sure.</p>
<p>It was so gorgeous here today – 80 degrees, deep blue sky, brisk wind – that I had to break my own rule and do a second 5K walk/jog of the week. My usual route. Did informal intervals again, running to 85% heart rate on the first couple, then 90% once I was warmed up. Funny thing, I found that I wasn’t really losing my breathing at the end of the intervals. Breathing hard, for sure, but still able to do a normal inhale/exhale. So I kept going on several of the intervals. May have just been the heat pushing my heart rate up a little quicker. Or, maybe I’m building a “cario base”. </p>
<p>In any case, it was a nice solid walk/jog. Saw a max heart rate of 95% on the final interval up a steep hill, but it didn’t really feel like that level of exertion. </p>
<p>I’m not in the league with all the runners here pace-wise. I averaged 10.9 min/mile for the running bits today – about a mile and a half worth. Although, this is a very hilly loop and that includes a lot of running uphill.</p>
<p>DadII- the 2:00 goal is fine. I’m more concerned with you getting discouraged with your training times or making every run a race against the clock. As one of my mentors used to say, “It’s not who wins the workout!” Take a look at the McMillan pace calculator and plug in your half marathon that you ran and check out the training paces. Then plug in your 2 hour goal and see what is realistic to adjust.</p>
<p>Deborah, thanks! Just like mathmom, I’m happy to be inspirational :). </p>
<p>Ran 2 more miles on the treadmill just to hang out with Mr B for a bit.</p>