Look Dr. Young....NO HANDS!!!

Many times we want our mom's to notice what we are doing...in this case, while I'm sure my mom would be proud of me, this time I want Dr. Young to take notice. As I've talked about before, several months ago Dr. Paul Young issued the challenge for the National AfterSchool Association (NAA) board members to participate in the 5K Go Far race at the upcoming NAA conference. The race is now, in fact, 17 days away which really means 16 days to prepare. What was I thinking?

This past week has been a busy week at work and I've been recovering the loss of my dearest Buckeyes in the Sweet Sixteen, so exercising or training has been the farthest thing from my mind. Afterall, half of the pump up songs I listen to while walking are basketall pregame songs! I will just say I feel I can still listen to these songs as I root on the Cinderella stories of VCU!

Today is my day off and my husband encouraged me to exercise - knowing that the race is 16 training days away. I digress to say that he is also running the race and is an experienced runner so should be finished in about 10 minutes - I just hope to be finished by the time we have to present later that afternoon. He has been very supportive of my efforts. He doesn't give too much advice. Most importantly he respects my neurotic ways and trys to not look at me or be near me while I'm exercising. When you are out of shape, it's embarrassing. Today, he even brought me a glass of water and put it next to the treadmill. Ah...true love! This morning, I took his advice to heart and loaded up the play list on the computer and waddled onto the treadmill.

Several unexpected things happened today....

1. My warm up speed today....has been my fast speed of the past few weeks WOW - didn't expect that to happen so quickly.

2. My fast speed has increased and moved into the range where the 'fat burn' light comes on. Now, if you are a seasoned treadmill walker/runner you are probably thinking to yourself, big deal that's under 4mph. But to those of us who would rather sit on the couch than get off the couch to exercise, it's a pretty big deal in out book.

3. I stayed on the treadmill for 2 miles (about 24 minutes) varying in walking and jogging modes and various speeds. The first mile was a faster speed and more intense and then I slowed down to a better walking speed. However, still at the higher warm up speed and much of the time with the fat burn light on!

4. After 2 miles of pretty intense walking/jogging for me - while my feet still went numb, I was slightly dizzy when I first stopped, and I wanted to sit down badly - I didn't feel like I was going to die - again improvement.

5. But the most important thing and Dr. Young...take notice....I walked at my higher rate of speed at the beginning and the end of the workout without holding onto the treadmill - Look Dr. Young - NO HANDS!!!!! Again, if you are a seasoned runner, I'm sure you are thinking big deal! But, if you are like me to walk fast(ish) on the treadmill and keep your balance so that you don't have to hold on for dear life - it is a BIG DEAL!!!

Until day 15! Walk like no one's watching! If you haven't signed up for the Go Far race - there is still time, do it today before the price goes up. It's never too late to walk!

Alycia

PS - I added in a couple of tunes to my workout that you might like to add to yours....Shaggy's "Ooh Boy" and Lit's "My Own Worst Enemy" (because as a baker and candy maker, I am my own worst enemy!) Still taking requests before the final Go Far 5K set list is put together.