I saw this posted on the ESPNW Facebook page the other day and it really struck a chord with me. It really doesn’t matter if you are running (or walking) a 14 minute mile or a 7 minute mile – it is still a mile and YOU DID IT!

I love all these motivational sayings!

While doing some online shopping this morning, I found THE PERFECT fall fitness outfit from Nike! They now have their Dri-Fit pant in women’s plus sizes in both a full length pant and a capri. The Nike Be Strong Dri-FIT pants are constructed with sweat-wicking Dri-FIT fabric to help keep you cool and dry as you exercise, have flat seams and gusset reduce chafing and promote freedom of motion, include a security pocket for your key or change, and have a relaxed leg fit. They also come in sizes 1X, 2x, and 3x.

Add the Element half zip top in hot pink and their is no chilly morning you can’t face! The Nike Element Half-Zip Top – Women’s Plus Sizes is also made with lightweight Dri-FIT® fabric helps keep you comfortable by moving sweat off your skin for rapid evaporation, has a half-length zipper which  allows on-demand ventilation; windflap wraps the top of the zipper to protect chin from abrasion, and mesh insets under arms vent excess body heat.

The top also comes in sizes 1X, 2X, and 3x as well as two colors  – black and Voltage Cherry.

Happy Fall Workouts!

But, my 5K time is still slow. 40 minutes slow. And the scale continues to hover in the same place it has since I lost the initial 15 lbs. Now I have gone down one size in jeans, but no major weight loss. Actually the slow 5K time is more frustrating to me than the scale not moving. I know that is hard to believe but the scale is no longer my measure of success (and that is a huge victory for me). I want to run faster!

At my last 5K I started the race feeling strong and about a 1/4 mile in my friend Karyl-Lynne passed me. Then I passed her. And this leapfrogging continued the whole way. The difference was that I ran the whole thing and she did a combination of walking and running. In the end, she finished the race before I did – not by much – but still…

Yesterday we did our normal Saturday morning girls run of 5K and I decided to take a step back and not be so worried about running the whole way. It was time to change things up. If I want to run faster, I have to stretch out my stride, get to the point of really breathing hard, and do something different!

I ran the first 1.5 miles at a much quicker pace than I normally do and then I walked the hill as fast as I could. When I got to the straight away I ran again. This time as fast as I felt I could sustain. Then walked that next hill as fast as I could and ran the last bit.

The result? Change. My time was a little faster and I realized that in some cases I can walk as fast if not faster than I can run. And, I still felt like I got a great work out.

In order to get the scale to move, I am going to have to make some changes, too. I can’t rely on the exercise to make the weight come off. I am going to have to drastically reduce sugar intake and really watch portions.  And I am going to have to cut myself a little slack from time to time, too.

My motivation this week is going to come from Frank Zappa – “Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.“  What are you going to do differently this week?

First things first. My daughter has decided I need a race day tradition. She loves painting nails so she decided I needed something to go with the Twilight theme of this race. She picked out a beautiful deep blue polish and added subtle sparkle and a silver flourish.

Then there are the clothes. I have decided that I prefer to run in a skort more than anything else. I feel the same way about golf these days too. For one, the skort hides so much! You don’t have to worry about shorts creeping up, sweat marks in unflattering places and skorts seem to have a more flattering fit in general. For the race I wore a magenta Adidas wicking top in XXL and my navy Adidas skort in XL. While I don’t think you can buy either one of these pieces anymore they are my favorite and I should probably track down another one of each in a similar style and different color so people don’t begin to think that is all I own.

My goal for this race was to run in it under 40 minutes. I was close – 41 minutes, but I didn’t walk at all. I happen to know that I can actually walk faster up the hills than I can run them and if I had adopted that run/walk strategy my time would certainly have been faster. But honestly, the time is not as important to me as running the whole time is. Don’t ask me why, it’s just part of my long term plan to reclaim ME.

After consulting with a few other runners and a close friend who is a personal trainer, I have decided the only way I am going to get faster is if I start running intervals at least once a week. So run hard for .5 mile then walk .5 mile and repeat 4 times. We’ll see if it works!

We are looking to do our next 5K in September and my goal is to run the whole thing and do it in less than 40 minutes. Do you have any races coming up? How about your fitness goals? Share them below – I’d love to be able to cheer you on, too!