Heeellllloooo mojo! Welcome back!

Friday night after completing a 20 minute portion of TheFIRM's Bootcamp DVD before Mike got home, I did a quick check on beginnertriathlete in the Michigan forums to see what fellow MI peeps were up to this week. Well lo and behold quite a few of them were meeting up about 15 minutes away from me to get in what they called a "turtle" run - nice and slow - on Saturday.

Albeit their slow speed is currently my run speed (or there about), I decided to go ahead and meet up with them. And I am so glad that I did!

The numbers:

4.6 miles ran

12:09 average pace

Hilly terrain (very hilly!)

Cold, snow and icy weather conditions

182 MAX HR, 169 avg.

796 calories torched!

Not only are these people quick - they were awesome! I ran behind them for the entire run - but they were always right there ahead of me, and they made sure they turned around at the 2 mile mark so I could get in my 4 miles before they headed back out to wrap up another 8-10 miles.

How nice of them!

The way we went out differed from the way we came back, as we decided to hit the path on the return. This added a good .5-.6 miles onto the run, but my faith in myself has risen even more.

I went from eeking out 1- 2 mile easy runs, to running the 5K all the way through at a calm 12:30 and change pace, to running a hilly (VERY HILLY) 4.6 miles averaging a 12:09 pace in the course of 1 month.

My mojo is a go-go. My mojo came back y'all!

These are not superhuman numbers, and I do not want superhuman numbers, but knowing that I am making progress in the forward direction in my trianingm and that is really making all the hard work and effort worth it - and you know what? It is now a habit! Sure enough, my fitness and health have taken front seat - and my workout regime is now just second nature. I mix it up, I am flexible with my rest days, but I always take 2 a week to make sure that I am well rested and to make sure that I do not burn myself out.

That run set the mood for the rest of the day. I picked up my partner in crime Lana Bananarama the biking extraordinaire, and we headed to Two Wheel Tango in the A-squared (Ann Arbor) to get measured and to find my bike.

Turns out that my right arm is like 2.5cm longer than my left (freak show anyone?), and that I am an exact Women's specific geometry 54cm bike frame type-o-gal. And that means that I now am one step closer to my bike being in my hands!

I am eyeing a Specialized Dolce Elite. It is HAWT! The Dolce is balck and pink, but the Dolce Elite is white and pink, and the seat has major seat bling on it. Score points for both the blig factor and the component factor!

My fellow tri-cluber Cheryl decided not to part with her Roo, and after comparing compenture between the Specialized and the Trek that I was eyeing, I am thinking that the Specialized is better suited for my needs. (Did I mention that it has pink on it AND bling? Just making sure that you caught that leetle detail)

So in the new few weeks I will set up the formal fit and purchase date for the bike. Sooooo close to the bike. Sooooo close!

I am honestly in no rush. I am in training for health and when my ability is there I will do a triathlon. I would like to do the AA Tri as my first, so we will see!

After hitting TWT, we headed into Detroit for the Winter Fest. What an amazing time! Ice sculptures, s'mores (Oh yes we made s'mores), ice skating, a 200' snow slide, dog sled racing, snow shoeing, and a killer drink and eating time at the Detroit Brewery! I have TONS of pictures but no batteries in my camera to transfer them. :( So once I get batteries I will post them up here.

Today is a rest day so I will be cleaning the hizzy and organizing all my gear!

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend - stay warm if you are in this region 'cause it is COLD homies!

})i({ Runnergirl

The first of MANY miles...