A Little Competition Never Hurt Anyone

Many folks know about the Freshman 15… the wonderful weight you gain your first year in college… well here in DC we have what I like to call White House Weight… and for me my White House weight happen to top out at about 30 lbs. I know, I know but three years of crazy hours, crazy good food, and no time or energy to work out… will expand your waistline just a tad. So when I left about a year and a half ago now, my goal was to lose all that! And so far I have been very successful back in a size 8 now and loving every minute!

But it is more than losing the weight for me its getting me back in the best shape I am able to get myself in… enter my good friend Jodi. Now y’all who know me (and that’s everyone reading this b/c not sure if people who don’t know me will actually bore themselves with my ramblings) know I can be a tad competitive. I know shocker huh… well when you mix in my ubber competitive and athletic friend Jodi (she won 3 out of her 4 challenges on MTV!) we can push each other to the brink. And then enter our new friend Jerry… another competitive soul who enjoys running.

Last Friday night at dinner after the hockey game we all began discussing our work out routines. Jodi and I are currently in a two-month push to get ourselves back in top shape, the guys chuckled as we dined on mini burgers and greasy pizza at Matchbox while telling them of our challenge to each other. And thus began the comparing of running times. So Saturday Jodi decides to push herself, and run 5 miles in 46 minutes… impressed Jerry goes a bit further and does so in 44 minutes, Jodi actually did it in 44 minutes the same day as well. Feeling a tad left out I was eager for Tuesday morning because this is usually my intense cardio day. Usually I struggle through an interval run and feel very accomplished at the end. So I went to bed last night with hopes of a 42 minute time, something to keep them very busy for a while…

(Side editors note, please realize God never intended for me to be a great runner. While I may be an athlete in the sense of working out and nothing more really I have never been what some would like to say… oh how do they put it… “Fast”. Two things to consider one bad one good, give you the bad one so you remember the good… we run on treadmills so that takes a lot of the strain off our body… good, the fastest I have ever run a mile in my life was 7:57 and that was when I was 16… fast forward little over 10 yrs, now I am a kinda in shape, not so much, almost 27 year old who needs a 8:30 mile pace to achieve 42 min goal!)

So this morning what was I tempted to text to Jodi at 5:45 am… well not the 42 min as I had hoped but still beating both bringing in 43:17! Added a sixth mile for cool down topped out all six in 55:27! I know! It was a great morning and now I am tired!!! But this gives me the lead at least for most of today… as they work out in the evenings I may not be able to hold this lead for too long!

I included before and after pics below so you can see my progress!