Lulu's Challenge... rise from the ashes

Rest day. Hopefully Jeff is resting too.

Three miles today. This is a recovery week. But I can't record it! Jeff decided that we need to start on Sunday July 15th. So here is a little background on the situation:

I met Jeff on my first day of work over 8 years ago. He's been one of my best friends ever since. He showed up at my office pushing one of his colleagues in her office chair! They were so excited that someone close to their age had been hired. Jeff fixed my computer that day and invited me to lunch with some folks. We've been great friends ever since. He even traveled more than 1400 miles to attend my wedding. Jeff and I have many common interests. We spend time talking about good nutrition and anything related to that. We also spend a lot of time trying to figure out why people we know act the way they do, and then we end up in philisophical discussions on the nature of people. He also spends a lot of time telling me that I am addicted to chocolate! Yeah, but it is really GOOD chocolate.

Jeff thinks I am crazy. He doesn't see how anyone can run as much as I do. He and my husband spend some of  their time together discussing how crazy Lulu is! Jeff exercises, but not super consistently, I think. He needed some motivation. He needed a challenge. I needed to know that I had to complete my scheduled runs. I am training for Chicago marathon in October. I will also be cycling a metric century race the week before and the week after the marathon. I need to be fit!

So here's how the challenge went down. Jeff and I met for lunch last Friday. I handed him a postcard that read "You suck, Love, Lulu" on one side. On the other side, I wrote up the challenge. Whoever gets to 750 miles (probably around Jan 15, 2008) first wins. We haven't come up with a prize yet, but it will probably be dinner or a gift certificate to the local running apparel and shoes store. The catch is I have to run all the miles I log. Jeff can cover them by walking or cycling. My cycling won't count.

Jeff thought about the challenge over the weekend and has officially accepted. I've told him that he "sucks." He knows it. Actually, what he really needs is encouragement to beat me! So please get on the blog and comment to encourage him. He is supposed to set up his own blog, and we will figure out how to link them here.

Let the challenge begin July 15, 2007!

Ran 6.5 miles this morning (not in the mileage field because the challenge hasn't started yet). It was difficult to do the whole run, and it was not because it was 5am and hot and humid. I found out why when I got home and weighed myself. I lost more than 3 pounds during the run. I usually weigh myself before and after runs to determine how much I need to replenish. >3 pounds is excessive and accounts for how I felt. I will spend today rehydrating for tomorrow.

Jeff is getting excited about the challenge.

4 days until the challenge officially starts!

Ran 4 miles on a 4.3 mile course. The last 0.3 miles I often cool down and do plyometrics. This is a recovery week so it was an easy run. I lost about 2.5 pounds during this run, but felt ok. The water is just pouring off of me when I am out there and when I get home. This is what they mean when they say it is the dog days of summer.

I now have two things to think about when I run: the marathon I am training for (Chicago) and the Challenge. Today I spent most of the run thinking about the marathon which is less than three months away. I wonder how fit I will be as there are so many variables. I didn't think much about the challenge, even though it is less than 3 days away!

3 days until Lulu and Jeff's Friendly Fitness Challenge Starts!

Got my Nike + Ipod kit today. It is very cool all the stuff that little device will do. I also got a new camelbak. Jeff is going to feel like he has a mountain to climb when he starts seeing my mileage entries.