My Thriving Place.

That is the stretch I wrote about in my last post, when I ran the 5k portion of the Tri, threw my arms out in a victory yell. There is something so glorious about that one stretch of path. I went running there yesterday, and that's where I got this cool shot of Lake Herrick below, too.

gotta love camera phone quality...

This is my thriving place. I anticipate many future runs in this place. I've found myself really enjoying trail running, to the point where I feel bored and less inspired when my feet are pounding pavement. So interesting how the act of running can be so different via treadmill, track, road, and trail. So interesting. People who say they hate running really must give it a shot for a few months, testing all these various venues. Each is so different. Each has it's own benefits and drawbacks. I love it.

In other news, I'm running two 5k's in the next few weeks. Pretty pumped about that. Also, the 4th of July Peachtree Road Race registration is next week... Really excited to see if I'll land a spot!

Most excitingly, my friend Chris told me a few weeks ago about this thing called a "burpee." In case you don't know what that is, check it out:

These things will kick your BUTT. Well, he told me about this thing going around called the "100 Burpee Challenge," which basically entails such:

Day 1 = Do 1 burpee

Day 2= Do 2 burpees

Day 3 = Do 3 burpees

...

Day 100 = Do 100 burpees

So, naturally, I challenged him to do it with me. Here's the real kicker--you forget a day, you gotta do them the next day WITH the ones for that day as well. So,

Day 7 = Do 7 burpees

Day 8 = Forget to do 8 burpees

Day 9 = Do 17 burpees

Incentive not to forget, right? The good thing is, you don't have to do them all at once. So when we're up to 60 burpees a day, I can do three increments of 20, etc. But it'll be really cool when we're doing 35 burpees in a row and feeling strong. AH. I'm excited. It's also just fun to say burpee. Another bonus.

So today is day 9. I forgot on day 3 and had to do 7 on day 4. Boo hoo. Other than that I'm on track. I'm thinking of challenging Chris to do the Day 100 with me, on camera, all at once. So maybe you'll be looking forward to that.

Lastly--remember how I promised a before and "during" shot? Well. Okay. I gotta own up and do what I promised. I don't have the bod I'd hoped to be showing off, but I think it's time to make good on that promise. So... be on the lookout for that today or tomorrow.

Happy Spring Break! :)