This Means War!!

First of all, I'm calling a "GBHWLC" FOUL on Amy!! She is one of a small group of Gazelles and their Better Halves who are participating in our very informal weight loss challenge. Soooo...I got back from lunch yesterday and saw a box of "Tiff's Treats" cookies on my chair. For those that aren't familiar with "Tiff's Treats," they are amazing, almost half-baked cookies, that are delivered warm giving you that "just from the oven" feel. I'm salivating as I type. I just have this mental picture of a delivery driver forced to keep his heat on full blast to keep the cookies warm! And in the Texas summers, they probably just bake the damn things on the sidewalk outside. Anyways, I thought it was a tad strange as the holiday seasons are over and media reps no longer have to kiss our butt. I certainly wasn't expecting anything from anyone. I opened the card and it said, "Thank you! You are my wing man! I couldn't have done it without you. XO...Skud" My heart was overcome with gratitude. Amy had sent me a gift for helping her in the race---something I never expected. I was just so happy that she reached her goal.

It sank in for about 30 seconds and then my mind immediately went to, "Hey...wait a minute...there's something behind this...these are fabulous chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies...I'm in the weight challenge...so is she...SHE'S TRYING TO SABOTAGE ME!!!!!!!!!!!" I called her up and she immediately said, "I know what you're thinking!" We joked about the unintentional sabotage and then agreed to try to meet later this week for a run.

In the meantime, I got up today and hit the track a little after 6am for some 800m repeats. I warmed up a mile and set a goal of doing 5 x 800m. I only had about 40 minutes as I was going to a core class at 7am. So, I also wasn't really sure what to expect either. I haven't done any formal speedwork and didn't want to push it. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised that my first 800m repeat was a 3:23. This track is actually a little short, but I was wearing my Garmin and measured 1/2 mile consistently. The next four proceeded to get quicker and quicker and I averaged between 3:19 and 3:22 for the next four. The good news? It was a confidence builder for speed. My shin also didn't hurt that bad. I could feel "something," but it wasn't so much pain as it was a gentle "don't forget about me" feeling. The realistic news...I probably couldn't have done more than 2 more without losing form and feeling exhausted. But you know what??? That's ok. I'm not training for anything specific and I'm also happy to know that I'm not starting at Ground Zero. I may have dropped a few floors, but I'm still on the stairs... Now, if only those damn cookies would go away!!!