#Plankaday PR and Support!

So I am a little bit excited!  You all know that I love #plankaday!  And if you don't know that...well now you do!!!  What is #plankaday?  It's exactly what it sounds like!  You do at least one plank every day!  This was all started by two people, Sherry and Mike, because they both hated doing ab workouts.  So they started Plank a day on twitter to keep themselves motivated...and it has grown like crazy!  They have started a Plank a Day Revolution and I'm thrilled to be a part of it!!!  I'm even currently topping the Plank a Day Leaderboard...I'm the #plankaday queen so far this month!

I've been doing a plank a day for almost two months now and I can seriously tell a difference!  I feel like my core is much stronger!  Before planking....I would try to do a burpee and after about two I felt like my abs were splitting apart!  I would always quit because it felt like I was going to pull an ab muscle!  That's how weak I was.  Now...25 burpees at one time is doable for me and I feel strong while doing them!  I also firmly believe that having a strong core will make me a better runner!  And that's my main goal!

So I started tweeting about my #plankaday and formed a support group of plankers on twitter.  We would tweet each other our plank times every day and encourage and congratulate one another!  Well our little group (I think it started with 3 of us) started growing and growing!  We now have so many plankers that we don't have enough characters left to tweet our times because of all the names!  It's a great problem to have because I LOVE encouraging others....so the more the better!  To solve the problem we decided to use the hashtag #planktweeps when tweeting our #plankaday.  That way we could continue to encourage each other but still have more and more plank with us!

So...would YOU like plank support?  If so then join us on twitter and tweet your #plankaday times to #planktweeps!  I even made a button that you are welcome to grab and post on your blog if you would like!

<br> <a href=" http://www.roadrunnergirl.com " target="blank"><br> <img src="http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/p624/roadrunnergirl/planktweepsbutton.png"/><br> </a><br>

So with all that said....I had a #plankaday personal record on Tuesday!!!  I planked over 3 minutes!!!  

I usually average around 2:20 on a good day and around 1:30 on the days that I run.  I'm not sure what happened this time but I will take it!  I am sooo excited!  My goal is to eventually be able to plank for 5 minutes!  But let me tell you...planking for 3 minutes was soooo hard!  My arms, legs, abs, basically my whole body was shaking!  And I felt like jello when I was finished...but I love that feeling!! :-)

If you are thinking...wow I can't do planks...well you are wrong!  You CAN do it!  All it takes is holding it for as long as you can and working yourself up to longer.  You may only hold it for 30 seconds your first time...that's ok!  The more you plank the better (and stronger) you will get!  SO I encourage you to just do it!  #Plankaday with me!!! :-)

QOTD: What is the longest time you have held a plank?

Don't forget to enter my Zipfizz Giveaway!!! 

Fitness Friday...Nike Training Club App!

I am super excited that Megan at Running Toward the Prize featured me on her blog today!  Head on over there and read please!  Thanks so much Megan!!! :-)

Happy Fitness Friday!  Here are the workouts I did this week!

• Saturday- #plankaday 2:23, 15 burpees for the Burpee Boom Challenge
• Sunday- #plankaday 2:04, 15 burpees, and 7 mile run in 1:13:58 avg. pace 10:33

• Monday- #plankaday 2:24, 25 burpees
• Tuesday- #plankaday 2:06, 25 burpees, 3 mile run in 33:14 avg. pace 11:03

• Wednesday- #plankaday 1:33, 25 burpees, Sculpted Arms Workout on the Nike Training Club App

• Thursday- #plankaday 2:26, 25 burpees, 3 mile run in 30:53 avg. pace 10:16 (sporting my new ViewSport Fitfluential tank...which shows the word "#proof" when you sweat enough! Pretty cool!)

• Friday- #plankaday 2:14, 25 burpees

I did really well this week with my runs.  If you remember last Saturday I couldn't do my planned 10 mile long run due to the weather.  So I ran as much as I could before church on Sunday...ended up being 7 miles and I was proud of that!  I woke up at 4:30am on Tuesday so I could run with friends.  Runs are always better for me when I am running with my girls!  Thursday morning I was lazier and slept until 5:45am but I still got my run in!

Strength training was ok this week.  I did burpees every day.  On Wednesday I wanted to do an arm workout and I remembered an app my friend Erica told me to download a long time ago...Nike Training Club.  This app has been on my iPhone for months but I have never used it.  I opened it up, selected the workout "Sculpted Arms" and began the workout.  It was only a 15 minute workout but it was awesome!!!

My goal was to only work out my arms because I knew I was going to run the next day.  Well...this workout was a whole body workout!  You used weights for your arms but you did all the reps while also doing lunges, froggers, and planks!  I woke up Thursday morning to super sore legs AND arms!  I could barely walk but somehow I ran anyway lol!  I will definitely be using this app again!!!

Tomorrow I have the rescheduled 10 miler with the Sole2Soul Sisters!  Hopefully the weather cooperates this time!

QOTD: What are some of your favorite apps for workouts? Please share because I would LOVE to download them!!!

Fitness Friday!

Happy Fitness Friday! Here's a rundown of my workouts this week!

• Sunday- #plankaday 2:08
• Monday- #plankaday 2:21, 1 min. side planks on each side, and 15 burpees for the Burpee Boom Challenge!  It's not too late to join the challenge! ;-)
• Tuesday- #plankaday 2:12, 1 min. side planks on each side, 15 burpees, and 3 mile treadmill RUN in 31:51 ave. pace 10:37

• Wednesday- #plankaday 2:32, 1 min. side planks on each side, and 20 burpees
• Thursday- #plankaday 2:35, 1 min. side planks on each side, 20 burpees and  3.11 mile treadmill RUN in 33:14 ave. pace 10:41

• Friday- 1 minute #plankaday x 3 , 30 sec. side planks on each side x 3, 15 burpees, and Upper Body Blast

Both my short runs this week were on the treadmill. Tuesday I was just lazy and didn't want to get out of bed to run that morning.  So I opted to run after my hubby got home from work...it's too hot out at 5:30 so the treadmill was the only option.  Thursday the plan was to run after the boys' T-Ball games at 7:30.  I was going to run from the T-Ball field and was so excited for a new route!  But here came a thunderstorm at the end of the games and so I had to head back to the treadmill.  The neat thing was while I was running I was also watching the Olympics track and field events.  Made me feel really slow lol!

So to evaluate: I got my runs in this week even though they were on the treadmill.  I've got my core work in but really need more strength training.  It's tough right now because I can't go to the gym since there isn't any child care.  But once school starts...gym here I come!!!

I wanted to share the workout I did this morning with you from my fellow Sweat Pink sister, Kacie at Savvy Sassy Me!  This was an awesome workout because I could do it from home with just dumbbells!  Thanks Kacie!

This is one of those workouts that I pinned on Pinterest so I can do it again and again!  I LOVE pinning new workouts!!!

Tomorrow I'm running 10 miles with the Sole2Soul Sisters!  This will be their first double digit run!  I love feeling their excitement!!!

QOTD: Did you do a great workout this week? Share it with me in the comments!  I would love to try it and pin it!  :-)

There's still time to enter my Bondi Band Giveaway!

Burpees are FUN Vlog and a New Challenge Prize!

So how is everyone doing on the Burpee Boom Challenge???  Did you do your burpees yesterday?  I did!  And my son Hayden shot a video of me doing my burpees for your enjoyment lol!



Sooo...burpees are harder than they look!  Sorry I was all out of breath at the end of the video!  And I PROMISE I can do math lol!  I know that I need to do 15 burpees on 6 days and 10 on the 7th day to make my 100 for the week...I'm not sure where I got 14 from!

I also wanted to let you know that I added another prize that you will be entered to win for doing the challenge!  The awesome people at The Sox Box have offered to giveaway one pair of their "Yay Burpees" sox to one lucky participant of the Burpee Boom Challenge! 

Aren't those sox cute??!!!  And the company behind them is awesome!  The Sox Box gives 20% of profits to the Independence Fund, a non-profit group that directly supports our warriors fighting the global war on terror.  Visit their website The Sox Box and like them on Facebook! 

If you haven't signed up for the Burpee Boom Challenge...it's not too late!  Sign up here now!

Make sure you comment HERE to let me know you are doing the challenge...this is mandatory to be entered to win one of the prizes!

And PLEASE share about this challenge and giveaway on twitter and Facebook (I'm joining the #burpeeboom challenge with RoadRunnerGirl @mindybobe! http://bit.ly/PrY1vc).

QOTD: How many burpees have you done so far for the Burpee Boom Challenge?

Power Plank Challenge WINNER!

Hey friends!  First I want to say a special thank you to Holly at Running and Baking Oh My for co-hosting this challenge with me and providing the awesome prize!  And I also want to thank all of YOU who participated!!!  This challenge was so much fun!  Yes....I participated too...although I wasn't eligible to win the prize (insert sad face here).  So I know you want to know the winner but first I'm going to make you read all about MY experience with the challenge.  :-)

I had decided from the start that I wanted to do at least one minute planks.  I knew I probably wouldn't be able to do two minutes or more so one minute or more was my goal.  Also, the challenge was for 8 hours but some of my plank a day tweeps (twitter friends) decided they wanted to do it for 12 hours.  Aren't you glad I didn't make YOU do it for that long???  ;-)  So 12 hours was my other goal!  And me and my tweeps decided to all do the challenge together on Monday.  Luckily, I am a teacher and have the summers off so I didn't have to work.  And we didn't have any plans that day either so I could plank at home!  We did have a T-Ball game that I was going to have to plank during but it got rained out.  So I was pretty lucky to be able to plank in the privacy of my home unlike some of you!  It was a lot of fun though because I got my two boys involved!  They planked with me on some of the planks!  And they took the pictures for me!  I planked all over the house...in the bedrooms, in the living room, in the dining room, in the kitchen, and in the backyard!  Fun stuff!

I also LOVED all the twitter and Instagram encouragement from all of YOU!  Y'all seriously ROCK!

Here's the final pic with all 8 of my times for the official challenge!  Yay!  I made my one minute goal!

And here's the pic of my four other planks for the 12 hour challenge!

Yes the planks got a little harder as the day wore on!  But I could also feel the plank working my core and I LOVED that!  That IS why I'm doing these planks after all...to get my core stronger so that I can be a better runner!

Here are some of my favorite planking pictures throughout the day!

And here are some of my favorite planking pictures from YOU!  (Hope you don't mind that I'm sharing!)

Larisa from Zero to Twenty Six Point Two!

Amanda from Becoming a Healthier Mama!

Amalia from Live, Travel, Eat, and Run!

Beth from Life is a Run!

Wanda (Larisa's Mom)!

Sarah from Mom Running On Empty!

Cristina at Triathlon Mami!

I had so much fun seeing all of your planking pics!!!  And I LOVED the creative ways you put all of your planking times together too!  

I know, I know...you are ready to know the winner!  My boys wanted to help so I let them pick the name out of a hat!  You'll need to watch the video to see the winner!  

And the WINNER is......


@amaelibir!!!!  Amalia from Live, Travel, Eat, and Run!!!  Congratulations Amalia!!!!  Please contact Holly on twitter or by email so she can get started on your tank!

Thanks again to everyone who participated!!!

QOTD: What's the longest time you've ever held a plank?

Birthday Festivities and Long Run Day!

Stats-
9 miles/1:39:10
Average pace- 11:01

Plank a day- 1:39  Planks are tough after running 9 miles!

Woohoo! My Sole2Soul Sisters are rocking these long runs! It was a tough, hilly 9 miles but they did it! 


My run was full of different feelings.  My legs were tired and at mile 5 I was ready to be done but I pushed through and the end of the run was awesome!  But I've noticed the past two long runs that I am getting tired a lot sooner than normal...I'm wondering if it's due to the heat and humidity?  Any ideas?  

I ran this entire run with Gina and Angela (plus a few others that joined us at different points of the run).  They are running the Disney Marathon in January with me...can't wait!

It's hard for you to see but I was soaked with sweat...I could wring water out of the bottom of my skirt!!!  That's how sweaty I was!  SweatPink!!!  :-)

Hayden's birthday was great!  My hubby took off work for the day so we got to hang out all day as a family!  We were going to take the boys swimming but once Hayden opened his presents he wanted to stay home and play with them.

It was his day so we let him choose the activities for the day....so we stayed home and built a Lego Fire Station!

That night Hayden had a T-Ball game.  My hubby's parents came to watch the game and then we all went out to dinner at Cracker Barrel...Hayden's choice!  Funny thing....it was our waitress' birthday too!  She of course brought him ice cream and sang to him...and she wanted a picture with him!

After dinner we went back home and had cake....he wanted me to make him a strawberry cake with strawberry icing!  Fine by me because that's my favorite too!  :-)

I think he had a great day!  I recall hearing him tell his brother, "This is the BEST birthday ever!"  Yay!  My mission was accomplished!  ;-)

In case you missed it, I did my plank in honor of Hayden's birthday on Friday.  I also took a video of me planking...enjoy!  :-)

Don't forget about the Power Plank Challenge and Giveaway!!!  Time's running out!  Only two more days to get it done!  I'm doing the challenge on Monday!  Remember...you MUST tag @roadrunnergirl and @running_baking in the comment section of Instagram in order for us to see your entry.  Also...if your account is private we CANNOT see your picture even if you tag us!  :-)

QOTD:  How is everyone enjoying the Olympics?  What was your favorite part of the opening ceremony?

I Am a Guest Poster...3 Times!

Yesterday's Stats-
3.11 miles/30:44
Average pace- 9:52

Plank a day- 2:07

I was so excited about the Power Plank Challenge and Giveaway yesterday that I totally forgot to tell you about my run yesterday morning!!!  The humidity was in full force! It was one of those days where you walk outside and the air is thick. I barreled through it and got my run in! Run felt pretty good...it was just super hot! I saw several people out running...including my friend Christina and her hubby! :-)  And I saw several people walking!  I LOVE seeing people out being active!  It makes my heart happy!!!  

So I'm pretty excited to have been a guest poster on other blogs 3 times!!!  I wrote two guest posts for my friend Melissa at Live, Love, and Run!  She ran her first half marathon in Chicago last weekend and is still out of town this week celebrating!  She deserves it...she rocked her first half and has already signed up for her second!!!  I love that!!!


My first post for her was about MY first half marathon!  It was fun writing about it and remembering my experience!  I've already told you about this one but in case you missed it you can read it HERE.  


The second post I wrote for her was about staying motivated before and after the race.  I believe you have to stay motivated in order to train for long distances and races.  You can read it HERE.


And my third post went up on Fit Approach!  You know...the organization that I am a Sweat Pink Ambassador for?  They asked me to write about my "aha fitness moment."  So I chose to write about how I became a runner.  You can read it HERE.


I would appreciate all kinds of love on all three of these posts!  You can leave me love here too of course!  ;-)


Don't forget about the Power Plank Challenge and Giveaway!!!  I can't wait to see all of your pictures!!!

Power Plank Challenge and Giveaway!

So you know how I've been planking every day?  Well, I am up for a planking challenge!  Me and my friend Holly at Running and Baking, Oh My are hosting the "Power Plank Challenge" and we want YOU to join us!!!   So what's the challenge???

Plank once an hour for 8 hours!

<a href=" http://www.roadrunnergirl.com " target="blank"> <img src="http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/jj517/hollyj0077/planks.jpg"/> </a>  

That's it!!!  Your planks do not have to be for a specific time...just plank as long as you can!  


Why do you want to complete this challenge???  For a strong core of course!!!  And...for a chance to win one of these awesome tanks that Holly makes!  

Except your tank will say "I Plank for Power."  How cool is that?  The tank will be personalized so if you win you get to discuss the colors, size, etc. with Holly!  ;-)  And for the guys....Holly has a shirt planned for you...without the ribbon!  :-)


How to enter (this will be done through Instagram...comments on this post will not qualify as entries):

1. Mandatory: Take a picture of all 8 of your plank times.  Be creative...you can write all of them down on a piece of paper, make a collage, etc.  Post the picture to Instagram and tag @roadrunnergirl @running_baking #powerplankchallenge to be entered.
2. Extra: Take a picture of yourself planking.  We would LOVE to see pics of you planking in weird places...like work, etc.  You are doing this every hour for 8 hours so there's no telling where you will have to plank!  :-)   Post the picture to Instagram and tag @roadrunnergirl @running_baking #powerplankchallenge to be entered.

NOTE:  If your Instagram account is private, we won't be able to see your pictures even if you tag us in them.  So you'll have to change your privacy setttings for this challenge!  ;-)

Challenge ends on Tuesday, July 31st at 11PM CST.  The winner of the shirt will be announced on Wednesday, August 1st!

Make sure to tweet about the challenge using the hashtag #powerplankchallenge!


Please follow me on twitter @mindybobe and Holly on twitter @running_baking so we can see all your tweets about the challenge!  :-)


And feel free to grab the Power Plank Challenge button at the beginning of this post to display on your own blog or website! :-)


Happy Planking!!!!  

Plank Ladder FUN With My Hubby!

Sundays are a big family day in my house!  We go to church together in the morning, then usually eat lunch out somewhere, and then the rest of the day we try to so something as a family.  We did all of that today...we had Hibachi for lunch...yum!!!  And for dessert we had fro-yo!!!

Can you guess which one is mine?

If you guessed the bottom left one then you are correct!  My favorite...cupcake batter fro-yo with oreos, cookie dough bites, and strawberries!  Yum!  I know it's not super healthy but it's ok to treat yourself every now and then!  :-)

After fro-yo we came home and I still had to do my plank ladder for the day.  So I challenged my hubby to do it with me...and he said yes!!!  I've been loving the videos on twitter from my tweeps Sarah and Robert who are a couple that plank together!  So I asked my hubby if we could video it and he agreed!!!  We only shot the first half of the ladder because I figured you didn't want to be bored watching the whole thing lol!  And yes we finished the ladder after the camera turned off!  My hubby did GREAT!  It was fun!  The camera work is courtesy of my son Hayden (who turns 7 on Friday!!!) and the wonderful son don't say that on camera commentary is by my 4 year old Sawyer!  Enjoy!!!



QOTD: Do you and your hubby or significant other exercise together?  What exercise do you do?

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for an invite to the Mizuno Mezamashii Run Project!!!  It ends tonight at 9PM CST!!!

Skora Running and Sweat Pink Winners!

Workout stats-
Plank a day- ladder plank

Kyle from Skora Running contacted me a few days ago and wanted me to share with you guys all about the new running shoe brand Skora.

Don't these shoes look awesome??!!!

Here's what Skora is all about:

At SKORA, we look at things differently. We believe that running shoes should be built to encourage running performance that is as biomechanically correct as possible, with minimal interference. Our footwear lets people run naturally. Run Real is our philosophy and we stand by it.

I LOVE their philosophy "Run Real!"   I haven't personally tried minimalist running but I love the idea behind it.  It makes a lot of sense...people have been running always and a long time ago they didn't have brands of shoes to choose from...they just ran barefoot.  Hopefully Skora will be my first minimalist shoe to try!  :-)


I also love that these shoes are designed by runners!  In my opinion it is hard to believe in something that you don't do yourself.  


Go check out the website!  They talk about how Skora started and about how they are made...very interesting!!!


I love how these shoes look!  They are so different and unique!  And being a pink girl...I LOVE these!

Make sure to watch this awesome video by Skora!!!  Makes me want to go for a run right now!!!

You can pre-order Skora running shoes now!  They will start shipping them out on August 1st!

We have winners!!!!  These four people have won a pair of sweat pink shoelaces!  Congratulations!!!  I will contact you by email to get your shipping info.  If I haven't contacted you please email me at mindy@roadrunnergirl.com.

• M. Louise Cunningham!

• Angela!

• Laurel C!

• Erin!

Thanks to everyone who entered!  I read each and every one of your comments and loved hearing what you had to say!!!

QOTD: What are your thoughts on minimalist running?  Have you ever tried it?  If so, what minimalist shoe do you run in?