It’s Taper Time!

First off, in case you missed it:

Exciting stuff! They were practically throwing me out of the office – I guess that means I’m healed, right?

Okay, so, it’s that time again. Taper time! This taper won’t be horrendous since I haven’t really been running much anyway.

Tonight, though, I did run. Coachy said something that resonated with me, and really lit a fire up under my ass today. He said if I want to get better, faster, stronger, it’s going to be hard and it’s going to hurt (good hurt of course), but it will be worth it in the long run (pun not so much intended, but rather amusing). Now I know I’ve been told this a million times but for some reason today it just sunk in. I decided right then and there – to hell with excuses, to hell with floundering over decisions, I have a plan, I know what I need to do, so I’m doing it. And do it I did (at the gym, on the treadmill – damn rain)– my splits looked like this:

Mile 0-0.75: 9:50 pace

Mile 0.75-1: 8:57 pace

Mile 1-1.75: 9:50 pace

Mile 1.75-2: 8:57 pace

A couple of notes – I wasn’t feeling tired. My legs felt fresh, even just 48 hours after my speedy Sunday run. My lungs felt fine, no breathing struggles at all.

Because of all this goodness I decided to finish strong:

Mile 2-2.75: 9:50 pace

Mile 2.75-3: 8:34 pace

Even that last quarter mile “sprint” didn’t feel hard. I was shocked! And now, I still feel great. I think I’m at a major breakthrough point – some more hard work and hard training and we’ll see what good things I can accomplish.

Maybe starting on Sunday? We’ll see.

Speaking of good things – you know what time it is? It’s time for another giveaway! We are still celebrating my blog-iversary after all!

It’s not called a giveaway week for nothing! One thing I did forget to tell you guys is that everything I’m giving away this week is personal in one way, shape, or form to me.

Sparkly Soul headbands? (This giveaway is still open!) I can’t workout without one on my head!

Perky Jerky – I’d never had turkey jerky before, and now that I’m not eating red meat (99.9% of the time hehe), it fits into my life perfectly. (Still a little time left to get in on this one!).

And tonight – Chobani. That’s right my friends. One lucky winner will receive a case of Chobani! Thank you Chobani, for providing not ONLY one lucky reader with a case, but also providing me with a case. Yum. You guys seriously rock.

I love Chobani – and even though I’ve cut way back on dairy, I’ll still eat it. Friends and family alike recommended trying Lactaid – and sure enough it works. So, I’m self diagnosed lactose intolerant. Which means, if I have a craving for Cho, I’m going to eat it! I’m still mostly avoiding dairy, just like red meat. HAHA.

I have a feeling this is going to be a popular giveaway, so I’m going to give you guys a bunch of options for entering!

1) Follow Running and Cupcakes (look to your right – where it says “Follow Me”) (Required)

2) Tell me your FAVORITE Chobani flavor. Mine is Apple Cinnamon. (Required)

3) Follow Chobani on Twitter. https://twitter.com/#!/Chobani (Optional)

4) Follow me on Twitter. https://twitter.com/#!/runcupcake (Optional)

5) Share a link with me of your favorite recipe made with Chobani. (Optional)

6) Tweet: @Chobani is giving away a case to one lucky reader with @runcupcake. Enter here: http://wp.me/p25oLf-Jj

There you have it my friends! 6 ways to win a case of Chobani!

This giveaway will be open for one week – I will accept entries until Midnight, Tuesday, May 8th.

Please leave a separate message for each entry!

Good luck!

I hope everyone had a great Tuesday. Stay tuned for another wicked awesome giveaway tomorrow!

P.S. Have I told you guys yet that I have some seriously awesome guest bloggers set up for you for this weekend? Just you wait and see – you will not be disappointed!