-15 degree windchill
I love the snow, I love the cold....but I will be the first to admit that it's a tad chilly out there today.
I added some extra layers, not knowing what was going to be enough...or too much. It's officially the coldest day (yet) that I've run.
Balaclava for my head, neck and face. (plenty)
Wicking tank top, long sleeve wicking shirt, long sleeve wicking middle warmth layer, running jacket for my core. (plenty)
Lightweight silk long johns under regular running tights for my legs (needed insulated tights - fronts of my thighs were cold cold).
Lightweight wool running socks for my feet (plenty).
Heavy gloves (too much - need to get running gloves with the fold over mittens to block wind - that should be enough).
The run was tough today.
I put extra emphasis on my leg muscles yesterday at the gym...and I felt it today.
Actually, I felt it too much. My calves were on fire. I couldn't run more than a couple of blocks without stopping to walk. Lactic acid h*ll.
In fact, I eventually cut my route short and walked home.
I think running in the snow wasn't helping matters any. Like running in really slick deep sand. Takes quite the toll on those running muscles. After the first hill I was spent.
The replacement circuit breaker for my treadmill finally showed up in the mail yesterday, so maybe I'll tackle a slow jog tonight and see if that will help loosen things up a little.
Or, I'm going to go see Hood to Coast.
The second option seems like much more fun!!! :-)
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
01/09/11 Let it snow!!!!!!
It's kinda fun being back on a training schedule for a specific race/run. Sometimes I try to fight the inherent "Capricorn" within me.....and each time I realize how futile doing so really is.
So here I am, back on a training schedule, and happy as a clam. Not only am I happy...I'm actually running...period.
In the last couple of months, I've been doing anything but run regularly....and it shows. It's a little depressing having to start from what feels like square one.....no, depressing isn't the word. Disappointing maybe....
Anyway.....change of subject.....
I ran today! I had a 5 miler listed as my long run for the week, and when I got up this morning, I was actually excited about what I saw.
Snow!!!!!!!!!
It really wasn't that cold, warmer than yesterday in fact. NOAA listed the temp as 19 degrees (windchill of 3). Not too bad!!!
So, I suited up, and headed out.
We live on a hill.....any direction I run from my house is downhill.
Which might seem really great...and usually feels great......
....until I have to come home. :-)
And we're not talking short little downhills....nope, they are long, and they are fairly steep.
Well....steep as far as this "flatlander" is concerned.
(1.5 miles away from home....still going down)
When I run this route in the am, I will head back home via the highway at the bottom of the hill. But, since I was running much later than usual, traffic was much heavier.
And the roads were much slicker.
Slicker? :-)
So, I decided to go exploring.
There is a cemetery at the bottom of the hill as well. I drive past it all the time, and have never been in it. If you look at it via google earth or any map software....it's a maze. Miles of roads twisting and turning up and down roads in the hills.
Sounds like an awesome "shortcut."
(giggle)
( I ended up taking the road to the right...with the sign that says "caution, dangerous conditions"...not the one to the left that was plowed)
It kept going up....
and up.....
(I had to keep physically breaking the icicles from my eyelashes so I could see. Awesome!!!!!!!)
And at the top....was this sign.
Now.....when I researched the area, there was a back entrance on the map.
So I threw caution to the wind, and continued on.
(secretly hoping for a fence I could climb over if nothing else)
The road was rutted and overgrown....and full of animal tracks.
As I ran along this stretch, I wondered to myself what snow blindness is, how you get it, and how serious is really is. The snow was really coming down, and because the road wasn't in the best shape, I had to constantly stare at the ground in front of me, and try to pick up on any potholes that may be lurking.
After a while, I found myself squinting, and needing to look up more and more.
(mental note, sunglasses)
And at the end was this gate (click on the picture to make it bigger).
I went up to investigate and the gate was locked and rusted shut. It hasn't been used in years and years. And short of scaling it (7+ foot tall wrought iron), I was going to have to turn around.
As I running back along the route I had come from which I came, I was paying close attention to the fence to my left.
Eventually my patience paid off.....in one section the fence was barb wire, and one of the concrete posts holding the barbwire in place had been pushed over.
See it, at the top of that hill?
No? OK...here's a closer look. Right in the middle of the pic, you can see one of the posts at an angle.
I climbed (hoping no one could see me, it wasn't pretty) over the barb wire.....and walked maybe 15 feet to the top of the hill....when I came across that same 8 foot tall chain link I'd been running along side.
(sigh)
On the road again...........
And BACK up one of the many hills......
You can't see it in this picture...and I didn't even notice until I got home....but one of my toenails must have needed trimming.....my left shoe was beginning to turn red.....by the time I got home, my left shoe was completely blood soaked, along with my sock, and my foot. I took a pic...but decided against posting it.
You're welcome.
:-)
I had to take a picture of this sign on the way out. "Nebraska's Most Beautiful Cemetery"
They aren't kidding...even the small section I saw today was gorgeous.
I can't wait to go back and check out more of the area. A person could get lost in there pretty easily. I think it will be a great place to work on hills, and put on some miles.
As you can imagine, my pace was horrible. On my way out of the "park", my Garmin said I was averaging 14 min miles.
The last two miles home is 99.9% up hill. Lots and lots of hill. But, I WAS NOT going to have a pace that began with 14, or even 13. No sireeeee Bob.
I ended my five mile run with an average pace of 12:55.
(evil laugh)
My screw shoes worked great...here and there. The snow was getting way too deep for them to be effective, and I still slid around quite a bit.....but we'll just call that core work...shall we??? :-)
Now, if you'll excuse me...I'm going to go get a cup of coffee....wrap my legs up in ice packs.....and do a little reading on my couch!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend everybody!!!!!!! :-)
So here I am, back on a training schedule, and happy as a clam. Not only am I happy...I'm actually running...period.
In the last couple of months, I've been doing anything but run regularly....and it shows. It's a little depressing having to start from what feels like square one.....no, depressing isn't the word. Disappointing maybe....
Anyway.....change of subject.....
I ran today! I had a 5 miler listed as my long run for the week, and when I got up this morning, I was actually excited about what I saw.
Snow!!!!!!!!!
It really wasn't that cold, warmer than yesterday in fact. NOAA listed the temp as 19 degrees (windchill of 3). Not too bad!!!
So, I suited up, and headed out.
We live on a hill.....any direction I run from my house is downhill.
Which might seem really great...and usually feels great......
....until I have to come home. :-)
And we're not talking short little downhills....nope, they are long, and they are fairly steep.
Well....steep as far as this "flatlander" is concerned.
(1.5 miles away from home....still going down)
When I run this route in the am, I will head back home via the highway at the bottom of the hill. But, since I was running much later than usual, traffic was much heavier.
And the roads were much slicker.
Slicker? :-)
So, I decided to go exploring.
There is a cemetery at the bottom of the hill as well. I drive past it all the time, and have never been in it. If you look at it via google earth or any map software....it's a maze. Miles of roads twisting and turning up and down roads in the hills.
Sounds like an awesome "shortcut."
(giggle)
( I ended up taking the road to the right...with the sign that says "caution, dangerous conditions"...not the one to the left that was plowed)
It kept going up....
and up.....
(I had to keep physically breaking the icicles from my eyelashes so I could see. Awesome!!!!!!!)
And at the top....was this sign.
Now.....when I researched the area, there was a back entrance on the map.
So I threw caution to the wind, and continued on.
(secretly hoping for a fence I could climb over if nothing else)
The road was rutted and overgrown....and full of animal tracks.
As I ran along this stretch, I wondered to myself what snow blindness is, how you get it, and how serious is really is. The snow was really coming down, and because the road wasn't in the best shape, I had to constantly stare at the ground in front of me, and try to pick up on any potholes that may be lurking.
After a while, I found myself squinting, and needing to look up more and more.
(mental note, sunglasses)
And at the end was this gate (click on the picture to make it bigger).
I went up to investigate and the gate was locked and rusted shut. It hasn't been used in years and years. And short of scaling it (7+ foot tall wrought iron), I was going to have to turn around.
As I running back along the route I had come from which I came, I was paying close attention to the fence to my left.
Eventually my patience paid off.....in one section the fence was barb wire, and one of the concrete posts holding the barbwire in place had been pushed over.
See it, at the top of that hill?
No? OK...here's a closer look. Right in the middle of the pic, you can see one of the posts at an angle.
I climbed (hoping no one could see me, it wasn't pretty) over the barb wire.....and walked maybe 15 feet to the top of the hill....when I came across that same 8 foot tall chain link I'd been running along side.
(sigh)
On the road again...........
And BACK up one of the many hills......
You can't see it in this picture...and I didn't even notice until I got home....but one of my toenails must have needed trimming.....my left shoe was beginning to turn red.....by the time I got home, my left shoe was completely blood soaked, along with my sock, and my foot. I took a pic...but decided against posting it.
You're welcome.
:-)
I had to take a picture of this sign on the way out. "Nebraska's Most Beautiful Cemetery"
They aren't kidding...even the small section I saw today was gorgeous.
I can't wait to go back and check out more of the area. A person could get lost in there pretty easily. I think it will be a great place to work on hills, and put on some miles.
As you can imagine, my pace was horrible. On my way out of the "park", my Garmin said I was averaging 14 min miles.
The last two miles home is 99.9% up hill. Lots and lots of hill. But, I WAS NOT going to have a pace that began with 14, or even 13. No sireeeee Bob.
I ended my five mile run with an average pace of 12:55.
(evil laugh)
My screw shoes worked great...here and there. The snow was getting way too deep for them to be effective, and I still slid around quite a bit.....but we'll just call that core work...shall we??? :-)
Now, if you'll excuse me...I'm going to go get a cup of coffee....wrap my legs up in ice packs.....and do a little reading on my couch!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend everybody!!!!!!! :-)
Saturday, January 8, 2011
01/08/11 FYTO Virtual 5K
Adam @ I Am Boring announced a Freeze Your Thorns Off 5K Virtual Race for today...and I thought "what the heck, I'm in!!!"
The temperature was in the mid-teens (when I returned home and checked the weather, it was 15 degrees, 2 degrees windchill - it would probably make more sense to look BEFORE I head out). :-) There was a light snow falling....and the cold arse wind was coming directly out of the North.
Ahhhh....Nebraska in the winter! :-)
The run was great!!
Well....it was good.
I mean, I haven't been running regularly for nearly a month, so a 5K kinda kicked my butt. Especially since I chose the hilliest route from my house to run.
Hills...the necessary evil of the running world.
My time was slow....but it felt great (as it always does) to just be out running.
(gasp, wheeze)
:-)
3.1 miles, 33 minutes.....10:38 average pace
I stopped along the way a couple time to pick up house-for-sale flyers.
What?? There were a couple of cool houses along the route!!! :-)
At one point wished I made a habit of carrying a can of WD-40.
A house near the turn -round point had a HUGE pink flamingo in it's front flower garden. The thing had these HUGE black (??) spinning wings....and they squeaked.
Loudly.
So.....there you have it. I went, I ran, I conquered.....well...maybe not conquered, but you know what I mean. :-)
Thanks again for hosting the race Adam...it was a blast!!!!!!!!!!! :-)
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
01/05 They have a club for this??
So...Mot (my hubby) and I belong to a gym that's really close to where I work.
I get us a discounted rate through work.
Win/Win.
It's a basic place....free weights, weight machines, all the cardio equipment, group classes, personal training. It's a small place, everyone knows each other, the locker room and showers are small but clean, and everyone who works there is very friendly and knowledgeable.
There isn't a pool, hot tub, or sauna, there isn't a cafe, there isn't an actual spin studio (although they do spin classes, you just have to wheel the bikes away from the wall of the ONE group class room), there aren't racquetball courts, and there isn't locker room towel service.
I've been going to the gym where my sister works quite a bit lately, as her "guest"....trying the place out.
We're going to cancel our memberships at the small place, and switch over to the larger. Mot wants a pool...badly. And I LOVE being able to work out and spend time with my sister...we don't get to do much of that with both of our busy schedules.
It's a nice place, but much more out of my way. Because sis works there, I can get a discount on membership....and that list of "does not haves" from my gym.....well, they have all of that and more.
One of the "more" is a run club.
Depending on the weather and the season, it's either inside or outside.
Last night I met with the group to try it out. They "roped" off a bunch of the treadmills (which is easier said then done this time of year) for us to use.
We started with some simple plyometric exercises down in the gym.
So...you know those shin splints that I had for 2 FRIGGIN' YEARS? After two docs, 1 specialist and three physical therapists, I finally got rid of them.
Yeah....one night of doing 10 minutes of plyometrics, and they are back. Full force.
(sigh)
Why can't my body be normal, like everyone else? I don't stretch, before or after my runs.....and these things, instead of helping, actually hurt. I'm backwards. :-)
Now I get to look like the "know it all" when I tell the run club coach that they actually make me worse, instead of better. I like to fade into the background...I like to be seen and not heard....I'd rather not bring attention to myself.
And now I need to.
Oh well...what's a girl to do??
So...after the session of pain (well, for me that is), we went back upstairs to the treadmills and did some 1K intervals. One at marathon pace, one at half marathon pace, and three at 10K pace, with 2 minute breaks in between.
I've run exactly zero marathons, 1 half and 1 10K.....so I took a general stab at what my pace is/should be.
I probably sweat 17 pounds away. With all of the "resolutioners" in the gym, the place is hotter than heck. :-)
After all the running I've been doing since May...you'd think 5 1K intervals would be easy peasy lemon squeezy...right?
Stupid treadmills.
(grumble, grumble)
:-) :-)
Will I go back? Yep! I need to go more than once before I make a solid decision on whether it's for me or not.
I mean, I did really well training for a half marathon by myself.
But I really like the idea of running with other people. I've heard it makes the time go by faster....and I'd like to give it a try and see if it's true.
I get us a discounted rate through work.
Win/Win.
It's a basic place....free weights, weight machines, all the cardio equipment, group classes, personal training. It's a small place, everyone knows each other, the locker room and showers are small but clean, and everyone who works there is very friendly and knowledgeable.
There isn't a pool, hot tub, or sauna, there isn't a cafe, there isn't an actual spin studio (although they do spin classes, you just have to wheel the bikes away from the wall of the ONE group class room), there aren't racquetball courts, and there isn't locker room towel service.
I've been going to the gym where my sister works quite a bit lately, as her "guest"....trying the place out.
We're going to cancel our memberships at the small place, and switch over to the larger. Mot wants a pool...badly. And I LOVE being able to work out and spend time with my sister...we don't get to do much of that with both of our busy schedules.
It's a nice place, but much more out of my way. Because sis works there, I can get a discount on membership....and that list of "does not haves" from my gym.....well, they have all of that and more.
One of the "more" is a run club.
Depending on the weather and the season, it's either inside or outside.
Last night I met with the group to try it out. They "roped" off a bunch of the treadmills (which is easier said then done this time of year) for us to use.
We started with some simple plyometric exercises down in the gym.
So...you know those shin splints that I had for 2 FRIGGIN' YEARS? After two docs, 1 specialist and three physical therapists, I finally got rid of them.
Yeah....one night of doing 10 minutes of plyometrics, and they are back. Full force.
(sigh)
Why can't my body be normal, like everyone else? I don't stretch, before or after my runs.....and these things, instead of helping, actually hurt. I'm backwards. :-)
Now I get to look like the "know it all" when I tell the run club coach that they actually make me worse, instead of better. I like to fade into the background...I like to be seen and not heard....I'd rather not bring attention to myself.
And now I need to.
Oh well...what's a girl to do??
So...after the session of pain (well, for me that is), we went back upstairs to the treadmills and did some 1K intervals. One at marathon pace, one at half marathon pace, and three at 10K pace, with 2 minute breaks in between.
I've run exactly zero marathons, 1 half and 1 10K.....so I took a general stab at what my pace is/should be.
I probably sweat 17 pounds away. With all of the "resolutioners" in the gym, the place is hotter than heck. :-)
After all the running I've been doing since May...you'd think 5 1K intervals would be easy peasy lemon squeezy...right?
Stupid treadmills.
(grumble, grumble)
:-) :-)
Will I go back? Yep! I need to go more than once before I make a solid decision on whether it's for me or not.
I mean, I did really well training for a half marathon by myself.
But I really like the idea of running with other people. I've heard it makes the time go by faster....and I'd like to give it a try and see if it's true.
01/04/11 Maybe I should have re-thought the double header?
Tuesday morning.....my sister sent me a text that she had a migraine and wasn't meeting me at the gym.
I had, for the second night in a row, gotten very broken sleep thanks to our lab.....so it was really easy to jump back into bed for another hour of sleep. :-)
When I woke up, and hour (and a half) later.....I felt guilty for not doing something even after she canceled. That's not like me.
So...I packed my gym bag for two workout sessions.
I'd run 3 miles right after work, then hit a spin class.
Those 3 miles felt great. The first mile was a little awkward...for some reason I just couldn't find my "stride." I felt as though an onlooker would assume I'd never run before. But, after I got going, it was wonderful!!!
The gym was packed, of course, with "resolutioners"......but, unlike the morning before, it was mostly women on the cardio equipment that night.
At one point, a skinnie minnie chicky poo got on the mill next to me. She walked, then stopped walking, then started walking, then fiddled with her shoes, then walked, then messed with her iPod, then stopped walking........and so on.....for about 10 minutes.
Finally, she started stretching.
Well, at least I assume she was stretching and loosening up.
She was flinging her arms all over.....nearly hitting me in the process. Windmills, shoulder rolls, neck rolls.....more arm flailing......I was worn out just seeing the movement out of the corner of my eyes. I can't imagine what would have happened had I turned my head to look directly at her.
(besides losing an eye)
Eventually she started running. Then she stopped...then she messed with her shoe....then she walked...then she ran a little.
And I'm not talking intervals......10 seconds here....30 seconds there......if there was a pattern, she wasn't there long enough for me to figure it out.
Silver lining, she made the last 20 minutes of my run go by pretty quickly. :-)
No matter what I do, the effort I put out on a treadmill accomplishes much less than the same effort outside. (I'm speaking about pace and distance.) I was trucking along at a good clip......but my running pace was only a 10 min mile. When I ran my 7 miles this weekend, my running pace (not trucking, just smooth and steady) was anywhere from 8:14-9:02.
More miles, faster pace??? Shouldn't it be the other way around?
Do I change my running "style" that much between running inside and running outside? I was still sweating, getting my heart rate up, etc........so I'm not too worried about it. It's just intriguing. :-)
(Detroit Runner - I can hear you from here! "So put your Garmin on and run outside already!")
(giggle)
After the run, I went down and changed into my cycling shoes and shorts....and headed up to the spin studio.
After 5 minutes of spinning, I was done.
5 MINUTES!!!!
After 30 minutes, I waved the white flag.
My legs were burning, my brain was in distress, and my heart just wasn't into it.
I guess we all have those days.
I left the room, in front of all the other spinners....head hanging in shame.
30 minutes of spin is better than no minutes.....so I guess that's a little consolation. :-)
I had, for the second night in a row, gotten very broken sleep thanks to our lab.....so it was really easy to jump back into bed for another hour of sleep. :-)
When I woke up, and hour (and a half) later.....I felt guilty for not doing something even after she canceled. That's not like me.
So...I packed my gym bag for two workout sessions.
I'd run 3 miles right after work, then hit a spin class.
Those 3 miles felt great. The first mile was a little awkward...for some reason I just couldn't find my "stride." I felt as though an onlooker would assume I'd never run before. But, after I got going, it was wonderful!!!
The gym was packed, of course, with "resolutioners"......but, unlike the morning before, it was mostly women on the cardio equipment that night.
At one point, a skinnie minnie chicky poo got on the mill next to me. She walked, then stopped walking, then started walking, then fiddled with her shoes, then walked, then messed with her iPod, then stopped walking........and so on.....for about 10 minutes.
Finally, she started stretching.
Well, at least I assume she was stretching and loosening up.
She was flinging her arms all over.....nearly hitting me in the process. Windmills, shoulder rolls, neck rolls.....more arm flailing......I was worn out just seeing the movement out of the corner of my eyes. I can't imagine what would have happened had I turned my head to look directly at her.
(besides losing an eye)
Eventually she started running. Then she stopped...then she messed with her shoe....then she walked...then she ran a little.
And I'm not talking intervals......10 seconds here....30 seconds there......if there was a pattern, she wasn't there long enough for me to figure it out.
Silver lining, she made the last 20 minutes of my run go by pretty quickly. :-)
No matter what I do, the effort I put out on a treadmill accomplishes much less than the same effort outside. (I'm speaking about pace and distance.) I was trucking along at a good clip......but my running pace was only a 10 min mile. When I ran my 7 miles this weekend, my running pace (not trucking, just smooth and steady) was anywhere from 8:14-9:02.
More miles, faster pace??? Shouldn't it be the other way around?
Do I change my running "style" that much between running inside and running outside? I was still sweating, getting my heart rate up, etc........so I'm not too worried about it. It's just intriguing. :-)
(Detroit Runner - I can hear you from here! "So put your Garmin on and run outside already!")
(giggle)
After the run, I went down and changed into my cycling shoes and shorts....and headed up to the spin studio.
After 5 minutes of spinning, I was done.
5 MINUTES!!!!
After 30 minutes, I waved the white flag.
My legs were burning, my brain was in distress, and my heart just wasn't into it.
I guess we all have those days.
I left the room, in front of all the other spinners....head hanging in shame.
30 minutes of spin is better than no minutes.....so I guess that's a little consolation. :-)
Monday, January 3, 2011
01/03/11 Weights
Met Inny at the gym for an hour of weights this morning.
We got through them much faster today. Probably because we didn't have to stand at each machine, looking at the pictures, to figure out what we were supposed to be doing. :-)
I knew the gym was going to be busier today. The whole new year resolution thing and all.
But what I didn't expect to see was that 85-90% of the new people were dudes.
The treadmills were full of em.
They had to wait for the two of us to get off the weight machines. (I think they were waiting for us, so they could see how to work them.)
(hehehehe)
There was an entire row of men on stair steppers.
Not something you see every day.
We got through them much faster today. Probably because we didn't have to stand at each machine, looking at the pictures, to figure out what we were supposed to be doing. :-)
I knew the gym was going to be busier today. The whole new year resolution thing and all.
But what I didn't expect to see was that 85-90% of the new people were dudes.
The treadmills were full of em.
They had to wait for the two of us to get off the weight machines. (I think they were waiting for us, so they could see how to work them.)
(hehehehe)
There was an entire row of men on stair steppers.
Not something you see every day.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Happy New Years and Happy Birthday
Last week was Christmas...yesterday was New Years Day....and today is my birthday. The last two weeks of the year are always very busy around here. :-)
"Santa" got me my Garmin forerunner yesterday, and I just HAD to take it out for a test spin today.
We (Inny, Doug, Mot and I) were going to run yesterday to ring in the new year ("Hair of the Dog run")....but, due to the "holiday cheer" experienced Friday night, three of the four backed out.
Mot was on shift all night, and didn't get one wink of sleep.....Inny and Doug were out ballroom dancing the night away....and Sam and I sprawled on the couch, watched horrible TV until 10:00 pm, and then called it a night.
Bet you can guess which of the three cancelled out on the run.
The three with a life.
(giggle)
But, as I was running this morning I decided I was actually glad we didn't run yesterday. Today was my first run with the new running watch, it was my birthday, and it was slightly warmer than New Years morning (-11 when I checked at 9:00 am). Today's 2 degrees was a heatwave compared to that!! :-)
I really, really, really, really, really need to order my replacement shoes one of these days! I made my last retired pair of shoes into screw shoes (they can in REALLY handy today)...but every time I run in them, I remember why I retired them. They're kaput!
There were only a handful of people out running this morning...so I had the trail around Lake Zorinsky pretty much to myself.
Well...me and a few squirrels.
New Years eve brought quite a bit of sleet and ice.....and then a nice little dusting of snow on top. The trail was slick, but I never once lost traction. (Thanks again James!!) I crunched and crushed around for 7 miles in about an hour and twenty minutes. Not a land speed record....but I'll take it.
I haven't really been running regularly lately...and I felt it today. It took every once of willpower I possess to not stop when I neared my car (at the half way point). I continued on, and was very glad I did. (11:45 avg pace)
But, I'm ALWAYS glad I stick it out....always glad when I get out there and run. I always wonder why it's so easy to stop doing it...when I love it so much. I suppose it's kinda like asking for the answer to the ultimate question of life.
(42)
Anyway.....I got up, I ran, I showered (until I was pruney), and now I think I'm going to eat lunch and head out. I have some birthday and xmas gift cards burning a hole in my wallet!
Happy running, and happy new year everybody!!!!!!!!!!
Nej
"Santa" got me my Garmin forerunner yesterday, and I just HAD to take it out for a test spin today.
We (Inny, Doug, Mot and I) were going to run yesterday to ring in the new year ("Hair of the Dog run")....but, due to the "holiday cheer" experienced Friday night, three of the four backed out.
Mot was on shift all night, and didn't get one wink of sleep.....Inny and Doug were out ballroom dancing the night away....and Sam and I sprawled on the couch, watched horrible TV until 10:00 pm, and then called it a night.
Bet you can guess which of the three cancelled out on the run.
The three with a life.
(giggle)
But, as I was running this morning I decided I was actually glad we didn't run yesterday. Today was my first run with the new running watch, it was my birthday, and it was slightly warmer than New Years morning (-11 when I checked at 9:00 am). Today's 2 degrees was a heatwave compared to that!! :-)
I really, really, really, really, really need to order my replacement shoes one of these days! I made my last retired pair of shoes into screw shoes (they can in REALLY handy today)...but every time I run in them, I remember why I retired them. They're kaput!
There were only a handful of people out running this morning...so I had the trail around Lake Zorinsky pretty much to myself.
Well...me and a few squirrels.
New Years eve brought quite a bit of sleet and ice.....and then a nice little dusting of snow on top. The trail was slick, but I never once lost traction. (Thanks again James!!) I crunched and crushed around for 7 miles in about an hour and twenty minutes. Not a land speed record....but I'll take it.
I haven't really been running regularly lately...and I felt it today. It took every once of willpower I possess to not stop when I neared my car (at the half way point). I continued on, and was very glad I did. (11:45 avg pace)
But, I'm ALWAYS glad I stick it out....always glad when I get out there and run. I always wonder why it's so easy to stop doing it...when I love it so much. I suppose it's kinda like asking for the answer to the ultimate question of life.
(42)
Anyway.....I got up, I ran, I showered (until I was pruney), and now I think I'm going to eat lunch and head out. I have some birthday and xmas gift cards burning a hole in my wallet!
Happy running, and happy new year everybody!!!!!!!!!!
Nej
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