Much to my disappointment, Christmas here in Northeast Ohio was trying its best to be white, but it came a few days early and then a few days late. I managed to get in one run outside in between the snow storms, but now it seems like the flood gates have been opened - just as the snow from the previous storm starts to melt enough, another storm comes through. I live in a very small neighborhood of a few cul-de-sac's, so our roads don't get much attention from the road cleaning crews. And the bike trail I usually run on doesn't get cleaned, salted, or plowed at all. Without proper trail shoes, I'm forcing myself to stay inside and use the treadmill instead. I can see it now - my clumsy self, slipping on ice, falling and breaking an arm or cracking my head open on the pavement, with not a soul in sight to come rescue me or help me out. No thanks.
Meanwhile, as I lament the abundance of snow and consider warmer places to live, I keep on running on that faithful friend, my treadmill. Thursday was one of those days that I really just didn't want to run. I was tired, had a headache, was sore from shoveling 10 inches of snow off my driveway the day before, and felt like I was developing some head/sinus congestion. Blah. But I'd finally started to get back to my normal eating habits (aka healthy eating :o)) after the holidays, and my body was thankfully feeling more like itself. I knew a run would make me feel even better - plus I couldn't give up on my Holiday Running Streak so close to the end. So I got changed into my running clothes and shoes, and stepped onto the treadmill, content with just doing 3 or 4 miles at a nice easy pace, since I didn't feel all that great. I wasn't going to worry about pace or time - just run for the enjoyment of it and for a nice workout without pushing myself too hard. I was surprised at how good that truly felt, and as I approached mile 3, I felt fantastic. My headache had subsided, my nose wasn't feeling very stuffy anymore, and I wasn't as tired as I'd been when I got on the treadmill (my arms and back, however, were still sore as ever from my snow shoveling!). So I kept going towards mile 4, and my mind couldn't help but wander to greater things. What if I could keep this nice easy pace up through mile 4 and still feel good? Should I keep going? I'd never tried to run more than 4 miles before, but I'd love to see if I could run 5. My runs earlier this week hadn't been the longest, as I'd tried to squeeze them in among Christmas events and celebrations, so my weekly mileage was already low for already being Thursday. What the heck, I thought - what did I have to lose? And so I kept going! And guess what? I made it 5 miles!!!!!!!!! It took me 48:17, but that was okay with me. It was still under 10 minutes per mile, and further than I'd ever run before. How exciting! :o)
So when Friday rolled around, I was feeling about the same as Thursday, except with a bit more sinus congestion, and thought I could feel better again with a run. It worked yesterday, so it should work again today, right? Wrong. I can't emphasize just how wrong I was. I had decided just to do 2 miles to give my legs a bit of a rest after the 5 miles from the day before, and I started out at a pretty good pace. I felt okay for about the first half mile, and then things started to go downhill fast. This wasn't an unusual pace for me for 2 miles, but I felt like I was dying. Like I was really putting a lot of effort into it and could barely keep up. My head congestion got worse (not better), and my whole body was feeling exhausted. The 2 miles couldn't be over soon enough. When it was, I just sat down on the floor and leaned back against the treadmill, completely skipping any type of stretching simply because it would take more effort than I had left in me right then. I felt pretty pathetic, to be honest. But the longer I sat there, the worse I felt. I had to accept the fact that this head congestion was the start of a wonderful cold (hopefully not the flu!), and that I might have to take it easy for a few days. I finally headed upstairs, changed right into my pajamas (it was already past 10:30pm anyway, so I didn't feel so lame), took some night-time cold medicine, and promptly fell asleep on the couch. I didn't have anywhere to be this morning, so I didn't set an alarm, and vowed to sleep as long as I could to give my body some rest and maybe tone down the severity of the on-coming cold. I still feel kinda crappy today, but not yet a full-blown cold or flu. I'm gonna have to do some research on the best way for runners to deal with colds and congestion. Is it best to just tone down the intensity of my runs, or to skip a couple days altogether until I clear up? I can't believe this is the first time I've encountered this!
Anyhow, I need to head to the grocery store (and maybe pick up some orange juice while I'm there to help combat this cold) to stock up on some ingredients for healthy meals now that all the Christmas and holiday meals and leftovers are gone. I honestly can't wait to get back to cooking for me and my husband, because I was shocked by how terrible I felt after a few days of eating what other people prepared (I mean no disrespect to any of them, by the way - the food was all fantastic, but just not in my range of normal meals anymore). I didn't binge or eat only unhealthy foods. In fact, I still ate a normal breakfast every day, and did a pretty good job of taking smaller portions of the meals I didn't prepare, and didn't over-do it too much on the desserts. But I seriously couldn't believe how crappy I felt. I was sluggish, my stomach felt gross, and I started to have very little appetite. When I did get hungry, I noticed that I felt like I was craving sweets, but the minute I started to eat them, I felt all gross again. And if I then tried to force down an apple or something healthier, I felt so full it was disgusting. I eventually managed to stay away from the sweets so much and leave the leftovers to my husband (even if that meant making my own salad for dinner and letting some of the leftovers go to waste), and I started to feel so much better. And now that things are settling back into a more normal routine, I can start cooking again. :o) Can't wait! Now if I could just get this head congestion to go away...
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Monday, December 24, 2012
Christmas Eve Running!
Happy Christmas Eve! What a great day for a run, right? :o) Ok, maybe not - I mean there's church, family and friends getting together, family dinners, last minute baking and gift wrapping, and that panicked trip to the store because you forgot something. But that was exactly why I purposely scheduled time to run today. I knew I needed a break from all that chaos, and running would help me relax and re-energize.
So over the last few weeks I've been trying to stock up on cold weather running gear since this will be my first winter attempting to run outside. I bought tights and running gloves in addition to the various Under Armour shirts and sweatshirts I'd collected over the years. And to my joy, friends and family actually bought me running stuff for Christmas this year (which, by the way, totally makes me feel validated as a runner - come on, if everyone else thinks I am... Haha!). So from my running gifts, I ended up with two cold weather running headbands and a hat too. I was now officially ready to run outside in cold weather - no more excuses! I ripped off all the tags from my new gear, got all gussied up (and took a silly picture to commemorate the occasion), and headed out the door. I was shocked by the cold at first, but have been told and have read that you should dress for 20 degrees warmer, so I figured I was doing okay. (I ended up being dressed perfectly by the time I was done! Go me!)
I made sure to warm up my legs a little more than usual, and took off running. It felt so so good to be back outside. The first thing I noticed was a complete shock though. After so much running on the treadmill, my stride outside actually felt awkward for the first few steps! And to think I thought it was all a myth when they said treadmill running changes your stride. They're not kidding, people!!!! Holy cow! But I quickly adjusted and I was on my way.
I'm not a fan of snow and cold - at all (good thing I live in Northeast Ohio, right?) - but I was enjoying being outside and running in nature anyway, so I tried to ignore it and focus on the positives. I was also afraid that the temps in the mid 30's would be hard for me to breathe, but I was surprisingly okay! (I did experience some slight congestion/sense of needing to cough for a couple hours afterward, but that's since gone away.) In top of that, there were also still some icy patches to battle and carefully tip toe through. So I tried to balance being careful without being ridiculous and slowing myself down unnecessarily. I thought I was doing pretty good, and then right before I hit the halfway point of my 4 mile run, it started to snow. And stick to the ground. Of course, it would be at my farthest point! Grrr... As I turned around and headed back, the snow was getting in my eyes, and I was afraid it would be slippery. I think I was more cautious than necessary, because by the time I was done, I was pretty disappointed in my time of 37:51. I was frustrated and threw my keys on the ground, effectively breaking my miniature flashlight, and stood there glaring at it. I was under no delusion that coming back outside would take some adjusting to. And I knew that it would be hard to properly pace myself the same without a digital display staring me in the face. But I didn't think it would slow me down by almost 2 full minutes compared to my best time inside. Apparently I have a lot of adjusting left to do. I picked up the keys and pieces of my flashlight and headed back home. In the end, I decided not to let it bother me too much. I still ran, and I still had a great tome doing it. And I got to try out all my new gear - which worked fantastically by the way! Even in the snow! :o)
Tomorrow is still another day - another day to continue to improve, to teach myself new things, and to push my limits. And it's Christmas!!!! So off to bed for this girl! Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!
So over the last few weeks I've been trying to stock up on cold weather running gear since this will be my first winter attempting to run outside. I bought tights and running gloves in addition to the various Under Armour shirts and sweatshirts I'd collected over the years. And to my joy, friends and family actually bought me running stuff for Christmas this year (which, by the way, totally makes me feel validated as a runner - come on, if everyone else thinks I am... Haha!). So from my running gifts, I ended up with two cold weather running headbands and a hat too. I was now officially ready to run outside in cold weather - no more excuses! I ripped off all the tags from my new gear, got all gussied up (and took a silly picture to commemorate the occasion), and headed out the door. I was shocked by the cold at first, but have been told and have read that you should dress for 20 degrees warmer, so I figured I was doing okay. (I ended up being dressed perfectly by the time I was done! Go me!)
I made sure to warm up my legs a little more than usual, and took off running. It felt so so good to be back outside. The first thing I noticed was a complete shock though. After so much running on the treadmill, my stride outside actually felt awkward for the first few steps! And to think I thought it was all a myth when they said treadmill running changes your stride. They're not kidding, people!!!! Holy cow! But I quickly adjusted and I was on my way.
I'm not a fan of snow and cold - at all (good thing I live in Northeast Ohio, right?) - but I was enjoying being outside and running in nature anyway, so I tried to ignore it and focus on the positives. I was also afraid that the temps in the mid 30's would be hard for me to breathe, but I was surprisingly okay! (I did experience some slight congestion/sense of needing to cough for a couple hours afterward, but that's since gone away.) In top of that, there were also still some icy patches to battle and carefully tip toe through. So I tried to balance being careful without being ridiculous and slowing myself down unnecessarily. I thought I was doing pretty good, and then right before I hit the halfway point of my 4 mile run, it started to snow. And stick to the ground. Of course, it would be at my farthest point! Grrr... As I turned around and headed back, the snow was getting in my eyes, and I was afraid it would be slippery. I think I was more cautious than necessary, because by the time I was done, I was pretty disappointed in my time of 37:51. I was frustrated and threw my keys on the ground, effectively breaking my miniature flashlight, and stood there glaring at it. I was under no delusion that coming back outside would take some adjusting to. And I knew that it would be hard to properly pace myself the same without a digital display staring me in the face. But I didn't think it would slow me down by almost 2 full minutes compared to my best time inside. Apparently I have a lot of adjusting left to do. I picked up the keys and pieces of my flashlight and headed back home. In the end, I decided not to let it bother me too much. I still ran, and I still had a great tome doing it. And I got to try out all my new gear - which worked fantastically by the way! Even in the snow! :o)
Tomorrow is still another day - another day to continue to improve, to teach myself new things, and to push my limits. And it's Christmas!!!! So off to bed for this girl! Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!
Sunday, December 16, 2012
A Personal Victory and Keeping the Streak Alive
We're 10 days away from Christmas now, and things are as hectic as ever at this point. But I'm still finding ways to fit in my daily run every day! I cut it pretty close last night though - I went out shopping right after work, and because I was so far behind on my Christmas shopping, I just kept going from store to store, not really realizing what time it was. Suddenly I'm in the checkout line at Target, and their announcing that they're closing in 10 minutes. Wait - what?!?! But Target closes at 11:00pm this time of year. No.... First of all, I couldn't believe I was one of THOSE people - the people who are there when the employees are trying to close the store. Especially when the store is open until 11:00pm. Ridiculous. I felt terrible. On top of that, it was 11:00pm, I was still in the store almost half an hour from home, and I hadn't run yet!
I drove home as fast as I could while still being safe, got changed into my running clothes, and was standing on the treadmill by 11:50pm. I opted to only run 1 mile (since it was almost midnight), and although I didn't FINISH my run before midnight, I had started it before midnight, and to me, that counted as my Friday run. The thought crossed my mind that technically I didn't run a whole mile on Friday, but this Holiday Running Streak wasn't about the technicalities of a couple minutes. I could have easily came home at 11:45pm last night and just said forget it; it was too late; I was tired from a long day of work and fighting holiday crowds and traffic. But I didn't. I put on my running shoes and got on the treadmill at 11:50pm to run my mile for the day. And that's what it's about. For me at least.
And today I accomplished another personal goal of mine. Even after another long day of shopping (at least I slept in today), I came home and ran again. It wasn't nearly as late as Friday, and I was deciding between 3 or 4 miles. I started running and just decided to make the choice depending on how I was feeling as I approached the 3 mile mark. I was feeling pretty good, and I was running at a really good pace, so I kept on going. I'd been working on improving my 4 mile time and had been closing in on the 36:00 mark, but I couldn't quite get to 36:00 yet. 36 minutes would have meant 9 minute miles. When I first started running and was running 2 miles, my pace was around 14:00 or 14:30 per mile. So I'd been more than thrilled when I got down to about 10 minute miles or a little under. To me, that was fantastic. I know to runners that 10 minute miles are probably on the slow end, but it was a threshold I'd been aiming for as a personal validation of myself as a runner. So when I reached that goal earlier this summer and was comfortable there, I think I stopped pushing myself as hard. But I recently started pushing again, and have been closing in on the 9 minute mile mark. Today, I hit that mark. I finished my 4 mile run in 35:53. Yes, it was on the treadmill, so there's some doubt about whether I could do that outside on my own. But for now, I'm okay with that. I want to rejoice in my own little personal victory for a bit. I stood there on the treadmill, walking for my cool-down, thinking about the fact that I'd just run 4 mile at a pace under 9 minutes per mile. 9 minutes. To be honest, that was something I never thought I'd see. 10 minute miles had been a huge victory in my mind. And I guess I'd thought that would be the end of it. So to accomplish this, even if it was inside on a treadmill, was pretty big for me.
Forget the fact that I could already feel my muscles were sore while I was still on the treadmill cooling down. I'll just have an easier run tomorrow, and rejoice in my victory a little longer. For now, I'm heading to bed. Off to dream about my lightning fast speed. Haha! Maybe someday! :o)
I drove home as fast as I could while still being safe, got changed into my running clothes, and was standing on the treadmill by 11:50pm. I opted to only run 1 mile (since it was almost midnight), and although I didn't FINISH my run before midnight, I had started it before midnight, and to me, that counted as my Friday run. The thought crossed my mind that technically I didn't run a whole mile on Friday, but this Holiday Running Streak wasn't about the technicalities of a couple minutes. I could have easily came home at 11:45pm last night and just said forget it; it was too late; I was tired from a long day of work and fighting holiday crowds and traffic. But I didn't. I put on my running shoes and got on the treadmill at 11:50pm to run my mile for the day. And that's what it's about. For me at least.
And today I accomplished another personal goal of mine. Even after another long day of shopping (at least I slept in today), I came home and ran again. It wasn't nearly as late as Friday, and I was deciding between 3 or 4 miles. I started running and just decided to make the choice depending on how I was feeling as I approached the 3 mile mark. I was feeling pretty good, and I was running at a really good pace, so I kept on going. I'd been working on improving my 4 mile time and had been closing in on the 36:00 mark, but I couldn't quite get to 36:00 yet. 36 minutes would have meant 9 minute miles. When I first started running and was running 2 miles, my pace was around 14:00 or 14:30 per mile. So I'd been more than thrilled when I got down to about 10 minute miles or a little under. To me, that was fantastic. I know to runners that 10 minute miles are probably on the slow end, but it was a threshold I'd been aiming for as a personal validation of myself as a runner. So when I reached that goal earlier this summer and was comfortable there, I think I stopped pushing myself as hard. But I recently started pushing again, and have been closing in on the 9 minute mile mark. Today, I hit that mark. I finished my 4 mile run in 35:53. Yes, it was on the treadmill, so there's some doubt about whether I could do that outside on my own. But for now, I'm okay with that. I want to rejoice in my own little personal victory for a bit. I stood there on the treadmill, walking for my cool-down, thinking about the fact that I'd just run 4 mile at a pace under 9 minutes per mile. 9 minutes. To be honest, that was something I never thought I'd see. 10 minute miles had been a huge victory in my mind. And I guess I'd thought that would be the end of it. So to accomplish this, even if it was inside on a treadmill, was pretty big for me.
Forget the fact that I could already feel my muscles were sore while I was still on the treadmill cooling down. I'll just have an easier run tomorrow, and rejoice in my victory a little longer. For now, I'm heading to bed. Off to dream about my lightning fast speed. Haha! Maybe someday! :o)
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
I'm Back!
Holy cow! I can't believe how long it's been since I've written. Things have just been crazy hectic around here lately, between the year-end rush at work before the dam breaks in January, to birthdays and Christmas get-togethers, and friends coming home from out of town, I feel like I barely have time to breathe. I'm getting up earlier than usual in the mornings so I can get into work a bit early and get more done, I'm staying there later, then we have all these things after work on weekdays and weekends alike, and it's all I can do to squeeze in my running, let alone write about it. And when it comes down to choosing between running and writing about running, I'm going to make the smart choice and run.
I'm not going to lie. I'm exhausted. I've barely finished my Christmas decorating, barely started my Christmas shopping, don't even have a single Christmas card written out, am falling further and further behind at work, and the house is a mess while bills are dangerously close to being late and things like the deadline for deciding between two different health insurance plans are looming over my head, closer each day. I've run out of clean bath towels and am picking out my clothes from the clean laundry basket because they haven't made it back into the drawers and closets yet. I've cried and broken down more than once in the last few weeks. And sometimes what pushes me over the edge is something as dumb as realizing that the pineapple I'm trying to grow in OHIO in the middle of winter is most likely dead after all my hard work on it this summer.
And I know you're all laughing at me right now. But I stress out easily. Which is also dnagerous for me, because I'm a very emotional eater. But you know what? Despite my messy house, my lack of cards and gifts for Christmas, and my ever-growing to-do list, I've still managed to run at least a mile every single day. I haven't broken my Holiday Running Streak since Thanksgiving. I've changed my priorities and let some other things fall by the wayside a bit. And I've had to get a little creative sometimes in order to squeeze in a run. I've gone out to dinner or restaurants without washing my hair after very sweaty runs (don't worry, I at least showered the rest of me), I've started my runs after 10:00pm at night, and I almost ruined a surprise party for a friend because I was late after insisting I needed to run between work and the party. But again - I ran every day.
What's even more surprising is that I've made some significant improvements and breakthroughs over the last few weeks. You'd usually think that I'd just be coasting along running only a mile every day to fulfill my requirement for the Holiday Running Streak. But that's just not how I'm built. Instead, I know how much time I have from the minute I step on the treadmill or walk out the door to the minute I need to be back upstairs or back in the house, and if that means I have to run faster than usual to get in the same distance, then I'm going to push myself to run faster. Believe it or not, being pressed for time is apparently very beneficial for finding out that you've been holding yourself back! I consistently run my 4 mile route faster and faster every time, improving all the time. And on the days that I run less than 4 miles, I realize that if I can run 4 miles at that pace, then I can run 2 or 3 miles in a pace that's faster than my 4 mile pace. I've shaved off over 2:30 from my original 4 mile time (and it's only been a few weeks that I've been attempting to run that distance), and I'm now running 4 miles at a pace faster than I used to run my 5k route. So when I realized that, I decided it was time to try really pushing myself on a 5k route (keep in mind, this is all being done on a treadmill inside - it's dark in the morning when I leave for work and dark when I walk out of the office to come home, and my trail and neighborhood are both too dark for my liking - so it all comes with a little asterisk in my mind. I feel like it doesn't really count until I prove to myself that I can do it outside too.) Anyhow, I decided to really push myself on a 5k route the other day and ended up running it in 27:22. WAY better than I'd ever run this distance before. In fact, after I thought about it for awhile, it was even faster than the time it took me to run just 2 miles when I first started out (approximately 28:30). What an eye opener! I always feel like I'm not very good at running, and that I'm not really progressing much. Probably because (even though I know I shouldn't) I compare myself to others. But when I realize that a pace around 9:30 is now comfortable for me for 4 miles, and that I can run 3.1 miles in less time than it used to take me to run just 2 miles, I'm infinitely proud of myself. So what if someone else is running faster than me or trying a half marathon when I am intimidated by the thought of a 10k this summer? I've come a long way - and I'm going to keep pushing myself. And I need to learn to be content with that, regardless of what everyone else around me is doing.
But alas, I've let time get away from me, and now it's going to be another late night. (I still have to do laundry!) So I'm facing another day of being exhausted and behind tomorrow - AGAIN. But at least I'll know I have a run to look forward to when I get home from work!
I'm not going to lie. I'm exhausted. I've barely finished my Christmas decorating, barely started my Christmas shopping, don't even have a single Christmas card written out, am falling further and further behind at work, and the house is a mess while bills are dangerously close to being late and things like the deadline for deciding between two different health insurance plans are looming over my head, closer each day. I've run out of clean bath towels and am picking out my clothes from the clean laundry basket because they haven't made it back into the drawers and closets yet. I've cried and broken down more than once in the last few weeks. And sometimes what pushes me over the edge is something as dumb as realizing that the pineapple I'm trying to grow in OHIO in the middle of winter is most likely dead after all my hard work on it this summer.
And I know you're all laughing at me right now. But I stress out easily. Which is also dnagerous for me, because I'm a very emotional eater. But you know what? Despite my messy house, my lack of cards and gifts for Christmas, and my ever-growing to-do list, I've still managed to run at least a mile every single day. I haven't broken my Holiday Running Streak since Thanksgiving. I've changed my priorities and let some other things fall by the wayside a bit. And I've had to get a little creative sometimes in order to squeeze in a run. I've gone out to dinner or restaurants without washing my hair after very sweaty runs (don't worry, I at least showered the rest of me), I've started my runs after 10:00pm at night, and I almost ruined a surprise party for a friend because I was late after insisting I needed to run between work and the party. But again - I ran every day.
What's even more surprising is that I've made some significant improvements and breakthroughs over the last few weeks. You'd usually think that I'd just be coasting along running only a mile every day to fulfill my requirement for the Holiday Running Streak. But that's just not how I'm built. Instead, I know how much time I have from the minute I step on the treadmill or walk out the door to the minute I need to be back upstairs or back in the house, and if that means I have to run faster than usual to get in the same distance, then I'm going to push myself to run faster. Believe it or not, being pressed for time is apparently very beneficial for finding out that you've been holding yourself back! I consistently run my 4 mile route faster and faster every time, improving all the time. And on the days that I run less than 4 miles, I realize that if I can run 4 miles at that pace, then I can run 2 or 3 miles in a pace that's faster than my 4 mile pace. I've shaved off over 2:30 from my original 4 mile time (and it's only been a few weeks that I've been attempting to run that distance), and I'm now running 4 miles at a pace faster than I used to run my 5k route. So when I realized that, I decided it was time to try really pushing myself on a 5k route (keep in mind, this is all being done on a treadmill inside - it's dark in the morning when I leave for work and dark when I walk out of the office to come home, and my trail and neighborhood are both too dark for my liking - so it all comes with a little asterisk in my mind. I feel like it doesn't really count until I prove to myself that I can do it outside too.) Anyhow, I decided to really push myself on a 5k route the other day and ended up running it in 27:22. WAY better than I'd ever run this distance before. In fact, after I thought about it for awhile, it was even faster than the time it took me to run just 2 miles when I first started out (approximately 28:30). What an eye opener! I always feel like I'm not very good at running, and that I'm not really progressing much. Probably because (even though I know I shouldn't) I compare myself to others. But when I realize that a pace around 9:30 is now comfortable for me for 4 miles, and that I can run 3.1 miles in less time than it used to take me to run just 2 miles, I'm infinitely proud of myself. So what if someone else is running faster than me or trying a half marathon when I am intimidated by the thought of a 10k this summer? I've come a long way - and I'm going to keep pushing myself. And I need to learn to be content with that, regardless of what everyone else around me is doing.
But alas, I've let time get away from me, and now it's going to be another late night. (I still have to do laundry!) So I'm facing another day of being exhausted and behind tomorrow - AGAIN. But at least I'll know I have a run to look forward to when I get home from work!
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