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!!!!!