Brrrrrrrr... I thought Spring had sprung!

The alarm went off at 5:40 this morning and they were talking on the radio.  Current temperature was 36 degrees and it had snowed overnight, but didn't accumulate.  What?  36 degrees? snow?  It was about 70 when I went to the park to run on Saturday!  The daffodils have already bloomed and faded.  Tulips are out!  What do you mean 36 and snow?

Yes, it was cold out!  I decided that gloves were in order, along with my earphones that are inside a headband that covers my ears.  All in all, I wasn't that uncomfortable.  The wind was 11 mph, but I dressed warmly enough to get out and do my run.  I didn't do quite as well as Monday.  I slowed for a few walk breaks, but my pace was only slightly slower than the other day.  When I finished I was SO glad that I didn't consider staying in bed because it was cold outside.  AND I really didn't consider it.  I didn't even think of that today - the alarm went off and it was time to get up and go run!

I do a lot of thinking when I run, and when I'm not thinking, I'm counting.  More about the counting in a minute, but I was thinking about how discouraged I felt on the weekend, and how much better I feel now - just 4 days and 2 runs later.  I was really feeling like maybe I can't do this.  Maybe I'm not built for running.  I really wanted to do it, but I've had a lot of people tell me that I won't continue, I shouldn't run, it's not good for me, I need to be really careful and that running is bad for me.  This mostly comes from people I work with.  I was feeling like maybe the only reason I want to run is to prove them wrong - or prove that I can.  So this morning, while runnin' and thinkin' I decided that that isn't the only reason I want to run.  It may be part of the reason, now, but that's not such a bad thing, either.  The best way to motivate me to do something has always been to tell me that I can't!  But I've actually recently started calling myself a "runner" and THAT is the reason that I want to run.  I'm a runner!  Plus I like to prove people wrong when they think I'm unable to do things!  LOL  I read this yesterday: "You ran to eat and to avoid being eaten; you ran to find a mate and impress her, and with her you ran off to start a new life together. You had to love running, or you wouldn't live to love anything else. We were born to run; we were born because we run." - Christopher McDougall, Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

The more I run, the quicker I'm done!  When I feel like I want to take a walk break, I try to look inside myself to find out why.  Am I out of breath?  Do my legs hurt?  Or do I just feel like it's time for a break?  Do I NEED to slow down, or do I WANT to?  I'm usually only slightly uncomfortable, and don't HAVE to slow down.  One of my favorite running quotes comes to mind.  Paul Tergat said "Ask yourself: 'Can I give more?' The answer is usually 'Yes'!"  That's so true!  That's when I start counting.  I know that 25 strides equals .01 miles and counting them off helps me to realize how much more I can actually do.

I'm running twice this weekend.  Saturday and Sunday.  You'll see me back here in a few days!

Running without music is like...

It's like watching television without my glasses.  Not especially entertaining!  I went to the park to run and got all set to start before I realized that I had forgotten my headphones.  I had my iPod but no way to listen to it.  I figured that I'd use it anyway because I have my C25K app on it and I could just keep an eye on the screen for the cues to run and walk (luckily they are available in addition to the audio cues) when I remembered that my iPod Touch has a speaker.  Since I have a rather odd playlist, and I don't really like to share, I decided not to use music and just use it for the audio cues.  It seemed to work out fine, but I have to admit that I think I move along a little more easily when I have something to listen to - and less other stuff to contemplate.


I realize that running with, or without, headphones is a controversial topic, and I can see the benefits of foregoing the headphones.  There were a lot of people (A LOT) who indicated that they were "passing on (my) left" that I could easily hear without music applied directly to my eardrum, but I do try to keep the volume to a minimum so I can hear what's going on around me. Having no music just left my brain free to think "OMG! I don't think I can wait to get to that patch of shaded path up there! I think may collapse right here and turn into a big puddle of goo on the sunny trail" and "Hmmm... wonder what I should eat for lunch!" 


Once again, I found people in the MetroPark to be very friendly.  Well, there was one guy who did not say "good morning" to me and looked like he was having about as much fun that I was at that particular moment.  He probably was at the end of a 20 mile run, though, where I was just beginning.  Lots of people walking, running and biking, alone, with friends and with dogs.  I have to say that I really do enjoy seeing people out enjoying the not-quite-as-cool-as-I-would-like mornings and getting some fresh air and exercise.  


I re-ran my run from yesterday with 2 shorter running segments and will do the next one, with a single, longer, run on Tuesday.  Tomorrow morning, my boot camp class starts at 5:30 am so I'll be running on days other than boot camp days (MWF). Going to the orientation today, with my preliminary evaluation, and I'm looking forward to seeing what I will accomplish in the next 4 weeks!

Two for the price of one!

As I was out running this morning, I realized that I had been so busy this weekend, that I never wrote after Friday's run.  I didn't write after Wednesday's run either, but that was because I skipped it.  Actually, I skipped 2 days last week, which isn't good at all!  Wednesday it was really hot out and I hadn't slept well, so decided to pass on the morning run.  Sunday, I was just lazy and decided to sleep in on the last day of a busy weekend.

On Friday, though... I had an amazing run!  I was going along and it came time to walk, but I was feeling pretty good and decided to keep running.  Then it was time to run again, and then time to walk again, but, again, I didn't really feel like I needed to walk, so I kept trotting along.  I only took ONE walk break, and it was the last one during the program.  Who would have thought I could run for  more than 15 minutes, straight?  Not me, for damn sure!

As I said, I skipped yesterday, but was out bright and early this morning.  I opted to do the program as scheduled, walk breaks included, because on Wednesday I'm moving on to the next level.  It felt good - not effortless or anything like that, but good!  I find, however, that I have one thing that bugs me more and more each time I run.  Headphones!  Earphones, earbuds, what ever kind I use and what ever they are called, I hate them!   They are never really comfortable.  They fall out all the time!  I find that I have to poke them back into my ears every 15 seconds or so, otherwise they pop right out.  I've tried using different sized silicon ear inserts.  I've tried the kind that hook over your ears.  There are the kind that go over your head and the ones that go around the back of your neck.  I don't know how many different kinds I've tried, but I haven't found any that I like yet.  It's very frustrating.  I know, I know... there are a lot of people who feel that you shouldn't use them at all while you're running, and I can see the reasoning for that.  I find music very helpful in these first stages of my running routine, and also use the audio cues on the C25K app on my iPod Touch.  At times when there is more activity, I do have the volume down or use only one ear.  I like to know how out-of-breath I sound when I say hello to my neighbors.

One other thing, today... You may have noticed that I actually used the word RUN without quotes around it.  Now that I am actually running more than half of the time/distance that I go each time, I feel that I can call it running.  Quite the milestone for me...  I'm a runner!