C is for cookie

Yesterday I ran outside without a coat, gloves or hat. That was great! Did my new route again, without the wrong turn this time. The hills are definitely good for me. There is still far too much holiday food in my house. At this rate I'm going to have to increase my mileage a lot more to compensate. I'm just glad that I've been able to stick to my exercise routine through all of this craziness. I will be very glad to get back into even more of a routine once classes start in a couple of weeks.

Where's that map?

I had a very nice run outside today. It was sunny and not terribly cold. I tried a new route, too. A word to the wise, though... when trying a new route make sure you really know where you're going before you head out. I took a wrong turn and ended up adding an extra mile to my run. Oops! Given all of the holiday cookies at my house it was probably needed anyway. This new route has a lot more hills. I'm sure I'm going to be feeling it tomorrow. I'll have to see if I can run this route once a week or so. Weather permitting, of course.

Finding a new groove

Classes are over, grades are turned in, and I'm spending most of my time at home now. While this is nice, it totally throws a wrench into my running schedule. Combine that with unfriendly and unpredictable weather and it makes for an unhappy camper some of the time. I've only missed one workout and had to cut one run short but still... I like it better when I'm on a schedule. Yesterday I had a good 5 mile run on the treadmill but I'm hoping for an outdoor run tomorrow. The high is supposed to be 46 but it's also supposed to be drizzling. I'll just have to wait and see. Meanwhile, I've enjoyed hitting the weights at the Y. For some reason I get a better work out using their weights than the ones in my basement. Not sure why that is. Perhaps I push myself more when I think people might be watching. How vain is that?

Things I have learned (Part 3)

More things I have learned:

1. Unless you're talking about beer, wet + cold is not a good combination.
2. Sometimes you just can't avoid the puddles.
3. My pedometer may or may not be waterproof.
4. Wet gloves don't really keep your hands warm.

Huh?

I'm not really sure how one run could be so awful and then the next be amazing. I just finished four miles with an average pace of 8:51. That's a new PR for me. What's different today compared to Saturday? Well, let's see... it was sunny on Saturday and today it's trying to rain, Saturday I ran at home and today I'm on campus, I'm wearing a different shirt than I was on Saturday, oh yes and the Moon is now in Sagittarius. Somehow I doubt any of those things really mattered. I guess I'll have to add it to the list of things I'll never understand. Now I'm going to go enjoy my new-PR-post-run high.

An off day

I had a horrible, horrible run yesterday. I ran slower than I have in months and I felt awful the entire time. I don't know what the hell happened. Maybe it was the fact that I had been forced to run on the treadmill earlier in the week. Maybe it was because it was warmer than it's been in weeks. Maybe it was because the Moon was in Scorpio or that I didn't have my lucky charm with me. I don't know. What I do know is that it sucked and I really hope it was a fluke. There's nothing like a crappy run to ruin your mood. Pthbthbthb.

Cold!

Holy cow, is it cold! It's technically 37 but there is an arctic wind blowing that makes it feel like the mid-20's out there. With the first few gusts I literally couldn't breathe for 5-10 seconds and when you're trying for a 9-minute mile oxygen intake is somewhat critical to success. I developed a coping method after the first couple of miles which was to watch the leaves in the street about 20 yards ahead of me and when I could see them swirling pretty good I knew to brace myself for the next blast. Definitely a hard run today simply because of the cold. Before you know it I'll be looking forward to those "balmy" 32 degree days.

Running through winter

Yesterday was the coldest weather I've run in so far. It was something like 34 but with the wind chill it felt like 28. BRRRR! Luckily it was sunny. It actually wasn't that bad for running but I think anything colder would have required another layer of clothes. I managed a 9:15 mile (for 4+ miles) so that was great! I'm slowly building up to a nice base mileage for the off season. Today it's been trying to snow all day. I'm glad it's a rest day. There's none in the forecast for tomorrow so I shouldn't have too much trouble running in the afternoon. Just have to bundle up.