Winter running

Anyone who has known me for more than two seconds knows how much I loathe the winter. I tolerate December because of Christmas, but after that I'm done. I like a snowfall or two, fires & hot chocolate. These things do not need to last for 3 months. Or 4. But this winter, just like all of them, will not end when I would like it to. I do have to say that usually by this time I am ODing on Vitamin D, but I am using exercise & Essential Oils instead and I have not had to increase my Vitamin D just to get through the day. So there's that.

Unlike previous winters, I actually HAVE to do my long run (on the treadmill, no way) because of that May thirteener I have coming up, so I need to get over my extreme aversion to the cold and just get it done. Over the years I have bought various things to help me with that. Some have worked, some have not.

Right now what's working for me is:

Warm leggings from Target (maybe these?) that I got on sale for less than $15. If they had more than one in my size I would have gotten them all. They are warm and comfortable and I don't have to wear anything else (I have not run in negative temps with them but I don't plan to. I have limits.)

I recently bought a thicker pair of Injinji socks. I will only run in Injinji socks. Before I bought the thicker pairs my toes were freezing. I doubled up one day and that worked out well. But the mid grade ones seem to be working ok on their own. I run in minimalist shoes which are great but don't have a lot of extra material to keep my delicate toes toasty.

My mom got me the base layer shirts from Target to wear underneath my running shirts. I've one that is a smooth dry wicking material and one that is fleece. They both work well but I save the fleece for really cold temps. I have thicker running shirts as well, but I've found that when it's really cold I'd rather layer. So I wear the base layer, a thinner long sleeve running shirt and then a jacket that I got from, you guessed it, Target. This has been working for me this winter. 

I used to run in gloves and my fingers would freeze. But I don't like mittens because I have less control over my fingers and I often have to blow my nose. So I compromised with these gloves. I can wear them as mittens or pop the top off and expose my fingers. They are really warm.

The highlight is the face mask I just bought (Amazon). I LOVE it. It has a ponytail spot for extra lovability. Even while wearing a hat my forehead would get cold, my cheeks, my nose. If I focus too much on my face hurting I don't focus enough on running. With the face mask my head and cheeks are protected and I can choose to cover my mouth and nose, or just my mouth, or nothing. I have yet to find a satisfactory solution to fogging sunglasses (that I wear to protect against wind or sun) so I sometimes cover my nose and sometimes don't. If it's super cold I'll wear a hat too, but the face mask is enough in regular cold.

Face mask and jacket from Target. 

I've always been interested in yaktrax but they're pretty expensive and I'm not sure how well they would work with my minimalist Merrel's. So when I saw these in the grocery store--that's right--for a wicked cheap price I figured why not. I haven't used them yet but they fit on my shoes. I'll let you know if they're cheap crap or actually worth it.

I ran in 6 degrees a couple of weeks ago and while it was cold, I didn't die. I can't say I was warm but I was able to do 6 miles mostly because of all this stuff. I never use to run if it was below freezing before, so this is a pretty big step for me. 

When I run in the treadmill I wear capris and short sleeves but changing into them and out of my warm winter wear is often the biggest hurdle to my weekly running. So this winter I have done something different and not changed. When I get dressed in the morning I put on my exercise clothes, whether it be for running, biking or crosstraining, and then my "day clothes." When it's time to exercise, I just have to take my outer clothes off, put on my Injinji socks and shoes, and I'm good to go. This has the added benefit of acting like long johns or thermals so I'm not as cold during the day. Boom.

I'm finishing up my biking right now and I will diffuse some Citrus Bliss later today. It'll take the sting away, but I'll still be dreaming of summer tonight. 

Farther and faster

The kids have been on school break all week and have had various playdates and activities but I did not miss one scheduled run (or bike)! I did skip a couple of Jessica Smith videos I intended on doing, but that was because I pulled a muscle in my shoulder/back when I increased the weights I used on Wednesday. (A little Deep Blue oil & I'm all good).

Yesterday was the first day in weeks that the temperature was above freezing. It was amazing how much of a difference it was in my running. The sun was strong, the wind was low, and I felt my toes and fingers the entire time. I planned on running 8 miles with an 11-11:30 average page. I've been doing a run/walk method and walking for just one minute at the very beginning of each mile. It's making a huge difference. Last week I was supposed to run 7, but I could only do 6 because of time, and I was concerned about jumping to 8. But doing the run/walk meant no problems. Breaking the run down mile by mile and knowing that I have that walk coming up makes me feel more energized and capable of running faster the rest of the time. I have a friend who swears by this method and she has cut her half marathon time down significantly!

I misjudged how far I had to run so I would up with 8 miles before I got back to my car. Instead of stopping I continued running another .73 (I wasn't really paying attention or I would have done an even .75). I felt so good I could have continued running. I wound up doing a 10:37 average pace. I did do a couple of sprints but for the most part I was running easy. It was such a good run and I even forgot my water at home but had no bad side effects. I ran farther than I did last weekend and much faster and I really think it was the sun & warmer temps. Sadly, we're right back to frigid. But having this run in my mind should help me out later. If I can run strong in 34 degrees I know I can run stronger in May! 

January stats

Running and Biking

I had every intention of getting into a good routine this month and really upping my running and biking miles. 

You know what they say about intentions right?

It's not entirely my fault. I started out the month sick and I ended the month sick. And someone was sick in the middle. In fact, someone has been sick in one way or another since November. I've just gotten my first delivery of Essential Oils and am getting some diffusers soon so I am hoping to stop the sickness. I'll let you know how it works out. I am a natural skeptic, but I will say that during LightRunner's illness I rubbed some oils on his feet and never once had to give him tylenol or ibuprofen. So there's that. I thought I'd do something nice and take the girls to the movies at the mall and I was rewarded with the flu. I didn't go to the doctor and get diagnosed. But I haven't been that sick in 16 years. I was in bed for 16 hours. That does not happen. Ever. It knocked me off my feet, literally. I missed runs, biking, cross training. That big ol' gap in the graph up there is my flu week. I did nothing but sit on the couch and watch Thomas the Tank Engine. I couldn't even focus enough to read. It sucked. 

It's also been wicked cold and snowy. You know, winter. Bah, winter. My long runs have not been long. Whine, whine, whine. The highlight was being able to do a couple of runs with friends. I really need to do that more often.

January was not the best. But onward and upward right?

Stats

Mileage: 40.7 miles

Runs: 11

Races: 0

Bike: 54 miles

Rides: 6

Crosstraining: 6 days. I think.

February will be better. 

Running with Jimmy Fallon

This winter has royally sucked for running. Snow, ice, bitter cold, wind. One at a time, all at once. A couple of weeks ago the temperature wasn't too bad so I decided to do my long run outside. I had the right clothes, I had a hat, a neck gaiter thingy, and swim goggles. Wait, what? Yeah, I had swim goggles because the neck gaiter makes my sunglasses fog up. I need the neck gaiter because my face gets too cold and if I breathe in the cold air I have a much harder time, but I need the sunglasses to keep the wind out of my eyes. And the sun. Such. A. Pickle.

So, I tried swim goggles:

They didn't work out the best. They started out okay but then they started fogging up too. And they were less than comfortable so I wound up taking them off and putting them in my pocket. Which was am amazing feat because my hands were horribly frozen. I was wearing running gloves but they just didn't cut it. When I started out the sun was out and everything was ok, but then the sun went away and it quickly went downhill. I had in my mind though that I needed to run 7.25 so I could get 20 miles for the week. So that's what I did. I knew I wasn't in danger of real frostbite, but my hands were seriously cold. It was so bad my left hand started cramping up towards the end of my run and stayed that way until the next morning. That was NOT fun. I think I'll just wear my regular old winter mittens the next time I go out. If that ever happens.

The next weekend was another snowy frigid one and I wasn't going to attempt another outdoor long run. But I needed to run long. So, I hopped on the treadmill. I rely on the treadmill during the week to do my tempo runs and intervals and easy runs. I can do 4-5 miles when I break it up into intervals. But doing a long slow consistent run would make me go insane. Nonetheless, it had to be done. I grabbed my water, my iPad and headed down to meet the only person who could get me through it: Jimmy Fallon.

I took this pic before my run on Tuesday, which is why it's The Tonight Show.
I was watching Late Night when I did the 7 mile long run. 

I've been running with Jimmy a lot this winter. The only danger is when I have to hold on so I don't fall off laughing. That's happened a few times… I may have also gotten a little choked up during his farewell episode of Late Night and his first episode of The Tonight Show. I made it through 7 long slow miles and there is NO way I could have done it without Jimmy. I want to get my long run back up to 10 but I'm seriously hoping the weather warms up enough for me to do it outside. I'm not sure I could do that on the treadmill. Even with Jimmy Fallon. 

I've wound up taking most of this school break week off from running/exercising, but I've done some tromping though the snow with the kids and I'm okay with it. I think it's good to take a break every once in a while. I'll be back at it soon enough, especially now that I know which Ragnar legs I'm running! 16.9 miles in 2 days. I'll be building the mileage up again pretty soon. Good thing I have Jimmy Fallon to get me through it!

Treadmill days

This winter sucks. It's cold. Snowy. Icy. I don't mind snow so much now that I don't have to go to work during blizzards, but it makes running outside a wee bit difficult. I can't use the jogging stroller because it's just too cold for LightRunner. So I've been stuck on the treadmill. The treadmill doesn't bother me that much because I am always either doing intervals so I am constantly changing the speed, or doing an easy run in which I still change the speeds but slower (so I'll pick a range of speeds and do kind of a slow pyramid run to pass the time). Tuesday I attempted my first tempo run.

Ugh.

My goal was to warm up for 10 minutes, do 20 minutes of tempo, and then cool down. After the first 5 minutes of the tempo I was dying. Not my legs, but my mind. I convinced myself I had to go to the bathroom, so I stopped and went to the bathroom. I finished up the next 5 minutes. It felt like 3 days. I stopped and walked for a minute or two and started up again. I didn't get the rush I usually get when I do intervals. The worst part is that I was watching videos on my iPad and I still couldn't keep my mind from failing. Staying at one pace just kills me. I did a strength routine after and redeemed myself a little.

Wednesday was not a running day. I had a cardio core routine to do to fill both my cardio and core requirements. It also sucked. It was too "dancey" and choreographed. That's the main reason the only cardio I've ever been consistent with is running. Running is just one foot in front of the other.

If Tuesday is my moderately hard day, Thursday is my hard hard day. But I woke up completely unmotivated. We had the phone company coming to switch our provider. Chewie wanted to play memory. I was cold and tired and so not in the mood to do anything. But when I got LightRunner down for a nap, I forced myself to get on the treadmill (after playing a game of memory). I had been doing 45 second intervals at a 7:30 pace (8.0 with a 1% incline) but I wanted to push it to 60 seconds. I had done the 45 seconds (up from 30) for two weeks so I thought it was time. It wasn't until I logged it that I realized the two 45 second workouts were not consecutive weeks, so I probably should have given myself another week of them. I did the first 60 seconds and it was tough. I decided to alternate 60 and 45 seconds so I wound up doing 5 of each (followed by either 60 seconds or 75 seconds of walking). Usually when I'm done I cool down for only 5 minutes but I made myself do the whole 10 minutes. It was tough but I felt so much better than I did after that tempo run. When I logged it I saw that I cut 40 seconds off my average pace from the last interval run I did. I followed it up with a hard 40 minute superset sculpt routine. It's usually challenging, but after the intervals it was really hard. But that's the point--hard days hard.

When I was done I was wicked tired but energized at the same time. There's something so much more fulfilling about a successful workout when you didn't even want to do it in the first place! I also realized that I'm building up my interval runs… so I can build up my tempo runs too. I don't have to start out perfect. I can start out breaking it up every 5 minutes and then every 7 and eventually get to where I need to be. I'm not following a plan, I'm not in training for a particular race. I can take my time and have a better chance of not giving up.

Today is an easy day. Easy recovery run and a simple core routine. I'm not sure how easy it will be to fit it in because I also have my kidney stone checkup ultrasound today. Hopefully I'll be able to do it all. I'm less confident about tomorrow's long run. It's warmer than it's been, but it may rain or snow. If I can't deal with a tempo on the treadmill, I'm sure I don't have a long run in me. It'll take me twice as long and I just don't have time for that. I'm hoping for a break with the crappy weather tomorrow instead.

I am Persephone

How beautiful is this ? Click for link.

I am Persephone
Yearning for the warm light
Of the sun
Reaching
Stretching my fingertips
Grasping for something not there
Drowning
Suffocating in the cold dark
Of never ending winter.


Pardon me, I've had Greek Mythology on my mind. But seriously, is anyone else just DONE with winter? Summer can't come soon enough.

Isn't it time?

I have never been a fan of winter. Sure, I enjoyed having snow days as a kid, but winter always meant cracked bleeding hands for me and being too cold. I am not fond of being cold. I prefer to be just a breath away from sweating at all times. When I was working, snow days were unheard of, so winter always brought the stress of having to decide just how much I wanted to risk my life just to get to work. Once I stopped working it was a lot less stressful. Snow still interferes with things but I can deal with missing a playdate better than I can deal with having to call in sick to work because there's a blizzard but the library still hasn't closed.

This winter I've tried really hard to not have my normal attitude. I've made sure to keep running 4 times a week (aside from my 2 week hiatus). I take a lot of Vitamin D. I don't stress about snow days. I've been doing pretty good and haven't been complaining, even though it seems like this winter is doing its best to test my resolve.

But, my friends, I am getting weary. I am getting tired of bundling the kids to leave the house. Wrestling with car seat buckles on top of winter coats. The constant layer of snowy dirt from the dogs' feet and the kids' boots. I am especially tired of the cold. I think I could deal with more snow, but less cold. Snow doesn't make the oil man come every month. But this bitter cold we've had... We have paid over $2000 in oil since December. That is a lot of money. And I don't have my house very warm. It's 63 in the morning (9-12), 67 during the day and from 6-9 am, 65 at night. But when it's in the teens or below 0 outside, it takes a lot of oil just to heat it to the 60s. I would gladly have it on 70 all day and night, but I'm trying to cut down a little bit on how much we use.

I'm very proud that I've kept running outside this winter and that we've gone out and done things and not hibernated. I'm proud that I haven't jumped on the Winter Sucks bandwagon. I'm proud that I haven't given in to my natural negativity this time of year.

But I'm ready for spring now.

Many things

I'm trying to get back into the blogging thing. This used to be my outlet and then well, things changed, and it wasn't what I needed it to be. I've decided to take it back though, so now it's just a matter of finding the time.

I've been doing fairly well this winter. I keep running and taking my Vitamin D and dreaming of the hot sweaty sun. I've managed to do my one weekly outside run--until this past weekend. It was below 0, or felt that way with the wind chill, and I just couldn't do it. I was so annoyed I couldn't run outside that I didn't run at all. I've tried to make up for it the past couple of days, but I've been doing so good extending my distance outside and doing more of the hill, that I feel like I've started the week off with a deficit. Which is so hilariously funny coming from a lazy bookworm. I did do 3.5 today and finally realized that I could play a DVD on my desktop computer in front of the treadmill. So I watched the first episode of Buffy and that got me through 40 minutes. I've accepted that I'm just going to go slower on the treadmill. Which is also funny to me remembering how afraid I was to run outside.

****

I'm getting serious pressure to have the next baby. From my CHILDREN. I think they ask me every day when we're going to have the next baby and whether or I not I think it will be a girl or a boy. On the way home from preschool today the Princess wisely declared that she thought it will be "a girl. Or a boy." SkyWalker goes back and forth, wanting a brother, but then changing his mind because he loves his sisters so much. He said he wants one now because he just loves babies and "it's a good thing we decided on 4." I don't remember him being in on the decision. I'm not quite ready for it myself. Chewie is doing much better communicating, and seems to be climbing on tables less, but I need to get out of this winter. It's been the snowiest, coldest winter I remember in a long time, and I know that adding pregnancy to it will increase the hibernation urge. I'm trying to think positively and not assume that I will spend 8 months vomiting again. I plan on continuing running, even if it's slower, and hope that it will counteract any morning-all day sickness. One of the Princess's preschool friends is one of three and his mom is expecting her fourth. It was so nice to hear. The world is a different place now... if you have more than 2 kids people look at you like you're irresponsible and insane. If it weren't for my aging uterus I would have a million babies. I figure it balances out with all my child-free friends.

I was marveling at how much SkyWalker has grown and how I remembered when he was just a teeny tiny baby. He snuggled up to me on the couch and told me that I can still call him my baby--when we're home. They certainly make it *easy* for me to want more kids. Maybe if they were rotten I'd be done.

****

My book blog is growing and I'm happy that I'm paying more attention to it than to the examiner articles. Examiner isn't paying what it used to and I wouldn't be surprised if someday it doesn't pay at all. So I'm focusing more on the blog. I was reading a lot of other book blogs and it was actually funny how many of them talked about getting burnt out and not having time to read what they wanted to read because of so many publisher demands blah blah blah and they've been doing this for a year, or less. At first I felt a little left out--I've been book blogging for SEVEN years and I don't have publishers beating down my door for reviews. But I also don't feel pressure. I get books from the library that I *want* to read, I have the books from VOYA to read, and I just started requesting e-galleys from Netgalley for my iPad. I think a lot of book bloggers got into it so they could get free books. I always got free books--from the library--and see it more as reader's advisory. If my reviews can help someone decide if they want to read a certain book, then my job is done. Even I'm not employed, I will always be a librarian at heart. It's about sharing my love of books, especially YA books, and not about getting books before they're released.

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There are towels to fold and dinner to cook and heineys to wipe.

Mall Runners

I have just had the most awesome winter running idea. Most of my runs are on the treadmill regardless of the season because of the small creatures in my house I need to take care of on a daily basis. But once a week when I have backup I hit the road. I've been doing really well sticking to it when it's been below my comfortable temperature of 50. I've run when it's been below freezing! But I draw the line at negative numbers. This weekend is supposed to be really cold. REALLY cold. I don't want to run outside, but I don't want to run on the treadmill either. I don't have a gym membership so I can't just drive to the Y and use their indoor track.

And then it hit me.

The mall.

How perfect would that be? I know that there are mall walkers. Why not runners too? We could stop at the security desk and get a badge or sticker or some identifying thing to alert people that we are mall runners and not shoplifters. Run. Stop at the food court and get a drink/snack. Do some shopping. As we're running past the shops think of all the goals and motivation! Do an extra mile and buy that shirt in the window you just passed! Other people would see us and think "Wow, that's cool! I'm going to go to Dick's right now and buy some running shoes!" It's a win-win situation for the mall! And they don't even have to do anything. When I run outside I don't have a sidewalk or a pretty little path. I have broken up asphalt and dodge the holes and dead animals. The mall doesn't have to have a designated running path. We can just dodge the people. It'll make it interesting.

This is it, people. Let's make it happen.