Now That's More Like It!

Got a chance to head outside for a run today in this beautiful weather!  Since it's January and supposed to be absolutely freezing, I completely overdressed and was drenched with sweat not even half a mile in.  Live & learn.  I knew I was wearing too much the second I stepped foot outside but ignored my instinct to remove a layer for fear of delaying/skipping a run for the second time today. (Earlier I attempted a treadmill run but when I reached the basement I got a whiff of a foul smell that I thought was a dead mouse/bird/other critter type thing, but turned out to be a waste pipe leaking into my basement showering a storage cabinet with stinky water.  In an attempt to figure out where it was coming from and having to call a plumber, I had to miss a morning run).  So I didn't want another excuse preventing me from getting out there. 

My pretty pink running watch

In other unfortunate news, Amazon.com completely lied in the description of my running watch.  I thought what I asked for & received most thankfully for Christmas was a GPS watch.  As it turns out there is no GPS on it so it functions solely as a stopwatch and you can break it down in splits, but since it doesn't track how far you are running I have no idea when to hit the button.  Oh well.  Fun though - I do plan on using it during races this year so that I can get an accurate time, and it definitely comes in handy for my other exercises and it's much easier than carrying around my iPhone for those.  So it definitely is a useful tool and will serve its purpose until I can afford a GPS watch.

Anyway, I was nervous as I headed out this afternoon, not knowing how far I'd be able to go after last night's debacle.  My goal was to just hit 3 miles.  I wasn't going to aim for a specific speed just yet but I wanted to make it to 3 miles without stopping.  I knew the route I wanted to follow because I have run it before but I couldn't remember how far it was and I couldn't remember what I did in the end - if I went around another block or not.  (I checked MapMyRun and the last time I ran 2.66 miles and opted to turn back towards home instead of continuing for one more loop around the block).  This time, I opted to do the extra loop and logged 2.97 miles in 30:08.  (You can check out the specifics here.)  SOOOO annoyed about the missing 0.03 miles but I'll forgive myself, especially since we walked another half mile later in the evening. 

My pace was about average for me.  I probably could have run some parts faster than I did but there were other spots where I was really struggling.  I actually almost came to a stop for a second because some chunks had made their way to the back of my throat and I thought I was going to lose it on someone's lawn, but luckily they stayed down.  I know, gross.  But overall even though it was tougher than it should have been I did feel much better running today than I did yesterday, and I think it has to do with being outside.  While I don't like not knowing how fast I'm actually running as I'm running, I like that I can adjust my pace as I feel it instead of having to judge where I think I might feel OK.  Does this sentence make any sense?  When I run on a treadmill, I know exactly how fast I'm running.  But when I feel a little tired or like I want/need to slow down a little bit, I have to guess what speed would be more comfortable and adjust it manually whereas outside I can just slow to what actually does feel comfortable.  But then I don't know if I'm keeping myself at a steady pace or if I'm going as fast as I want to be, etc.  Ugh.  I guess outside & the treadmill both serve their purposes!  I'll probably end up doing my speedwork on the treadmill because of this and I'll aim to do the distance runs outside as much as possible.

As it turns out, I kept my pace fairly steady!  My splits were 10:00, 10:04 & 10:12.  Nowhere near my goals for the year but I'm just happy that I finished today.  I'll start working on speed once I'm comfortable in my 3 miles again.  Taking 3 minutes off of my mile isn't going to be easy so I'm really going to have to push myself to make this happen.

Sitting here typing this I'm feeling that twinge in my hip again.  I did do tons of stretching after my run & I did preemptively roll my hamstrings & my hip anticipating some effects of running on pavement.  Let's just hope that it remains a twinge & goes away quickly with some more stretching & rolling! 

My plan is to run again tomorrow since the timing works out well with wifey's schedule, but if the twinge is pain or too much, I might take a rest day and try to eke out a run on Monday.

So overall, not my best run but I'm getting back to where I was before the holidays and I don't think it's going to take too much more to be 100%.  Hopefully the real work can begin soon!

First Run of the New Year

Well OK then, that was brutal!  I can never let this much time go between runs again - this was an eye-opening experience for me! 

Last night I headed down to the treadmill, hoping to just complete 3 miles.  No big deal, didn't have to go really fast, I just wanted to run 3 miles.  I started off at a 6 - faster than my comfort zone of 5.3 but definitely not anywhere near too fast for me.  I expected it to be tough since it had been so long and I wanted it to be so that I can get on with the rest of my goals for the year.  But I didn't expect it to feel like this;  It was like my body wasn't mine.  I've run 3 miles a bunch of times now, I know I can do it, I expect to be able to do it, some runs harder than others but definitely within my realm of things I can just do.

About half a mile in I wasn't sure I was even going to make it to one mile.  I was pushing as hard as I could and my body just wasn't doing what I wanted it to.  It was like being in one of those dreams where you try to run away from something and your legs won't move or you get nowhere.  I sped up to 6.3 and 6.5 and had hoped to make it into the 7's, but it just wasn't in the cards.  I couldn't move fast enough, I was shocked!

I did a mile in 9:51 which is about average-ish for me so at least I accomplished that, but then I had to walk for a spell.  It felt like there was an elephant sitting on my chest and I was really struggling to breathe.  I actually thought I was going to throw-up at one point, which is really why I stopped running at a1 mile.  If I were at a gym or outside I may have continued & seen what happened.  But not on the carpeted side of my basement.  Anyway, it was while I was walking that it dawned on me that I hadn't taken my asthma medication in over a week, so that may have had an effect on my breathing difficulties, lol.  Point taken, I won't forget that again!

So I walked a quarter mile and then wanted to run another whole mile but I just didn't have it in me.  I did another half mile in 4:47 and walked another quarter to cover 2 miles total.  The workout is posted here if you want to see all the embarrassing details.  I am not proud and this needs to change. I plan on running again later today so hopefully that will foster some different results.

On another note, I do feel much better today than I have in quite a while.  My muscles have that slight ache of being used and it is a much more welcome feeling as opposed to the loafiness I've had as of late.  I have more energy today and I'm itching to get back into a run - possibly even outside today if time allows.  And I made sure to take my asthma meds this morning so hopefully that will relieve some of my lung issues!  Let's see what today brings!

New Year, New Goals, No More Excuses

OK, so I'm a bad runner and a bad blogger!  The holiday rush got the best of me both physically & mentally.  Wifey was gone for most of December so it was really difficult to fit in time for runs.  And then when I could, it seemed I was always sick with one thing or another.  Since New Year's though, it has been pure laziness.  I have commented on this before that once you get out of your routine it's REALLY hard to get back into it.  The last time I ran was on December 16th, over a month ago.  It's SOO embarrassing!!

And let me tell you, I feel the effects!  I feel sluggish, I feel like there is extra weight on me (although according to the scale I am exactly the same weight as before - that can't be right).  I feel like there is that weight on my chest that makes it difficult to breathe when exerting myself.  My face is doing some weird acne thing.  I don't understand it.  I was fine until I started running and then I noticed some minor breakouts - I figured it was from all the sweat.  But now that I've been inactive it's like my skin has erupted.  And what I hate the most is the blob that is my midsection!!  It took so long to get it back into something that resembles abs and it is absolutely amazing how quickly that loafs right back to goo on there!  So yeah, I'm paying for my mistakes & inaction, BIG TIME!!

The surprising thing is the lasting effects that running has had on me, even though I haven't moved in over a month.  I had a physical done the other day.  Just your standard, regular, run of the mill checkup.  My resting heart rate went from 92 in March of last year to 60.  I wonder what it would have been if I had kept the activity up?!

So I'm dropping the excuses & hitting the pavement (or rubber treads on my mill as it were).  Wifey comes back home from a trip tonight and I'm getting my butt back in gear!  I already have a first race planned on March 16th, which is right around the corner so I have to get myself back to 5K ready by then.  And then my 2013 running goals begin!

I didn't have any lofty goals in 2012.  It was basically to complete a 5K without walking, stopping, or dying.  I did that but I pretty much missed most of the 2012 running season/races because I wasn't ready until the end of August.  So this year I plan to take part in as many runs as possible, especially on the boardwalks (or what's left if them).  My goal isn't just to run but to run faster.  Specifically, I want to complete a 5K in under 28 minutes.  That's the big goal.  Here's the whole list:

• Run a 5K in under 28 minutes
• Run a 7 minute mile.  Just one 7 minute mile, not a whole 5K at that pace, though I am sure that I will want to repeat it :)
• Run 5 miles.  I am pretty sure I can do this now, but I've never tried it.
• Run on more boardwalks!!!
• Run with Kashi
• Do a Pub Run/Mug Run/Whatever you want to call it.  Running & Alcohol.  I'm in.
• Do The Color Run with LM again (set for March 16th), who is fantastically doing the Couch to 5K program right now!!  She's going to kick my butt this year!
• Run with MFC
• Do the LUNGevity 5K run instead of the walk with Kris
• Do the Race For The Hungry Holiday 5K in Burlington with Wifey

I want to complete this by the end of the 2013 running season, and my last race will be in December so I have a while.  I want to work up the courage to set a longer distance goal (settle down!), but I'm not there yet.  10 miles or a 1/2 marathon still seem super unachievable for this year & I don't really want that now and I'm not sure that I will in the future either.  It's not a matter of thinking that I can't do it - I'm sure I could if I trained for it & put my mind to it.  I just don't have that desire to do a long distance like that.

So here's to a new year, starting fresh, and new goals!