Leaving Footprints in the Snow

And the storm rolled in covering the ground in a heavy snow, perfect to build a snowman but awful to shovel.

I was very excited to get up and run. We have only had one other snow and it was great run. It was peaceful and I got cheered on by cops and plowers. This run was not that. Since it was a work day, everyone was up early and clearing their driveways. The sound of snowblowers echoed thru the early morning air.

Getting ready was interesting because I had to plan for the wet but balance that with mild 30’s. I wore fleece leggings, tall socks (from Christmas), a light shirt and light jacket, my hat with lights (from Christmas), buff (from Christmas), reflective vest (from Christmas), and headband. And of course, I brought my phone and headphones because music is motivating, especially the Lady Sovereign or HyperCrush IHeart stations.

With all the snow, I figured street running would be the way to go. Last winter, I discovered that many of my neighbors are not good about cleaning their sidewalks. It was generally a good idea except for the roads that weren’t touched by a plow. I ended up running in the narrow tracks of tires, hurdling sometimes thigh high piles of snow left by plows going the on other streets. The dog loved the snow; snow blowers, less so.

It felt like I was running through deep sand. My legs tired quickly as I had to high step much of the run and manage to stay in a narrow tire track which is much harder than it sounds. I did manage to stay upright for the whole run. I cut my run short since I knew that I was slow today. The snow slowed me down and I only got in 5.37 miles.

I had used Gu because I figured I could use the extra boost for this run. Iheart decided to quit just a ½ mile in but I didn’t want to stop and futz with the phone. I just prayed that Runkeeper kept going. And it did. Sometimes, the pace announcements were rather depressing (snowbound) but other times it was very encouraging (clear roads). I’m not sure what sort of running exercise this might be considered but I know my legs are stronger because of this run.

While it wasn’t the same feeling as my last snow run, I had a different feelings. Determination, persistence comes to mind. There was some serenity as I listened to my breath, watching clouds form in front of me. 

Drapes and Gu

Wednesdays are great. Not only are they the middle of the week, but it’s the day I get to teach low aerial yoga. I’ve said before I don’t really like to say “teach” and really think of it ask guiding or leading but for sake of conversation, I teach on Wednesdays. Each class is different. Some are very silly and some are a little more on the serious side. And just because you are less than a foot off the ground most times, doesn’t mean class will be easy. My style is relaxed. I use the English version of names. Talking is fine so long as it’s not too distracting. It’s a safe place where things can be said and know it won’t go any further. The attendees are pretty fantastic themselves with different backgrounds and abilities and goals. I’ve got a few regulars and new ones pop in here and there.

Last night, we used two fabrics. Another teacher did this with me in a regular aerial yoga class and I’ve been wanting to try it. I went in with a few vague ideas of asanas/poses that could be done but decided to explore the dynamics of the fabrics as we lay and stretched in them. Part of the joy in aerial for myself and, I think, the students is the freedom of movement and at the same time the guidance of the fabric. Sure you can force a move, but in reality, it’s just better to go with the flow as much as possible, especially in a class that has “restorative” in its description.  And restore we did. The time flew by as we played in the fabrics. Time was spent stretching joints and twisting out our aches and pains. I did have one pose I wanted to do. I’m not sure it would have a name in regular yoga but I call it draping. There is also a dead lizard or corpse lizard but that one is completely enveloped in the fabric and nearly impossible to get a picture of. I promise it’s not as grisly at it sounds and a great hip opener.

Thursday was a rough morning. I’ve not been getting to bed very early and it’s taking its toll. But I have a schedule and I like to keep my commitments, even to myself. Maybe, most importantly to myself. Not because I’m most important but because I have a habit of forgetting about myself till I don’t know what sort of eggs I like.

 My HRM is on the fritz which makes me sad but I dressed a little warmer on top and a little cooler on the bottom and chose my Gu for the run. Strawberry is good and gummier than the blueberry pomegranate. I found it very palatable with a splash of milk. It was a nice chilly 30 degrees. No rain or snow, with just a bit of wind that I was running into for the first half of the run. Great, tailwind!

I had mentioned in a previous post that I thought I was hitting a good run streak only to be disappointed by a rough run on Tuesday. Maybe Tuesday was a fluke but Thursday felt great. I don’t know if it was the weather, shoes, body, Gu or what, but I just felt good. Running felt right. It felt like something that was natural and natural at an 11:00 pace. The dog, I don’t think, felt the same as me. She started running with me about half way thru. There was some tired legs, there was some gasping, there was some side stitches but that’s just part of running. I ate the other half of Gu when we turned around. I think the Gu works. My time decreased from 1:23:00 to 1:18:00 and I still felt pretty good at the end of the run.

This is a really short post about the run. There wasn’t anything that made it special. I didn’t see any urban wildlife or paintable sunrises. It was just me and my dog challenging ourselves. It’s pretty wonderful. 

I think this should be my theme song.

Ice Ice Baby

Thursday is the big day. Thursday is my racing debut.

And I'm anxious. Very anxious. My brain is divided into two parts. There is the part that is excited and knows that I'm more than capable of completing this course in time, and without walking. It knows that I can do this with hills at an 11:00 pace. I do this distance twice a week. The other part is worrying. What if I forget to wear my running shoes? What if the wind from Lake Michigan undermines my clothing choices? What if I come in last? What if I have to poop?

So I put my trust in my training, in my Higher Power, and knowing someone has to come in last, but at least that someone finished.

All of this is going thru my head as I do a short run this morning. Which is sort of funny because I can now say 2.6 miles is a short run. Last January, that would have seemed daunting. I have some serious mileage ahead of me and my long runs don't even scare me any more. If I don't have early responsibilities, I should be running 10.5 miles and I'm looking forward to it.

The run itself was relatively uneventful. I went without music as headphones are discouraged at this Turkey Trot. I just needed to get used to listening to all the stuff racing thru my mind. I am very grateful I wasn't trying to do any sort of speed work. 1) The dog was a serial pee-er again. 2) Ice.
Ice is the runner's nemesis. While most of the sidewalks were clear, there was sneaky patches of ice. There was the skip of my heart when I felt the slippery footing underneath my Xodus GTX. Sometimes, whole sections were blatant ice rinks that required careful shuffling across. My time was slow, but it should be. The point of the run was to keep my legs loose for the race and not to try for a personal record.

I did find one thing out. Runkeeper is silent when I don't have my headphones plugged into it. I'll carry it with me so I can see my splits on Thursday. I am also considering running in this shirt. It might be funny, or might be out of place. I can't decide.

Tomorrow is yoga in the morning, pick up race packet after work, and aerial yoga in the evening. Maybe I should make a list of questions in hopes someone at the store can answer them and pick up some racing fuel for my long run. In yoga, I'll be focusing on my quads, hamstrings, achilles and hip flexors. I'll also be focusing on shushing my mind.

Fly, Run, Fly

By the time I left work, everyone was all abuzz about the impending snow. Here, in Wisconsin, the first snowfall is a big deal. It separates the Wisconsinites from those who just live here.

But first came the aerial yoga. There are parts of aerial yoga that I adore and parts that I am not a fan of in the least. Discovering new flows, love. Leg series, no love. Hanging upside down, love. Full arm planks, no love. And we did both of those in class in warm up. The rest of the class I enjoyed because it was tailored to me. At the beginning of many yoga classes, aerial or not, the instructor will as if any one has anything they want to work on, or anything that hurts. This is your chance to make the class a better fit for you. If you have injured something, the instructor may avoid the one series and substitute another or be sure to provide you with modifications so you can get the most of the class. Or if you have something you want to work out, or a pose that you love, the instructor can do his or her best to work it in to the class. No one said anything so I asked for "yoga for runners" and for the next hour or so we released our lower backs, stretched our quads and loosened our hip flexors.

And then the snow started. 

And then comes the another situation where I get crazy looks. I ran in it. Dog woke me up at 4:30 and off we went. It didn't feel particularily cold. I was extremely aware of my footing. I've seen the meme where the lady talks about the joy of running in the snow, only to fall dramatically as she ran from the camera. see here. 

I never really settled into this run. I did essentially an out and back. Normally, I do big loops so that I can always diagonal my way home if I want to call it quits. Maybe I didn't want to give myself that option. The dog and I got a few honks and waves as we ran by cops and snow plows. The snow didn't really start to stick to the sidewalk until mile 5. While I never felt comfortable in this run, I did feel very serene. I was aware of the sound of the dog's tags jingling, the sound of my feet on the snow covered ground, the puff of my breath, the snow resting on my eyelashes. Mostly, I was aware of the white stretch of untouched snow in front of me. My mind was quiet. My legs moved under their own accord because if I thought about them, I was afraid I would realize how tired I was. Dog started giving me dirty looks about 7 miles in. She was coated in snow and had little icicle whiskers. At mile 8, that's when the real bargaining started. I should just take the short route, 8 miles is enough. I shouldn't be running in this weather. But I kept going and knowing I was so close to being done found a little spring in my step for the last mile and a half. Normally, in snow, I've heard I should add 30 seconds on to my pace. Considering I beat my last pace by 10 seconds, I was more than happy to add another -30 seconds. It felt so very invigorating to do nearly ten miles in snow. It felt like a moving meditation. You cannot see it here but there were snowflakes on my eyelashes.

If you ever have any question on what to wear for a run, Runners World has a great resource to help you decide. 

On Sunday, I had a great oppurtunity with the yoga studio I work at. We were invited to be part of the Holiday Parade. If I can run 9.5 miles in snow at the butt crack of dawn, a parade should be a cake walk, right? One of our other instructors knows her way around the craft table and made us all costumes to fit the theme of the Isle of Misfit Toys. I was the dolly. I feel it necessary to add here that the temperatures were hovering around 20F and only dropping. I put on a couple of layers, put on make up and made the drive over to the city of Waukesha. 

The costume added another layer. Hot hands were passed around. Hot chocolate was downed. We were nearly late for judging due to a cop giving us not quite accurate directions. Riding on a trailer at 25 mph is an exillerating and life acknowledging moment. And cold. Very cold. We had a short rig and lots of decorations. Sadly, I don't have a good picture of the float as I was in it most of the time. But the Chamber of Commerce said we were definitely one of the top floats. Obviously, we had a Bumble and everything!

We all had fun. Our candy supply was exhausted and at some point you just accept the freezing temperatures and the inability to feel your toes. 

No run this morning, I'll run in snow, but this hit or miss ice seems too dangerous to do even with a flashlight. Besides, I have to take it easy. Race day Thursday!