Falling Back into a Habit

I’m glowing

Yoga last night was so chill and fun. Girls Hanging Out. Maybe that’s what my class should actually be called. Indie music, getting things off our chest and sharing the joy. All while doing low aerial yoga. We focused some on the middle of the back and neck. Class flew by. I felt so peaceful afterward. I can’t be more grateful to have this outlet and such great people to help in their yoga practice.

And I ran this morning. Part of me was trying to make excuses. It had been a while and I was out of the habit. Once you are out of the habit of running at 4am, it’s really hard to convince yourself that it’s a good idea again. I took out my new Brooks for a test drive. I should have worn another layer on my legs. I’m still a little chilled on my thighs.

The dog was very excited to be out and running. She bounded from snowbanks to roads, looking back at me with a big smile on her face. I was criticized earlier this week about subjecting my dog to the stresses of running. This person obviously never owned a border collie mix. There was no subjecting here, she was loving every second of this..

My finish at the 5k convinced me to push a little harder. If I could run that fast for a 5k, what was another mile? I turned it up a notch. I ran to the beats of LMAFO and other fun party music. I needed music with energy to carry me thru. There was no Gu involved; this was a fasted run. Runkeeper kept telling me my pace was in the 13:00 range. I pushed a little harder. Then, 8:00. I had no idea how fast I was going. Taking out the first mile with all the potty breaks for the dog, my pace was 11:30. My shoes felt great. At first, they felt strange but by the end of the run, I could appreciate the extra cushion.

The streets were empty. The air felt nearly warm after the below zero temps. The wind was minimal. It was definitely cold. I put my hands in my shirt’s mittens. I felt the air cut thru my fleece running leggings. There was a sense of peace even though the music was energetic. The breath came a little harder but I didn’t fight it. My legs were tired after we turned around and my brain asked for Gu and then whined that I didn’t have any. But my mind, my mind was ecstatic. I had been missing my outdoor runs. The treadmill is a great tool but it cannot replace an early morning run. It can’t replace the camaraderie of the early birds.

A cop passed me on the road. I was wondering if I was going to get a ticket for not being on the sidewalk. But we are a bit of a running community and I think there is an understanding so long as we don’t impede traffic, and I usually only run on the road when I’m on a side street. I pictured him pulling over and calling to me as I approached. In my head, I wondered if it would be bad form to pause my Garmin and Runkeeper. He passed and I was left with alone with my dog.

It’s funny. I had no idea I was missing the morning runs as much as I was until I did it. When I went out, I felt at home and at peace in a way I don’t anywhere else, not even in the hammock during yoga. I hope that the weather cooperates and stays above zero and I can keep doing my outside runs.

To Gym or Not To Gym

Happy Monday! We made it thru the weekend.

Friday I went to Level 1 Aerial yoga. Went with my stepdaughter-to-be (SDTB). She really enjoys it too. One of the actresses from Pretty Little Liars does aerial stuffs. We enjoyed the scene from Pitch Perfect 2. And of course, there is the fun and freedom of doing yoga in the hammock.

It was a nice class with familiar faces. I was feeling a little stiff going into class. Stiff and tired. I also got to finally pick up my Christmas presents from the studio. Which reminded me to actually purchase their presents sitting in my etsy cart.

I don’t know that we focused on anything in particular in class. It just felt like a good overall workout. I felt loose by the end of class. My flexibility is suffering due to the running. I need to recover it. I would like to eventually get my splits. I never had them even as a child. Backbends, however, I don’t really have any urge to improve. Anyways, the class reminded my why it’s good to go to other classes than my own. It gives me a chance to relax and enjoy class more. Not to say that teaching low aerial is high stress but you have to be aware of all the students in class and help them with their needs. We talked about running for a minute too, which I never mind talking about.

Not from Friday's class

Saturday, we drove the SDTB to the Madison area in the morning, when I normally do my long run. It felt good to sleep in. It was nice to get up and see the sun already up. At the same time, it did feel strange watching what I ate on Saturday. I think the dog was happy to take a rest even though she is a bundle of energy at this point.

My fiancé has been wanting to start going to the gym. I’ve resisted. I’ve got plenty of body weight and yoga exercises I can do at home and have all the equipment already. Plus, I’ve got running stuff for cold weather. What do I need a gym for? Hold that thought.

The gym he chose is a good gym. Close to the house and lots of equipment including a pool and lots of classes. The staff is all sorts of friendly. They even have a treadmill that is easier on the joints and TRX straps that I can work on aerial conditioning. There is even a nice hot tub, sauna/steam room, and roomy and clean locker rooms.

But still why do should I spend money on a gym when the world itself is my oyster? The answer is this morning. It was -7 degrees and even the roads were shiny with a layer of ice. Because of this, I’m pretty sure I’ll be joining this gym.

While I was there on Saturday, I managed to get in 4.75 miles. Since I wasn’t going to be able to get in my normal 3 hours, I worked on speed. I played around with the pace and incline. I ran my butt off. I tripped a couple of times when I was starting out. It feels weird to run but go nowhere. With such a steady pace, I realized too how much my pace varies. Even though I average 5.2 mph, I definitely go slow in some spots and get a little more speed in others. It was tough to hold a pace. The fiancé checked in on me a couple of times, which made it hard to find my rhythm but I’m glad he did. He knows I can get anxious in new places.

So I’m joining a gym. I’ve got plenty of work I can do in the morning on my rest days. But on days like this morning, I can run safely inside. I wasn’t so worried about the cold, but the sheen on ice on the roads. Sidewalks were nearly a solid sheet of ice. We are also dog sitting a little Jack Russell and I don’t think he is up for runs in the morning. Right now, I’ve got a week pass. I will see about running in the morning and running/walking in the afternoon when I go with the fiancé. When I was using the treadmill, I had to admit that it could be a great tool, especially for me and my need for speed and ice free conditions. Now I’ve got some research to do on how to keep my skin and hair healthy with gym work outs. I might have needed to do it before but now I feel like it’s really important.

Saturday and Sunday, we watched football and I held Karn. The dog is getting disinterested in it as it seems to do very little and doesn’t move very fast. Karn hangs out under my sweatshirt or scarf or even hair where it’s warm and goes to sleep. He also got a new background of Monument Valley which looks rather spiffy.

Here is a shot of Monument Valley that I took this Spring

 

 The dog was also super snuggly. She was cuddled into whoever was on the couch. For a collie mix, she sure can be a couch potato.

That’s it. That’s my report in. Nothing too ground breaking or earth shattering. No epiphanies or wise words. Just staying active and happy. 

A Happy Run

This week you get to read a lot of my thoughts, apparently

Aerial yoga last night was very restorative. On the drive in, my back started seizing so I decided to wring us out in class. My one regular was missed but we survived. An original student came and visited us. We all agreed a nice, extra restorative class would be perfect. We spent time on twists, extensions and inversions. We added a few intensive moves just to keep the blood flowing. I think we all felt very relaxed after class and a little less achy. It seems like the cold weather can lead to stiff joints and muscles. A good restorative class can help regain some of that mobility. I want to also mention that yoga isn’t just about backbends and splits. Those are nice things but I certainly don’t have my splits and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do the wheel or wild thing asanas. It’s about meeting yourself on the mat and looking inward and focusing on your practice of pose, breath and meditation. In many ways, it’s like running where you focus on posture/form, breath, and mental games. Maybe that’s why I love both these things so much.

So, I ran again this morning. I had gotten around to accepting road conditions and figured it was time to get back on track. I was slow to get out of bed and get dressed. I maybe should get back to sleeping in my running clothes. Makes getting up and running much easier when I don’t need to change clothes at 4am.

I had been hoping for some snow. It was in the forecast, but there were only a few stray snowflakes. It was a nice forecast overall with mid 30’s and light wind. In retrospect, I would have left my jacket at home. I was plenty warm with my fleece shirt and leggings. I donned all my reflective gear and my led hat. This hat has been very useful in seeing all the ice in the morning.

When I first started I had a few “I don’t wanna” thoughts, but then I told myself we are going to have some fun. And I did. I sprinted, I walked, I pushed my pace, I ran at my normal speed, all in the hopes to enjoy myself and to increase my pace overall. I have a 5k next week and I’m a distance sorta girl. I don’t feel warmed up till mile 3. I’m hoping this will help me get ready for the short race.

Mental games tried to sneak in but I manipulated myself into a full 6.4 miles. It would have been 6.5ish but I took a wrong turn and missed my normal road. I told myself first that I’d just do 4 miles, and then 5, and then 6, and why I don’t I just do the full run. By the time I turned around, I was enjoying myself. I can’t speak for the dog though. She seemed tired, running next to me rather than in front. She barely needed any shushing as we waited for another dog to go by on the other side of the street. Fiancé mentioned that she is getting older. Being six, I wonder how much longer she’ll be keeping up with me.

I’m glad to be back enjoying runs. I had to learn to adapt and not have expectations. I beat my mind at its own game. I stretched my limits. I’m still nervous about next Saturday. But that’s ok. Adrenaline is good for speed. J 

Falling in Love All Over Again

I fell in love with running all over again this morning. The past few runs I’ve not enjoyed much. They have been hard and slow and while it gave me a sense of accomplishment and reaffirmed my determination; I wasn’t enjoying myself much.

Even this morning, I was tired. I’m still flaring but feeling a little better. Getting up this morning was tough. There was lots of inner whining. Getting ready, I felt like all thumbs. Today, I thought I would try pairing my heart monitor to my Garmin again. It was an immediate success. More thumbs as I gathered up my reflective gear.

The dog was rather uncooperative this morning, running slowly directly in front of me. She also has not gotten the hang of the ice. We have more ice in the forecast tomorrow. I don’t like the idea of running on a treadmill but these super icy conditions might require it. Outside just feels so peaceful, especially in the mornings when so few people are up. It’s so still. It’s just me, the dog, and the road in front of us.

I ran with the intention of pushing myself with a little speed work. Run quickly between ice patches. I think it might be best described as a fartlek day. What is a fartlek? It’s a Swedish word meaning speed play. It’s an unstructured workout like running and then increasing your speed up a hill, or to the next telephone pole. There are fartlek workouts that are much more “organized” but it seems to me that it defeats the purpose.

And that’s where I fell in love. It was fun. I got to run hard and take it easy. I got to work around the ice rather than it be a detriment to my intent. I didn’t have the fastest work out. But I feel like this will help my overall pace. I have a hard time with short distances. I don’t feel like I warm up until after the 5k. My time didn’t really reflect how hard I worked, and neither did my Garmin or Runkeeper. But it allowed me to work with my conditions rather than be frustrated with them. It’s freedom.

Short post but I was just so happy to love running again, I wanted to share.

Suck It Up and Let It Go

Happy New Year! You made it another year. Congratulations.

Wednesday yoga was interesting. One of my regulars reminded me that she’ll be MIA for the next five weeks as she is doing another class with a friend. We had a visitor from the Thursday class again. My other regular was there as well. The class opened with letting go of all the stress, anxiety, disappointments, and other things hanging over our head or sitting on our shoulders from the past year. We opened ourselves to the possibilities of this coming year and let go of our expectations.

With all this in mind, we twisted, wringing ourselves out, and pressed into heart openers, feeling the release that only heart openers can provide. Of course, I had to add hip openers and quad stretches. It felt nice to loosen up from tip toe to crown. I left feeling much more relaxed.

My runkeeper shirt (in a mirror)

My running was interrupted by New Years. I was feeling so tired and we had plans to do some dancing this year with some friends so no run on Thursday. Instead, I danced for roughly three hours. I figure that has to count for something. Friday I had the potential to run 3 miles but I slept hard till the rest of our plans caught up with me.

Saturday had me a flare from the excitement of the holidays. I was very disappointed. I, generally, try to ignore the myalgia but sometimes it’s rather insistent. That’s when my fiancé surprised me with an early birthday present. We spent the better part of the day getting my new bearded dragon settled in. I have named him Karn and he is a little squirrelly but mostly likes to hang out and watch things.

Sunday I had me a run. Sunday I finally had enough of no running and started out at 6am with my favorites streaming on IHeart. I got to use my hat with LEDs and all my reflective gear. It was cold, low 20’s, but not too cold. Two layers on top, one layer on bottom, gloves, and headband properly prepared me for the weather. I wore my trail shoes to help navigate the snowy terrain.

Which gets me on a sore spot on the run. Well, to be honest, I wanted to turn around and go home for the first six miles. I had a banana on my way out but only one Gu pack. And that might have been fine but I had to fight with winter. Or rather people who don’t deal with winter. There was ice all over but that is to be expected. But the bike path I run was not cleared, nor sidewalks that the city was in charge of like by parks or freeways. Businesses didn’t clear their snow. Residents left it all sitting on their sidewalks. Sometimes, there isn’t a safe place to run on the road. I could deal with the ice but the plow packed snow just killed me. I just wanted to go home and give up.

But I kept saying, just make it to the next light, or that mailbox. I accepted that this run was going to be more about the miles than pace. I was getting so frustrated and, then, I heard a guided meditation come on my IHeart station. Her voice reminded me to breathe and relax my shoulders and hips. She reminded me to let go. And I did. And it helped. I still got frustrated during the run with all the roadblocks but each unshoveled sidewalk gave me a chance to let go and just enjoy the experience. (Maybe with a little swearing.)

One of the other things that was annoying me was my underpants. Make sure you wear proper underpants or you can have the experience that I did where they roll down. Didn’t matter how many times I chased them down and pulled them back up, they would just roll back down again. I don’t know if they were too big or too small but I will not be wearing those again.

The dog also upset my serenity, the serenity I was hoping to find on that run. She decided that she just didn’t need to bark at the dogs but lunge and growl. We ran into a number of dogs. The most frustrating part of it all is that she is actually friendly and would like to play. Most people don’t see her and think friendly. That’s one thing we’ll be working on when we thaw out.

So what did I learn on this run? Suck it up, buttercup. Sort of. I needed to accept my limitations on Saturday but I knew that my desire to stop on Sunday was mental. Much of running is mental. In the beginning, I had a heck of time running for ten minutes at any speed. And now, aside from snowy barriers, I can run 3 hours without stopping. My brain still tries to tell me I can’t do it, but I know better. The last half of the run was pleasant because I had finally managed to shush my mind and enjoy my music. I’m so glad I kept going.

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.