Gusty Run

I started out writing this post and trying to listen to music at the same time, didn't work.  Winter brings me a renewed enjoyment of music and I'm currently all cozied up in the easy chair listening to Perry Como, Glenn Miller and the like - perfect for a rainy day.  My father gets the credit for introducing me to this music.  He was born in 1925 and always loved big band and swing.  I remember him telling me that "pop" music was just the same beat droning on and on and he just didn't get the appeal.  He also listened to a lot of classical and while I enjoy that too, I tend to be a softy and listen to "light" classical.   That's a picture of my dad, Merle, and brother, Greg taken decades ago.  I think we were in Canada at a house rental for a summer vacation.  That little smirk my dad has on his face is so classic him.  And I've always loved this picture because his son has a version of that same smirk on his face.

Aaaanyway, got off on a little tangent there.  Back to our regular programming.  Despite dragging my butt on Friday I managed to get myself into the gym.  And I had a great workout!  I don't think I've mentioned my plan to increase my treadmill speed by .1 every two weeks.  So I was doing 6.2 with 2 minutes of 7.2 intervals every three minutes.  Yesterday I increased it to 6.3 and 7.3 respectively.  So I ran 3 miles in 27:03 on a 1% incline - and felt great!  After the run I did chest/triceps/core and generally felt like the hard core athlete that I am.  Wink.

So exercise has been good but I tell you, I really feel strange about my eating.  My weight is staying the same so in that sense things are going well.  But my behaviors don't feel healthy and reasonable.  I went to a family holiday party yesterday (a day off from exercise, btw) and ate a lot of snack-type foods (chex mix, crackers/cheese, hummus, etc) and then ate a late lunch, followed by two desserts.  I was pretty full and thought I might be done eating for the day.  I went out that evening to shop for a new pair of cold weather running tights.  Mine from last year are getting loose.  More on that in a bit.  Anyway, back at home and the kids were in bed and I started to get hungry.  Three bowls of Honey Nut Cheerios (the kids' cereal, I know, I know) later and I just felt not good.  Granted this was spread out over a couple of hours but still, I don't need to be eating like that.  I should have just had dinner like a normal person.  And at the very least, I did not need the third bowl for crying out loud!  So this is the type of thing I need to figure out in maintenance.  Just because I can eat a certain way (ie, unhealthy) and get "away" with it in terms of my weight, doesn't mean that's how I want to behave.  It just doesn't vibe with how I want to live in terms of diet.  So I'm trying to be patient with myself, but lord knows I can't voice these issues to anyone around here because they're practically accusing me of being underweight (which I am far from being) as it is.  "I need to stop eating so much" will bring exasperated looks and trying to go into the psychological details of the unhealthy behaviors would bore them to tears, so that's what my blog is for, right?  Anyway, I want to improve, figure it out, and not have this become a slippery slope into old behaviors. 

Enough of that, let's talk about today's run.  The training plan called for an 8 mile run.  The weather outside was frightful - rainy and cold but the worst was the wind.  My weather app showed 20+ mph winds and a friend posted a picture of a downed tree in his front yard.  Eek!  I wasn't sure running in that weather was the best plan but my running partner Catherine couldn't do any other time.  So run we must.

Last night I purchased two pair of cold weather running tights.  One by UnderArmour and the other were Nike.  Both had a microscopic fleece lining inside.  In the end I chose the UnderArmour Women's Coldgear Fitted Leggings (for under 55 degrees - which is called spring in some parts of this country).  They just fit me better.  I was concerned they were too thin to keep me warm but the Nike's were no thicker so I gave it a try.

So I wore those with a long sleeved tech running shirt and my Sugoi Versa jacket. Oh, and I had a headband to cover my ears and a visor hat to keep the rain out of my eyes.  Catherine and I hit the road and I decided pretty quick that I just had to run at a comfortable pace.  It was too cold, windy and rainy to try anything else.  The wind turned out to be not so bad, which was a welcome surprise.

We did a large loop from near my house and had a good time enjoying the winter weather and chatting.  Our loop included some time on a trail, which was super wet, a little muddy, and added to the childlike enjoyment of it all.  We were nearing our last mile and I knew we'd been running pretty slow (just based on how I was feeling) so I suggested we pick up the pace for the last mile.  Off we go!

Here are the splits from the run (full Garmin stats here).  We ran the last mile in 8:23!  It helped that we were running on a slight decline. Our overall pace average was 10:20.  I guess that's what happens when you're busy dodging puddles.  We had a little cool-down walk (and suddenly I was freezing!) and then back at home I couldn't get out of my wet clothes and into a hot shower fast enough.  Oh darn!  I'd wanted to get a picture of us in our wet weather running clothes but forgot until we were already out of our jackets and shoes.  Oh well, here we are post-run.  We were trying to re-enact our awesome running!

Brrr...Catherine and I cannot be stopped by a little rain and wind!

After the run we both took a hot shower, which is the polar opposite of an ice bath!  But it felt so good to warm up.  All cozied up in fleece and then we spent some time stretching and using the foam roller.  For some reason my body felt really tight and sore, like this was my first long run.  Maybe it was that last mile at 8:23!

The rest of the week will be tricky.  I work tomorrow but will have to hit the gym early because they close early.  Tuesday the gym is closed.  Gasp!  Tuesday it should be easy enough to get out for a four mile run at some point.  Wednesday through Friday I'm home with the kids and Miguel is working.  I'm hoping to take a boot camp class with Laurie on Thursday morning.  And I have to figure out how to get to the gym on Friday.  Next week calls for a 9 mile run.  As much as I enjoyed the rain today, I sure hope we get nicer weather next weekend so I can take another crack at that 9:30 pace.

Before I close, I just want to share a sweet moment with you.  A picture of Miguel and Marek from our family session a couple months back.

Somebody loves his daddy!