Simple Little Kind of Free

This morning I happily awoke to slightly more than 2 inches of new snow. Although I'm down my usual workout partner I always have my faithful backup of the four legged variety. After passing most of the morning grumbling about all my sore muscles from yesterday's run we geared up for snow and headed out for a cross country trek.

Conditions were less than ideal for me and my skis but for Boomer they were absolutely perfect. I decided to keep him leashed for the first section along the road for his safety but as soon as we turned away I set him loose. Rarely do you see such joy as in an animal running free, I think Boom was channeling his inner greyhound today as he went flying ahead of me and charging back. Lucky for me he never goes too far and almost always comes back once I call, only occasionally taking the scenic route.

After our last run when we were chased down by a rottie, I have been a little reluctant to take Boomer along. At least I know I can scream loud enough to elicit help. Lucky for us even though the dog nipped at him a few times and I had to pick him up over my head, the neighbors helped us escape shaken but unharmed. It would be nice not to have to worry about these things, but if it's a choice between my dog's health/ happiness and the occasional mishap I guess it's better to take your chances. Although if I have to, I might buy dog repellent spray to carry with me for our own safety. As much as I hate the idea of ever harming an animal, I would have gone down fighting that rottie if it had attacked any worse than it did. I'm crossing my fingers it never happens again!

Listening to: Born to Run/ Bruce Springsteen

This One's for the Girls

I dragged my sleepy self from a nice warm bed this morning to brave winter winds and the cold hard pavement. I met the Tri group at the Y despite my reservations that I wouldn't be able to keep up. My last run was about 2 weeks ago at the college with Angela, I didn't make it much more than a mile and had to walk on and off more than usual. It's easy to get discouraged with running, too many bad days that leave you questioning your capability and then seemingly random good days that have you guessing what exactly it is that contributes to those vast differences.

Today was a little of both. First off I'll mention that our group today consisted of three very active men and then me... Luckily for me they did one of their easy runs so that I could attempt to keep up. I did manage to keep up for almost two miles, slightly out of breath. Before hitting the two mile mark however a problem that I've been having for awhile attacked with vengeance... lately when I run, about 10 minutes in I get cramps so bad I can barely move, feel like puking and sometimes find it hard to breathe. And by cramps I don't mean in my legs : ) The only way to get through it is to stop and breathe deeply for about 3 minutes while attempting to walk and not immediately fall to the ground in the fetal position (yes it hurts that bad). So not the kind of thing you want to happen when running with a bunch of guys. I pulled the girl card though, I would rather do that than puke in front of them. The good thing about the whole debacle is that directly after the pain goes away I can run all day without having another symptom. So I decided to try and meet them when they looped back around.

After my brief walk I started jogging, weaving up and down the side streets probably freaking out the neighborhood with my haphazard route that had me circling the same area so much that it's a miracle I didn't make myself dizzy. After awhile I figured I must have missed them or misunderstood the route so I headed back to the YMCA. When I got there I kept going because I felt lame ending my run early so I threw in a bridge loop, as I turned for home I spotted them and met them back at the starting point. So in the end I ran for about as long as they did, I had to walk that one time but I was shocked when I got home, mapped my run and saw that I actually did make it to the 5 mile mark. It's nice to know I still have it in me even in the off season.

Listening to: Charlie Brown/ Coldplay

Spinning my Wheels

It's been awhile, but that's the trouble with the off season... it's too easy to stay off your feet and on your butt. Winter has been mild to make an understatement, we've only managed to hit the mountain with our snowboards once and cross country ski a whopping three times and March is just around the corner. We're really missing our x-country treks and more specifically being able to use them as an excuse not to run. I've discovered winter running is the heartlessly brutal cousin to the humidity riddled bitch that is summertime running. Between the gusting frigid air, frozen face, numb feet, heavy clothing, and overheating and shivering on the same run I could go for a nice toasty warm run.

The silver lining to winter training is that it forces us indoors and into classes like yoga and spinning where we happen upon very helpful people and challenging workouts. Spinning in particular has been keeping us in shape and in the Tri training mind set. Conveniently this class is specific to triathletes so we have been picking up running and cycling tips on a biweekly basis. For some reason during our last class I may have possibly agreed to run tomorrow morning with the the small group of devoted Saturday morning winter swimmer/runners. I'm bypassing the swim for now, at least until I get a few lap sessions in on my own to control that whole gasping for air/drowning thing I do. Unfortunately I think we may have lost most of what we once had as far as running stamina is concerned. I'll report back tomorrow after I get my ass handed to me.

Listening to: The Road/ Frank Turner

Run Rudolph, Run

A quick update on our Holiday 5ks... The Turkey Trot 5k was a brisk morning uphill battle... both the run and also the getting out of bed on a holiday part. Unfortunately the final time was not a chip time so the mess of the start line cost us all a bit of time. I still wound up with a 10:07 mile pace. Slow, but for me, right about average. I wasn't disappointed, considering the hilly route and not feeling my best that morning, I stuck it out and ran the entire race. Sometimes just putting one foot in front of the other is the only goal I aspire to.

Four Personal Records!

The Reindeer run a week and a half later went considerably better. Despite another hill ridden race, I finally reached my goal of breaking a 30 minute 5k. There was no timing other than relying upon myself to look at the clock while crossing the finish line. Of course I only glanced long enough to see 28:-- (I'm going with 30 seconds, but really I have no idea). Even though real runners might scoff at my measly increase in pace, I felt a bit like Rocky throwing punches at the top of that stone staircase. Maybe by Tri season I'll be able to maintain a respectable pace.

Upcoming races include a possible trip to Cazenovia for the Chilly Chilli 5k, Maybe the Shamrock run 4 miler in March, and if any of us are feeling motivated the Mountain Goat 10 miler... but honestly if I'm going to run 10 miles up and down hills, why not just run a semi flat half? Guess we'll have to see where the motivation and athleticism stand in a few months.

For now I'll be counting down the days in hopes that Santa might bring me an indoor trainer for the off season. It sure would be nice to have a choice between my elliptical and a stationary bike.

Listening to: Cameras/ Matt & Kim

The Forgotten Post

I wrote this a few weeks ago and somehow forgot to post it...

Lately it's been an incredibly mild fall. So far I've seen very little snow which leaves me anxiously awaiting the day Mother Nature decides to flip the switch and bring her wrath of cold and blustery weather down upon us. In the meantime I'm happy to report Angela and I furiously pedaled our way up and down the wind swept hills of Oswego County and were able to get out for a 30 miler last weekend and 17.5 today. Every bike ride threatens to be our last of the season with the colder weather and shorter days. We definitely appreciate being out there, despite occasionally finding ourselves numb from face to feet.

Speaking of feet, I've just switched out my insoles for green Superfeet. They're much more stiff and less cushioned than my regular sneakers but they're supposedly designed to be stabilizing and good for shock absorption. Apparently you have to break them in for at least a week so it'll be cutting it close for use in my next race.

And the next race is... The B'ville 5K Turkey Trot! I decided to go for the 5K distance since I still seem woefully behind in my running training. I'm hopeful that I will be able to get the pace under a 10 minute mile, which would be a much welcomed first.

Last night I took, or maybe I should say Boomer took me for a run. You can take my word on this, it is not easy to tether yourself to an overexcited euphoric running dog, even if he is only 40 pounds. After being nearly attacked by unleashed dogs, dragged, pulled and tripped over the course of our 30 minute tug of war session I was ready to terminate our running partnership indefinitely. So I've decided in order to preserve our occasional workout bonding time we'll simply move our runs to a less canine populated and less hilly area. Possibly the superfeet will guard against the foot slapping that occurs when Boomer lounges ahead of me in the general direction of anything that moves and also stabilize my stride enough to keep me on my feet while being dragged down any sort of elevation decline we come across, including but not limited to hills, curbs, my front steps, etc. We'll see how it goes...

All Clear for Take Off

Stopped in to see the doctor today about my bum ankle. He's a fellow triathlete, or maybe I should say a serious triathlete as he's an actual Ironman and not a casual partaker of all girl sprint triathlons. Not to discredit IronGirl... I love it, it's not easy and I'm thankful it provides me with an inlet to a sport I would have otherwise avoided entirely. I was just trying to make the distinction Ironmen, (the guys and girls) are what I consider professional triathletes, where as I continue to enjoy the minors. So that being said, it seems there's hope yet for my bum ankle. Some minor plantar fasciitis, and moderate Achilles tendinitis was the official diagnosis and luckily I can continue my workouts with a few additions to my running gear. Tomorrow I'm off to Fleet Feet to purchase superfeet and compression socks. I'll report back about how another investment in my ever increasing Tri-equipment stockpile pays off, and possibly in the meantime... sign up for a race of two : )

Listening to: Us Against The World/ Coldplay

Rainy days and Mondays

Somewhere between work and home tonight my motivation bailed on me. Lately the rain clouds and general lack of daylight hours has got me desperately missing those long summer nights and the constant stream of available activities calling my name. Tonight I managed to get as far as changing into my workout clothes, and if lifting my fork from a plate to my mouth counts as exercise, I'm happy to report I got in a good workout.

I need a goal, stat!

There is a Veteran's day 5K in about 3 weeks and the Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving, both of which I am considering as long as I can remove the monkey wrench that has been unceremoniously thrown into my plans. I've been casually ignoring the minor swelling in my right ankle and the coinciding bruise like feeling that has been irritating me for a few weeks. The problem is that I haven't run since the race and a small hike, a few short elliptical sessions and one short bike ride is apparently still too intense a week of workouts to allow my heel to heal. It leaves me questioning what kind of workout I should be doing. As much as I claim to hate running it still sort of depresses me to think I might need to stop to prevent a serious injury. It may be time to seek professional advice for the little bump on my heel that's turning into a huge bummer. Maybe it's time to return to the pool?