Run 22 of 67: 3 miles easy

Distance: 3 miles
Time: 36:00
Course: Treadmill

Technically this run occurred on Feb 1, but I'm booking it as Jan 31 because it was meant to be a January run, and only due to circumstances beyond my control was it deferred by a day. (I am excellent at self-justification.)

I felt fully warmed up at the 2 mile mark, and the last mile was a nice groove. Difficult breathing is no longer an issue on these shorter runs, and the time seems to go by relatively quickly.

Run 21 of 67: 2 miles easy

Distance: 2 miles
Time: 23:30
Course: Treadmill

It snowed yesterday! I'm timid, so I stayed home and didn't get in my usual Tuesday treadmill run. Luckily the weather has turned wet so I made it to work without any problems this morning.

I bumped the speed to 5.1 mph, which made a 30 second difference in my usual 2 miel time. It wasn't hard, but it wasn't the jaunt that it usually is. Boggling to believe that a 30-second reduction in time over 2 miles requires that much more effort!

Run 20 of 67: Steveston Icebreaker 8K

Distance: 8 km
Time: 59:00
Course: Steveston Icebreaker

Some kind soul went out at 7 this morning to salt down the race route. How awesome is that? It was pretty slippery out on the path and the boardwalk, but the gravel route was fine. I hit the 4 km mark at 29:15, and finished the race in exactly 59 minutes. Not a scorcher of a time, by any means, but I ran steadily and without any difficulty with breathing or my legs. My back ached a bit, though, so I took a couple of 10-second walk breaks in the first half of the run, and then concentrated on leaning forward and trying to achieve a midfoot landing. I picked it up for the last 500 metres or so, and had a decent finish.

We cleaned up at the draw prizes: CM picked up a sweet Timex Ironman Triathlon watch, and I got an Adidas technical shirt in a men's large, which fits CM very well, For a $28 entry fee, he's seeing a 500% return on investment. Nice!

So the mini-plan for the next three weeks is this: bump the speed on the Tuesday treadmill runs by 0.1 mph each time, so that I get comfortable running at 5.3 rather than 5.0 mph on my easy runs.

Fashion corner!

It started snowing this afternoon while we were at MEC. A sign, perhaps?

I originally went in with the intention of finding a decent pair of windbreaker pants. Happily this pair of Breeze pants are only slightly too long, and will wear very nicely over a pair of running tights:



Then I found the coordinating Breeze jacket, on sale and in a lovely, flattering shade of pink:



One of my main objections to running in inclement weather is that my hands get too cold, but I don't like sweaty palms either. Solution: windproof, wicking gloves:



And to protect my ears:



In conclusion, unless I "forget" to do laundry, I now have no gear-related excuse not to go out for a run.

Run 19 of 67: 3 miles easy

Distance: 3 miles
Time: 36:00
Course: Treadmill

Luckily I did manage my 3-mile run on the treadmill today, as there is a fortuitous dearth of people who work out on Friday afternoons. However, I have to go shopping this weekend for outdoor running gear. From now on, two of my three runs each week will have to be outside to accommodate the increasing distance and time--can't reliably do more than 30 minutes on the gym treadmills--and all I have are yoga pants and a super light pair of running capris that are just not sufficient for the current cold snap.

I continue to faithfully follow my schedule of easy runs, and don't start the runs officially designated "tempo" and "long" until the second week of February.

Run 18 of 67: 2 miles easy

Distance: 2 miles
Time: 24:00
Course: Treadmill

The Tuesday easy runs are getting easier. I feel pretty comfortably warmed up by the end of the run, and it's over before I can start mentally beating myself up. I'm looking forward to my 3 mile run on Thursday; I'm going to plan to do it outside on the Seawall.

Run 17 of 67: 4 miles easy

Distance: 6.6 km
Time: 48 minutes
Course: Loop from home

Today has been an uncomfortable sort of day--one of the cats did its business in CM's office, a behaviour that has never manifested itself before and which is worrying in the extreme. I changed a few things, and I know they've been stressed out because of repairs in the basement that require people to come in and invade their space. Hopefully things will straighten out, but I've been on edge all day. We watched the last part of the first football game, and then decided it was time to get out there before it got too cold and dark.

Hooeeee, it is WINDY out there! The first 2 km were uncomfortable, and running into the wind sucks. I couldn't find a decent pace until the 3 km point, but started to feel better once we were out of the east-west wind corridor. Between the 4 and 5 km points is a gradual hill that used to just destroy me, but today we took it quite easily, and the final mile or so were also fine. I know there was a helpful tailwind there for awhile, but I'll take what I can get.

I'm past the point where I dread runs, but I haven't quite gotten to the point where I'll go out on my own without prompting. Good thing I have a running partner!

Run 16 of 67: 3 miles easy

Distance: 2.6 miles
Time: 30 minutes
Course: Treadmill

I forgot that the treadmills at my downtown gym are set to stop after 30 minutes, so I nearly fell off the machine when it automatically slowed down to a walking pace and dropped the incline to zero. Looks like I'll have to map some outside routes from the gym to get my Thursday runs done.

Run 15 of 67: 2 miles easy

Distance: 2 miles
Time: 24 minutes
Course: Treadmill

Had to shift things one day over to accommodate some work scheduling. I barely paid attention during today's run! Heart rate was moderate, breathing was barely noticeable, and my legs just did their thing while I contemplated a muted Japanese cartoon on the TV monitor mounted on my treadmill. The epitome of easy!

Run 14 of 67: 3 miles easy

Distance: 5 km
Time: 35 minutes
Course: Loop from home

Started out a bit too fast, I think, but that's what happens when you're cooped up all day with nothing to do but procrastinate. I really need to see about getting this run in before noon; it's killing my productivity to put it off until the afternoon.

The run itself was fine. The slight uphill at the midpoint of the run is no longer daunting, but I still struggle with remembering that getting to the stoplight at the bottom of the hill is not actually the end of the run, that there's another 400 metres to go from that point. I fixate on the light, and then find the last few hundred metres to be really mentally difficult.

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I've had to ban potato chips completely from my diet; the word "moderation" just does not exist in the same room as me when I'm confronted with the divine delectability that is a full-sized bag of Original Lay's. Dinner tonight will be homemade pizza, and then I'm starting a 12-day cleanse tomorrow: no dairy, fermented foods or flour products.

Run 13 of 67: 2 miles easy

I stayed home today to stave off a flu attack, but I was feeling pretty antsy by the end of the day so we went to the gym. Finally! Today is the first day in a long time that I can actually say that the run really was easy. I hopped on the treadmill and bounced out 2 miles at 5 mph while watching "The Biggest Loser Australia." It is super packed at the gym in January and February, so I was lucky to grab a treadmill right away.

I love the feeling of clarity that inevitably comes with the end of a workout. No matter how crappy the day has been, and no matter, really, how well or badly the workout goes, whether it's endorphins or just that sense of having accomplished something on an otherwise difficult day, getting some exercise is always better than getting none. Why do I keep forgetting this?

Run 12 of 67: 2 miles easy

Distance: 2 miles
Time: 22:30
Course: treadmill

I mixed it up a bit, starting out at 5 mph, bumping to 5.3 mph and 5.6 mph after about 5 minutes each, and ending at 5.3 mph. I like the 2 mile run because it's over fast. :)

Inspiration: Haile Gebrselassie

It is absolutely entrancing, watching this man run.

Run 11 of 67: 3 miles easy

Third run of the year, third run outside. We ran a 5K loop from the house in about 38 minutes. The loop ends on a hill, which probably explains why I feel a little nauseous right now. There were two stoplight breaks at approximately the 1 mile and 4 km points, but other than that I ran the whole way through. I do find it's a lot easier to run the whole way when there's someone else there; you don't want to slow other people down unnecessarily.

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I've decided to adjust the schedule so that I don't go more than a day without a workout. I was feeling pretty antsy yesterday and could have benefited from burning some energy. Starting next week, I've dropped in a 30-minute light weights workout on Saturday mornings.

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Body observations: my calves have regained their definition, and my hips are looking a lot less, um, hippy.

Run 10 of 67: 30 minutes

Second run of the year, second run outside. I really need to pick up some cheap acrylic gloves; I don't mind the cold anywhere so much as in my fingers.

I started out slowly, but just couldn't seem to get the pace down to something comfortable, and had to take two short walk breaks as a result. Still, I managed 4K in 27 minutes. Now I'm looking forward to the weekend 5K!

Run 9 of 67: 2 miles easy

It was my first run outside since the infamous falling-down-while-waiting-at-the-stoplight incident in September, and boy was it COLD for the first kilometre or so. I've turned into such a wimp.

We ran up the hill to the house, which is a little over a quarter of a mile from the corner where the map said we should stop, so we did about 2.3 miles overall. I don't have an exact time, as neither of us thought to wear watches for this one, but I would say we were under 30 minutes.

Tomorrow we go back to work, and the true test of the training schedule begins. January ends with an 8K event on the 27th. I've got 13 runs scheduled this month. I've decided to institute monthly rewards for myself for hitting 100% of my runs. For January, the prize is a set of running socks. I aim high!