Bad running day, but still a running day

If there was ever a day when I could have used a Podrunner, it was today. Unfortunately, I hadn't recharged my mp3 player yet. So, I watched something on HDTV. Not very good running TV. I managed to reach my goal of 3 miles, though. I did 1.5 miles running, 0.15miles walking, 1.5 miles running. I also had to reduce the speed to about 5mph After that, I went home without lifting.

When I got home, I figured I was already in my snow stuff, so I shoveled the driveway for about 45 minutes to an hour. I couldn't go very fast, since I was already winded. However, the biggest problem I had was the ice that was under some of the snow. Since my leg muscles were fatigued, it was sometimes hard to control my legs when I stepped on ice. I was afraid I would pull a muscle like I did on the sailboat after my 4k race on the 4th of July. (I pulled a quad catching myself from slipping overboard during a very windy day. That really hurt!) That would not have been fun. And it would have sidelined me for a few days.

I've committed to 3 more miles before Christmas, so I have to find time for them. I joined a challenge on one of the Weight Watchers boards where our teams are trying to run 125 miles by Christmas. I'm on the Elves team! :)

Running cold

I wimped out yesterday morning and didn't go running in the 34F/1C temperature. I woke up at 4am to go out, but I looked at the pile of running clothes I had set out the night before and then went back to bed for another hour. However, I told myself I would run in the evening. Luckily, it was a warmer day and I ran in 42F/6C weather at about 9:30pm. It wasn't too bad, but my lungs did get somewhat squeaky. When I got home, it turned into a very mild asthma event. I kept having to cough, so I took a couple puffs of my inhaler and all was fine. I usually only have asthma problems when I physically exert myself while breathing cold air or when I'm around cats that I am allergic to.

I ended up running for 34 minutes and went 2.87 miles/4.63 km. I actually tried to hold back even more than that in order to keep my heart rate down, but I couldn't. I ran to a Podrunner mix of 149bpm called Runnerfunker. Nice stuff. Maybe I'll try 145bpm next time to see if I can slow myself down that way.

It just seems I am much less likely to talk myself out of running in the evening. I think the explanation is akin to Newton's first law of motion. In the evening, I've been up and about, active cooking dinner, getting the kids to bed, etc. In the morning, however, I'm getting up from my warm, cozy bed. It's not even an issue of whether I'm a morning person or not. I know that I'll feel great when I'm done, I just sometimes can't stop myself from crawling back into bed. Maybe if I were getting plenty of sleep it would be easier.

I'm considering joining a gym for the winter to give me a warm place to run this winter. I don't know if I am hard-core enough yet to torture my lungs in the really cold and very windy weather we will most certainly be getting in a month or two. I'm rather afraid of falling on the ice that collects on the sidewalks here when it's cold, too. I know you can get spiky things for your shoes, but it still scares me. For the first 15 minutes or so of running, my toes were cold and somewhat numb despite my lovely Smartwool running socks. I guess that is a drawback of well-ventilated running shoes. That wouldn't be a problem on the indoor treadmill, though.