Tag: run

Here and there

Run About – Day 71

I did a run here and there. I know if this keep up I will be in trouble, at least for the first marathon coming April. I am doing about six this year (goal of doing six in six months), doubling the number of last fall. It is not too late to save it. I think if I focus to train the next 8 weeks I can do it.

This weekend I had my first 10k race for this year. I was running near my best time finished at 49:46, about 30 seconds slower than my record. I ran at a good pace, my muscle was fine and my breathing was fine too — at no point was I out of breath. I did stop for water break and that costed me the 30 seconds for a PR. I was not running for a PR though. I didn’t run my heart out. I was running for the love of it. I will run my heart out next week.

Yes it was the coldest race I ever did. I don’t remember even how cold it was. I think by the time I finished it was 22F (-5C?). But I think I run faster when it is cold. I was surprised too the water at the water station didn’t freeze over…but my water bottle was frozen …haha, but that because I left it overnight in the car.

The polar vortex thing finally left us this weekend (after my race).  People were out in T-shirt. I think it went all the way up to 60F (15C?). I did my ‘long’ run in my long sleeves and a pair of shorts. At the end though I felt cold but that was because I did it in the evening. It didn’t finish my long run due to time, trying to finish my run before the Super Bowl start time. (American Football championship game). I missed just the first few minutes.

If you asked me where I was running today, I would say I was runabout on some random hills. No joke, I have pictures to prove.

(Runabout Ln)

(Random Hills Rd)

Cold

Some of us had a day off yesterday in the US for Martin Luther King’s Day. I did. So I had no excuse but to run on my day off. I did two 6 miles run by spitting my 12 miles run into two segments. Yesterday was even colder than Monday. I ran in the morning when I got up and again at dinner time when the sun was setting. The morning run was harder. I guess I am not a morning person. I think I completed it in two hours. It was cold. My eyelids were almost frozen shut. The evening run was much better. I did it in half the time. Apparently I didn’t get tired. Maybe I had warm up and had plenty of food in me. I was in my good old self – the one I like. I didn’t run fast but I felt so much strength and energy in me. I stopped about half mile short from my end point though because my hip, left side this time, didn’t feel quite right.

As I ran, I reflected how lucky I was that my body healed up. I didn’t even remember which of my ankle was weaker (left I think). Both were pretty strong. I had a problem with my right hip a month ago and now the problem was gone. But I guess I jinxed it. My left hip now felt kind of weird, almost like what my right hip was a month ago. It felt like it wants to fall off. So I cancelled my run toward the end. I woke up today and the discomfort was still there. It won’t prevent me from running tonight, but I wish it wouldn’t cause me problem.

Temperature was -12C this morning. I was glad I overslept and didn’t run. This evening will be warmer. It will climb back to 35 ish and tomorrow 50 (F). Sorry about the unit of switching between C and F, when it is below freezing I like to use centigrade so the number would be too scary (like yesterday I was told wind chill was 0 F, and that is scary, I prefer to think of it was only -8C).

Day 66

Hmmm

Yes it was cold. We have the coldest temperature this winter. -8 C today. To some this might be normal (like those in New England or many other parts of the country), and we are a bunch of whiners. But amazingly I ran. I think the harder the condition the more I want to run outside. It was so refreshing.

I am still battling myself to find the will to do my training run. I do love running very much. I know I do. I do not find running to be tedious at all. But there have been way too many things going on for me and I have negret my running. I think the hardest thing for me is to commit in my mind the first thing I have to do for the day is to run. Many times in recent days my heart was trouble or distracted by many things and I couldn’t commit.

I am frustrated that I couldn’t focus or commit. Weird for me to say it but yes running require a strong determined will at least for me… It has been lacking lately. It wasn’t having lack of time issue. For me, time will follow once I set the priority. I am struggling with most is choices. I can’t decide what to do if I am given with a choice. Any way, I have been quite lazy with my runs.

Once I don’t have the will, I tend to put off the run from the first thing in the morning to late afternoon, to late evening and usually it ended out with no more time left to run. It is just hard to muster the will.

I had a very cold run this Sunday. It was a run I have been ‘putting off’ because I want to have the optimal time to run. In the end, I realized the optimal time was now when the sun was setting and my tummy is rumbling (not really, but it was near my dinner time).

I was just so fess up with not having the right time. I decided to go out any way and ran. I realize that there is never a convenient time to run. Every time I go out to run, I have to sacrifice something. There is always something I need to do more. So if it means giving up eating dinner at dinner time, so be it. If it means running in the cold, so be it. I just have to layer up. If it means running in the dark, bring a flashlight or headlamp.

Was the sacrifice too much? Do I go too far out of the way to run? There is never a good time to run at least for me. There is never a perfect place for me to run. There is never good condition to run. I needed to tell myself that to get  out the door today. Only thing I need is to be outside on my feet. At least my mind always makes up too many excuses. Yes I have too much going on with me. I just only want a quiet life and only thing I have to do is to run without distraction.

I was glad I could run and it felt very good.

Day 65

Reload

Last night was much warmer than I anticipated. Maybe I was overdressed again. I had expected howling wind and subarctic temperature, but instead it was balmy and calm fall weather. I still layered up like on Monday night. I didn’t need my jacket. This time I had my micro spikes on and I felt so good of crushing those ice and snows beneath my feet. I still waked though because icy snow piles were uneven to run on. Th temperature was warmer than Monday. I think it was +4C instead of -4.  Might have been even warmer than that.  Continue reading “Reload” →