Plugged ear of exertion

If Steve in a Speedo can have a vein of approval, then I can have a plugged ear of exertion.
I've noticed, from time to time, that my left ear gets plugged/poppy and annoying when I'm working out particularly hard. Usually that means during track workouts or a tempo run (yes, I've actually been doing both), and sometimes it happens just during a regular old run. It's how I know I'm actually getting the blood pumping. It's how I know I'm nearly spent. It's usually accompanied by me talking myself into just finishing another few minutes because at this point I want to quit.

Today (and this is me climbing back on the wagon) I ran 8 miles. Sure, I should probably have done this weeks ago, seeing as my half marathon is a measly 8 weeks away, but whatever. Life has no rewind button, so it's onward and upward from here, OK?

It wasn't a hard run, really. I wanted to average 10:15 to 10:30 minute miles and by mile 3 had to tell myself to slow it down (I ended up averaging 10:14 and felt strong until the last .5 miles. go me!).

A few things I thought about during this run:
- 8 miles used to seem forever. Now I loop around until I get it done and it's no biggie. Maybe this is a sign that my fitness is slowly improving again.
- iPods really do read minds (this isn't news, but I did think about it)
- Black cats in tall grass look a lot like skunks
- That realization can make you run REALLY fast up an embankment
- Shade and flat ground makes the first 4 miles much easier
- Finding saskatoons on a run is always a bonus. At mile 7.5 out of 8 they're a bloody godsend


And finally
- I didn't get the plugged ear of exertion until 7.6 miles in to my run.

Woot woot!

The week's tally

Let's just say that I stepped on the scale and could hear the boos from the crowd.

Sigh.

I'm not going to analyze it or deconstruct the week because, well, I ate too much of good stuff and while I did stay active, I managed to stay exactly the same weight. Yup, four weeks in and I've lost a whopping .2 lb. Yay? No. I know that I need to cut a measly 200-300 calories from my day to lose, but somehow I'm just not finding the place to do it. Add to that that I was at a farm show on Wednesday (meaning nothing but sugar, carbs and fatty meat to eat and drink for an entire day), and well, I'm not surprised.

Let's focus on the positive:

I managed all of my training runs, though one was .17 longer and another .47 short (side stitch, ate too close to running and felt gross). I will get some sort of workout in today, meaning I only took two days off. That's good.

The numbers:
Run: 14.88 miles
Walk: 7.5 miles
Shred: Once

(Will do Shred or Cardio or something today.)

I'm trying to focus on the good, but this whole weight maintenance thing? So not encouraging.

Huck!

The three most adorable things my daughter does these days is Huck, Hmm and two. Huck, and I don't know why, means Again, as in "Let's do that again!" It took me more than a few tries to figure out what the hell she meant, but now we've got it and she'll even say it when it comes up in a book. I say "again" she echos - very enthusiastically - with Huck!

Then there's Hmm. Neither the husband nor I make this particular noise. It's that mulling over, consider, gee I wonder type of Hmm. It sort of goes up at the end HmmM. We couldn't figure out where she got this from, until the other day we were hanging out at the local antique store with T and her puppy (that Chou loves) and T said, Hmm. To which Chou echoed the exact same sound. T was downright giddy that wee Chou had picked up one of her mannerisms. I was too.

And finally, two. Chou's favorite number is two. Is it the only one she can say? Likely. But what's moe adorable is that any time she counts anything it's "Two, two, two!" But what I love is that when she sees letters she starts singing the ABCs and when she sees numbers she starts saying "Two!" She already knows the difference. Mind blowing.

Which brings us to this week's weight loss and fitness challenge round up.

Weight loss: 0 lb
Total loss to date: .2 lb

Week three, for an intents and purposes, has been a resounding success, except for that whole weight loss part. And I know exactly where I went wrong - the food and drink. I still haven't joined WW online and am not really counting points. I have to. This week has proven that.

Why? Because I worked my butt off this week, but clearly the few desserts, beer and a few glasses of wine tip the points balance too far off course. I recognize that this particular weight is one that my body is very happy staying at. I'm not entirely unhappy with that, but I think with a little effort I could kick up my fitness level and maintain a smaller dress size. It's just getting there.

To that end, my activity level this week was downright fantastic (especially in comparison to the first two weeks).

Running: 11.5 miles (woot woot!)
Walking: 5.25 miles
Biking: 4.94 miles
Cardio: once, plus I'll shred today

I also managed an hour ride yesterday that made my leg muscles scream in a good way. Gosh, it's lovely to be riding again.

I also signed up for the Hypothermic Half that goes Feb 28th and consider tomorrow day one of that training. And, even more exciting, I found a bootcamp-type class for mums with toddlers that starts mid-January. I can actually bring Chou to the class and get a fabulous workout in. I can't wait.

And now I realize that I haven't posted pictures in forever. Will remedy that shortly.

Like a fox

I might be crazy. Or stupid.

Guess what I did this week?

Wait, let's back up.

Both Jen P and Smithers were right. A) Airing your laziness on the Internets is quite motivating. Something about seeing how little I've done is enough to make it stop I guess, and B) It's not a competition and I'm the one who benefits most from moving about. It's about me, in so many ways, so I need to do this for me.

And that next day, I woke up and ran, and then the next day I did an uber hard cardio work out that made it hard to lift the milk jug the next day, then I ran again. Yes, I did. (as an aside, I also calculated that if I bring Chou to daycare and drop her off and pick her up by walking, I log just over 3 miles. I'm going to start keeping track. Also, I want/need new shoes. I walk a lot now and realize that I've likely put more wear and tear on these shoes than I thought. end of aside.)

My legs felt like lead by the second run, sure, and I feel weak as a kitten, but I got inspired enough to do something I've never done before.

I signed up for a race. In February. A half marathon to be exact.

After an entire calendar year of entering a total of two races and only running one, I'm bloody well signing up for races NEXT year. What the hell?

Just over 15 weeks to go until the Hypothermic Half, February 28. Pray it's not -40 (which, my friends, is TOTALLY possible).

Round 2

This morning marks the second leg of my journey towards a healthy weight. My Ottawa Manatee Momma called me yesterday ready to clean out her fridge, cupboards and bloodstream of junk and needed a) a friend to do this with and b) motivation to not just lose a few extra jiggly bits but to really clean up the kitchen. We're not just talking fewer calories and smaller portions, we're talking cutting out salt, adding in healthy fats and getting rid of the bad, decreasing reliance on packaged foods and increasing consumption of fresh stuff.

Our journeys are very different. For the most part, Casa Wumpus is pretty packaged-food free. Where I (and we) fall down is on portion control, over indulgence of baked goods and not moving enough. For Manatee Momma, food from the freezer or pantry is standard fare and a recent heart scare with her dad has got her counting sodium milligrams and realizing something has to change.

Yesterday we committed to not just a weight goal challenge, but a good old fashion spring, or fall as it were, cleaning of the kitchen, our daily routine and our bodies. We're de-junking (both in the cupboard and in the trunk) and getting moooving again. She's already a member of Weight Watchers online, and so I shall be too, but we've also made a wager: $100 to the member of our group who loses 10 lb by Christmas eve. For the record, as a percentage that means I have to lose more, but I'm OK with that. If we both do it, we both get the $100 from the other to spend on ourselves.

Sure, it's a wash when we both succeed but that's not the point. WW is so successful because of not just teaching portion control but also the social network and support you receive when you go to meetings. Without meetings, Manatee and I are forming our own group, albeit across two provinces, but I'll take what I can get.

You're welcome to join us. But you must actually have 10 lb or more to lose - according to an actual medical professional, not your own idea of what you see in the mirror. Jen P's version is she's got to gain 10 lb by Christmas, but she's pregnant, so she better.

So here it is, folks. Truth time.

I weighed in this morning at 146.4 lb. Up a solid 5 lb from April...in the face of training and running a half marathon. Wow, can you say lack of portion and self control? Um, yes. To put it in context, I'm barely over 5'2". According to WW, my highest goal weight "allowed" is 137 lb, meaning that this 10 lb loss puts me in the very highest of my "healthy weight range". In fairness, I don't think high 130s is high for me, but that's another discussion for another time. I would be down right tickled pink to hit the 130s and stay anywhere near there. And so we shall see what it takes to get there.

And now if you'll excuse me, I've got a work out to do and some healthy meals to plan. I heart meal planning!

Flatlander's Eve

By this time tomorrow I'll be about half way through my second half marathon.

I'm nervous, excited, relieved and a bit jet-lagged.

The good news is I did manage to stay relatively active during my taper. I even managed a fast (for me) five miler last Saturday, proving my point that there ought to be running doulas (Saturday's run was with my midwife, a much faster runner, and the conversation and new surroundings made the miles fly by - at a 30 second/mile faster pace. That's a big deal, kids).

The bad news is I didn't train as hard as I liked and I didn't lose one pound during this three months of training. Which is still OK, in that I'm at least 10 to 15 pounds lighter than last year at this time, but I had hoped to be 15 to 20 pounds lighter. Also, I haven't done one run since last Saturday, but I did manage a crap load of walking, pushing the stroller, carrying a backpack. That counts, right?

All said, I feel ready for tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be perfect: cool (cold, by some standards) and dry. I have my favorite gels and my wardrobe all picked out. Last year I was worried about boob chafe and overheating, this year I just want my legs to hold out and to beat Jen P's pregnant 2:23 from last week's Niverville half. How does she do it? I have no clue.

We'll see you tomorrow with my first race report in almost a year!

(How sad is that? Which brings me to my next point, I don't enter enough races. Racing is the fun part of all this...duh.)

What my daughter thinks of politics.

Stroller Derby

I can't actually remember my last stroller run. But I know I haven't run with it since the move to Saskatchewan, so that would put it somewhere at least six months ago, possibly more.

I never did like the stroller run, however in Chou's first year it really was the only way to get any sort of running in. Running with the stroller was somewhat stressful; babies can be rather temperamental and have their own schedules. I wouldn't even attempt more than a half an hour with her. Add to that, pushing a stroller is hard, especially on hills, and the lack of arm swinging can really knock you out of rhythm. But I used to run at least once a week with it, and there were pluses - it's hard work, so a better work out, and beyond working around nap time it means run time is any time.

So far, I've put three runs and nearly 12 miles into this taper. That's three runs and nearly 12 miles more than my last TOTAL taper (high five me!) and I've still got days and days and lots of runs planned. Today was run three of the week - I was hoping for more but a wee bit of a sicky baby had me rearrange my schedule (and that's OK, I'm mum first, runner second).

Chou and I set out near 9 am - it was cool and windy and delightful. I didn't have a watch, but I've nearly got the mile markers memorized now, so I figured I could get a solid three to four miles in. I ran to what I figured was about two, two and a half miles, then let Chou out at the park to play. I stretched and drank water, while a cool breeze kicked up and the clouds rolled in. After five minutes or so, I loaded Chou back up and set out for home the long way around to get another mile in. I felt good the entire time, the legs felt strong and frankly it didn't nearly feel as hard as it used to, even on the hills. This is good, as I certainly lack confidence in my leg strength - I need to feel strong once in a while.

We got home (Chou with slightly blue lips and cold hands. Um, whoops. Guess the wind was really cool. Sorry, kid), and I mapped it out. 4.22 miles. Sweet. It didn't feel that far.

Lucky 13 sleeps until the half marathon. I think I'm ready.

She's clearly feeling better, though not 100%.

Trying a chokecherry...

What she thinks of chokecherries. She spat it out seconds later.

Chou in the morning sun

And everybody send positive vibes to lucky Jen P who right now is running her second half marathon in this pregnancy...in Maui. Lucky girl.

The big (almost) 12

Miles: 11.8 (I ended up changing my route and decided to run to 2:10 instead of a marker. I was at my door at 2:08 and decided that was enough. Clearly, it was .2 miles NOT enough but whatever)
Time: 2:08:02 (10:50 min/mile)
Number of dogs that chased me: 3
Number of dogs I chased back: 3
Number of horses I saw: 3
Number of cats that followed me, so I stopped to pet them: 1
Number of idiots who didn't slow down on the gravel road and threw rocks and dust in my face: All of them
Minutes with iPod: 77
Minute when iPod died (from over-sweatyness): 78
Number of sore knees: 2
Number of super slow miles: the last 2

All in all, a good last long run before the half, but dammit I wanted 12.1 and ended up .2 short of 12. I'm pissed about that, but I figure I'll make it up by actually running during this taper, as opposed to last time when I ran 12 miles and then took two weeks off. Right.

The first 1 hr, 30 min of this run felt fabulous and I'd say this is the best I've felt throughout a run this long ever. This all bodes well for the half.

I am a bit disappointed with my pace. (Yes, I know it IS a long slow distance run) but I tend to run at the same pace regardless. This would put me at over 2:20 for the half...which is ok, but I'm really hoping for sub 2:20. I'm going to have to push it a bit more. I will say miles 1-9 were at a decent pace. I really really really slowed down those last miles. Any advice on workouts I can do over the next week to stick it out miles 10-13?

And now, pictures. Here's the fun part, on my long 12 last year I found horses. This year, they found me. I had no clue any lived at this one house, but as I approached three scrub ponies came trotting out of the bush to say hello. I figure that was a good omen.

Me, happy for hay bales, scrub ponies and a gorgeous morning.

It smells as good as it looks.

See? Hills in Saskatchewan. This is a small hill. I live in a very hilly place. It's gorgeous.

The two hour mark and still smiling and not entirely beet red. I felt good, just tired legs.

Thanks, Ina May

As part of the process in getting my doula certification, I have to read five books (from a list of oh, 30) and sign a paper saying I've done so. An avid (rabid?) reader, I'd already read a few of them and managed at least two more in preparation for my workshop. I'm on to the final "required" read and still have several on request at the library. Like I said, rabid reader over here.

I'm in the middle of Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth, a fantastic read, especially for women who have never given birth. The book begins with pages and pages of positive birth stories - real life, some complicated, some too good to sound true, some gritty but all real and positive. No horror stories here. It's refreshing and invigorating to read and we all need to hear more of the good stuff, because most of the time, that's what happens.

But I'm off track. This was supposed to be a training report. Right.

What I found most fascinating in Ina May's book is not that there is a big-time commune holed up in Tennessee pushing out amazing birth outcomes (a less than 2% c-section rate is unheard of ANYWHERE), it's that she documents the power of the mind in labour. She can attest first, ahem, hand, at women actually regressing in dilation when they felt threatened (by a rough internal exam at hospital) or when they had something mentally holding them back. She talks about how simply saying a positive mantra (whether you first mean it or not) can have an amazing impact on how your body reacts and works in labour.

Which got me thinking about training. My 9 mile run last week was a piss off and a disappointment and had me seriously considering dropping the Flatlanders half. But upon reading this book, and reading how real women were able to zip through labours by chanting "I can too open to 10 cm" or actually close down 2 cm because of fear, I knew that I too could do 10 GOOD miles if I told myself I could.

I started out taking my own, Jen P's and P Bear's advice and didn't drink or eat crap for the days leading up to my run. I stayed hydrated and, most importantly, mentally prepared for a good 10 miles. I mapped a much more enjoyable route, had a decent sleep and got out the door only an hour later than I had hoped (and still in the morning).

At mile 6, I did actually say out loud, I can too run 10 miles. At mile 7.5, I was tired and my legs were tired, but I felt heaps better than the same point last week. I took at gel at 54 minutes and then at 1 hr 22 min. That was a good idea. By 1 hr 35 minutes I was tired, my knees hurt and I was slowing down, but I was also very close to home. I decided that I wasn't going to stop at my designated end point (that would have been just shy of 10 miles), instead I was going to run to 1 hr 50 min and just see where that got me. I ended up adding way more than I thought I could and felt positively GOOD at 1 hr 45 min. I turned the last stretch of road for home (an incline!) and stopped the watch at 1 hr 49 min 41 seconds...and ended up with 10.28 miles in the can. Uh yeah, that's over 20 seconds faster per mile than last week, 1.3 miles further and I felt 100% better. The knees were a bit sore, my hams and quads very tired yesterday, so I've got work to do over the next three weeks, but kids, I TOO CAN RUN 13.1 MILES.

Thanks, Ina May.

8 miles of thoughts

I tried something new on today's 8 mile long, slow distance run: no iPod for the first while. I guess it's not entirely new, but it's been a really long time since I've run sans music. I went the first 50 minutes just listening to my footfalls and chatting with myself - both internally and externally. I only passed two other runners, so it's not like the town thinks I talk to myself all the time. I hope.

In truth, I probably could have kept the thing off the entire run. It was refreshing to process out loud, to remind myself to relax my shoulders and toes and to kick up my heels. Most importantly, I stopped thinking about running, minutes per mile and distance, and just enjoyed the cool, windy, rainy weather and the stream of consciousness that flowed.

It was lovely.

What's more, it kept the run EASY, which is what a long, slow distance run should be; it's about making the distance, not about doing the distance as fast as you can. That's what race day is for. I was more disciplined with my walk breaks as well. No, I still don't do true 10 and 1s (10 minutes is just not long enough...11 to 13 is better for me), but after last week's 7.3 miles where I felt a little beaten by mile 6, I thought I should give the Running Room's tried and true strategy a chance. I mean, 1 million John Stanton lovers can't be wrong...right?

I wanted to finish strong (my goal for the Flatlanders isn't about speed, it's about keeping it together and feeling like I was prepared for the distance), not just finish and so I walked at minutes 10:30, 22, 35, 49 and 1:02. At an hour I hit the 6 mile mark and realized that holy crap, taking it easy and taking walk breaks was turning out a faster run than last week's push. I thought I must have miscalculated as I wolfed down a disgusting Orange Vanilla carb boom with caffeine. Fake orange is just nasty folks, as is fake cherry. Bleck.

But back to my run. The gel kicked in about 1:10 and I ran out of route before I ran out of energy. Sure, I could've kept going what with all that sugar pumping through my legs, but my knees were a tad sore and my hammy a bit tight. Total time? 1:21:50 for 8.09 miles...10:06/mile.

Holy shit, kids.

No, that's not "fast" by most standards but it's a full 10 seconds/mile faster than last week and I felt BETTER at the end.

And just what did I think/talk about on my sans music run? Work, money, running (I couldn't help it), my form, Weight Watchers, Chou, the husband, making another baby (not sex, you numbskulls, the idea of a second one, the timing, the decision...it's a tough one to make, one we're not ready to make, if you must know). I enjoyed the scenery, remembered my breathing (thanks, yoga!) and just stayed in a happy place.

***

This week's plan? An easy week of recovery after three weeks of building. I'm still going to run hills, but toss out the long run this week. I'll focus on yoga and Shred and long walks in the evening. And then? Then comes two weeks of 10 milers.

Hang on to your hats!

The joy of the podcast

With just under eight weeks of training until the Flatlanders Half, I've taken a good long look at my workouts and tried to put them in some semblance of order. I want to fill in some of the gaps and not just run, run, run. I need more balance to my workout mix, improve flexibility and to build better overall fitness.

Enter cross-training. Something I love and also don't in that it meant climbing up on a bike - something I haven't done in a verra, verra long time. The good news? It wasn't so bad and I think I could even learn to like it. The bad news is that I do not in any way fit my husband's bike and my arse and lady bits were numb after just 30 minutes. My dad has a hybrid just waiting for me in Winterpeg...it's just getting out there to fetch it that's the problem.

I've already being doing Shred off and on (and I'm getting GOOD at it! Woot woot!) but I still felt like something was missing. Of course, it's yoga. I need the all over warm, sweaty, stetchy goodness for my muscles and joints, but I need it for the headspace work just as much. The local yoga instructor is on holidays and the Tuesday class taught by my massage therapist never seems to work (Tuesdays are very busy in my life for some odd reason). For weeks now I've been trying to find a solution.

Then iTunes saved my life. Well, not really, but I did find several FREE (gasp!) 20, 30, 60 and 90 minute yoga podcasts. I downloaded one and yes, had I not done yoga previously it would have been so hard and I'd have been lost, however given my background I muddled through the first class OK. I then had to look up a few poses to remind myself what they looked like and now SHAZAAM a few days in and I'm getting it. Thank you, Steve Jobs.

I have two more ingredients to add to the training mix: hill workouts and Weight Watchers. This week, they both start Wednesday. Wish me luck.

Garbage in, garbage out

To quote one far wiser: You get out what you put in.

And so this becomes my lesson for week two of getting back on the wagon. It wasn't a complete flop - I did get in all three Shreds. I did increase my mileage by over 10%, but over two runs, not three. I ended up with two rest days versus one. Why? Because my periformus (mis? mes?) was a bit ouchy after my 4.33 miler on Canada Day. The run itself was good and I felt OK: I only walked for 40 seconds after a hill and still had something in the tank at the end. As an aside, we won't be talking about pace, because while I'm better off than where I was this time last year, this time last year I was just over three months post-partum. Ugh.

After rest day, came Shred day and then today's run. My 5.08 miles today were nice, if I can say that. It was down right cold (11 degrees C) and spitting rain, but I'm nordic somewhere in my background so all is well. I planned on doing the 4.33 mile out and back but felt like I had more than enough at the end and so tacked on a .75 miles (I had no idea that was the distance, I just went to a stop sign and back - ta da!). Does anyone else get all emotional at the end of a good run? Today felt like I got past some barrier, as if the 45 minute mark were some magical line that, once crossed, I could just go on forever.

Ahem.

All this good stuff is to say, I also feel down on the job this week. I didn't give it 110% on the Shreds. I missed a run that maybe I could have done. But the worst part was my diet. Mr. Wumpus brought home beer last Monday. There are few things better in life than a cold beer on a hot day, a cold beer while making dinner, a cold beer with spicy chana masala. You get my drift. We ate healthy for the most part but I have a thing for baking. I made ginger snaps, oatmeal raisin cookies and homemade bread this week. Most of it is doled out in ziplocs in the freezer for lunches, but, of course, I had to do quality control. A lot. And then we had to go for ice cream. Dammit.

In all, I'd call this week a wash. Some gains on the running end, some back sliding on the eating end. Monday's weigh in had me down two pounds, we'll see what tomorrow brings. Yikes.

This week marks the begining of Come Visit the Wumpus House. The challenge? Fitting in running, visiting, work, more visting, a day out on assignment, more running and fun into just one week. Hmph.

This one's for you Jen P. Our 2007 HBC jersey (with my kick ass number). I wore this while 4 ish weeks preggers with Chou. This year, it's your turn to be queasy on Canada Day. Tee hee! And yes, unlike Jen P, I have no problem wearing technical shirts from past races. I am that cheap.

Tempo, and I'm not talking about the Ford

Yesterday's tempo run was a hoot. It was totally last minute, and nearly didn't get done as I'm rather overwhelmed by all the shizah I need to get organized by tomorrow's flight time. But I've got super duper mummy friends, and Manatee Momma said, hey, come on over and I'll take Chou for a walk while you run. Nice.

Turns out that Ms. Manatee lives a half block from a city-funded daycare that has free (my favorite kind) drop in times where you get the run of a giant, sun-filled, safe-toy, bilingual space for two hours and at the end there's a sing a long. There's even free (good) coffee and tea. It's like if Mary Poppins decided to put down roots and open up a coffee shop. I kid you not. All that is to say that brilliant Ms. Manatee took Chou and her big baby over to play and sing while I went out for a quick 3 mile tempo run.

I had a watch, but no route and no iPod. The no iPod thing is actually good once in a while I find, in that it means I have to listen to my foot fall and think about form and pace and organize my thoughts. It was lovely. And then I got home and mapped my route and managed 3.33 miles at a 9:20 min/mi pace. What? Um, yeah, I thought breaking into the 10s was good, but 9:20 makes me do a little happy dance. It helps that 99% of my route was pavement, but there were a few good hills. Yeah slush and snow are amazing trainers, I've found.

And now it's time for a day and a half of running around like a madwoman trying desperately to get all our stuff packed, the last of any errands or paperwork I need to have done and try and plan our visits. Because I totally haven't. Whoops.

When do you know that the plow is truly stalking you?

Today wraps up week one of half mary training. Overall, it was a success: I managed only two of three prescribed runs, but my 3 mile tempo turned into 3.9 miles with a stroller and my 5 mile long run was a good 5.09 on mostly greasy streets while still managing to stay in the middle of my pace range. I also got three strength workouts and one cardio plus abs in for a total of six, yes, six workouts this week. Oh, and mini high five to me: today's run lasted roughly 55 minutes...we ran it straight through, and it wasn't that hard. Training for the half in October, I'd do walk breaks for anything in the 45 min+ range, so although I likely could have gone straight through, I didn't. Now I'm thinking I'm likely capable of a 10 km without stopping. Two and a half years ago it took me 55 minutes to do 5 km with 5 walk breaks.

My new running buddy and fellow half mary trainee, the Midwife, deserves credit for getting my sorry arse out there. She was even brave enough to take turns pushing the stroller on our tempo run through snowy, greasy streets. But I balance that with her poor choice of running routes while the snow plows are out - the same plow passed us not once, not twice but FOUR times, three times coming up behind us (once on a VERY narrow street) and then passing towards us. Then we nearly ran into the back of a turning car whose dog in the back started barking wildly at us skirting around them. Then, near home, we passed a, um, half way house (if that's what it's called) for special folks, three of which positively gaped at us with their crooked, toothless grins. They seemed harmless enough, but I couldn't help but giggle at our luck. I mean, it was 10:30 on a Sunday morning and we nearly get run down by a plow - three times - get barked at and nearly hit then get leered at by homeless guys. At least it wasn't boring.

And now I head into a tough week to plan my training. Thursday is a prescribed rest day, which is good, as that's travel day, but my 4 miles on Friday and 6 miles on Sunday? I still have no clue how that's going to happen. Meh. I'll manage.

Winter running

Winter running is not easy, but it is fun. Especially without a stroller or windchill of -37. The midwife and I headed out for my first real winter run. The air was chilly, -15, but the sun was out, the wind none existent and the roads were clear for half of the run. I learned a few things.

1. Wool mittens are only warm if they're lined.
2. Running Room hats make even the nicest shaped skull look like a penis
3. Long vests/jackets are a must or your ass WILL freeze
4. Cameras kept in front pockets (not against your skin) will NOT work after a 3 mile run

And due to number 4, I don't have the wonderful post-race photo I was hoping for. Instead, you get me, grumpy (and making a mad face) because my head looks like a penis. Enjoy.