Running in the rain

So this is what the world looked like outside my house this afternoon:

It's December in Pennsylvania, and that means it's cold and it's wet. It was raining lightly when I finally pushed myself out the door, and just above freezing. The weather was the same yesterday, when I used it as an excuse to keep baking Christmas cookies rather than get outside and run, but I decided that today I had to simply do it.

Of course, that doesn't mean I didn't bundle up.

Stylin'! But effective. And the nice white jacket is mostly waterproof and keeps me very visible.

Maybe it was the cold. Maybe I just wanted to hustle my way through the workout and get back inside, where my glasses don't fog up and get spattered with rain to the point that I can barely see (and no, shouting Impervio and tapping them with a stick doesn't work. Tried that.) Or maybe, just maybe, my fitness is already improving with just a week of effort under my belt. Whatever the case, I improved my time by almost a full minute, to 20 minutes and 57 seconds. That felt pretty good.

I was also able to run the first 1/4 mile, and didn't feel too shabby at the end of it. I plan to keep pushing that first run interval a little further every time. Expect me to be ridiculously proud of myself when I finish my first mile.

My plan for the remainder of the week:

Wednesday- 1 mile walk
Thursday- hill repeats (9 repeats)
Friday- 1 mile walk
Saturday- Fartlek walk/run, 1.5 miles
Sunday- Christmas! Take a break, or maybe a casual walk with my brother.

And my recap for today:

Workout: Fartlek walk/run, 1.5 miles
Time: 20:57
Pace: 13:58 per mile

Second run

First of all, I know I was supposed to run yesterday. But between an 8 AM final and starting work at 10 AM, there just wasn't enough time. I ran out of daylight. So I took a rest day yesterday, and went out this morning.

Today marked my first morning run- I got up at 7:30 (okay, the alarm went off at 7:30. I got UP at 7:45) and was out the door five minutes later, with some dried apple slices and a cup of water in my belly for fuel. It was cold- the occasional snowflake drifted by, and I was glad I'd bought a balaclava earlier in the week to keep my head and neck warm.

Running felt good. I was actually a bit slower than I was on my first run (by about 11 seconds, so it's not like it was much), which I put down to the early hour. My first run was well into the afternoon. But I felt looser and was definitely in less pain by the end: no twinges in my calf, no tightness in my achilles. My running intervals felt longer, although I think they were also a little less frequent, and I settled into a comfortable pace. I don't feel like I pushed myself too hard at any point.

I ran the first 3/16ths of a mile, approximately. I might have been able to push it to 1/4 mile, but I started feeling tired. I'm going to try to make it the full quarter on Monday.

But if I don't make it? No big deal. When I pulled up and stopped my stopwatch at the end of the run today, I saw the time and said aloud, "Oh well. Not the end of the world." And I felt it. And that, too, is progress of a kind.

Workout: Fartlek walk/run, 1.5 miles
Time: 21:54
Pace: 14:36 per mile

In sickness and in health

Good news- I don't have pneumonia! Yes, that was a possibility, and yes, you are allowed to imagine I said that in Professor Farnsworth's voice. The bad news is I have some lingering inflammation from whatever upper respiratory/strep throat type infection I had a couple of weeks ago. But a chest X-ray was taken and my lungs look fine. That's very good news, considering I have some important singing gigs coming up. I just hope I've recovered enough by then to not sound like I have been sounding lately (bad).

I debated whether or not I should really be going out running in the cold when my chest feels sore and I just bought a $200 inhaler to help me get over this thing, but finally decided that as long as I'm not exhausting myself, exercise is probably more helpful to my immune system than harmful. I also feel better than I have in a few days, so why not?

Today was my first day of hill repeats. This was actually less torturous than I thought it would be, probably because I paid close attention to my form and didn't push to go too fast. I did go a little faster than my normal jogging pace, just to get the full benefit of the muscle-building aspects of the exercise. I did the full 15 minutes, which I wasn't sure I was going to be able to do. I was able to do 8 repeats in that time- running up, then walking down, a hill in my neighborhood.

My plan is this: every Wednesday when I'm doing my hill repeats, I'll add another repeat. So next week it will be nine repeats, then ten, etc. When I reach 20, I'll either move to a steeper hill or start jogging down the hill rather than walking.

This morning was my introduction to nutrition final. Tomorrow morning is my anatomy and physiology final. I'm looking forward to next week, when I'll have time to do things other than study.