Running in the Cold Rain Feels Good

Even though I ran in the rain, it felt good becasue I'm starting to see some progress.

I set my alarm for 6AM this morning. I awoke to thunder and lighting outside my window. I decided to go back to sleep and ignore the alarm, since I correctly assessed the situation to be rather dangerous because the thunder sounded rather near by.

A woke up again at 9AM. This time I started to waffle, should I do the Ballet Boot Camp and count it as a cross training day or just brave the elements? Finally, around 10AM I made up my mind. Running it was! It took me about 10 minutes to get my head out of a funk and get dressed for the run. By the time I got out the door it was still raining, but the thunder and lightning had moved on.

I lost track of how many laps I did and tried not to berate myself for cheating. Yea, cheating! I decided to run the inside lane on the track as opposed to the outer lane that I usually run. After about a lap and a half, I determined that I wasn’t cheating and that psychologically it felt better to just run on the inside lane.

Unfortunately, I lost count of how many times I actually ran around the track, but that’s OK. I started around 10:20 AM and got back around 11:00 AM. 40 minutes. I can live with that.

I ran to the Indie Christian C25K, week 3 and I loved it. Running in the cool air (I believe the weather channel said it was 73 F) felt great. As per usual, I ran the last 5 minutes of my cool down, I believe I made it about 1 and a half times around the track during the five minutes plus the 3 minute run. Hmmm…that’s 8 minutes of running without a walk break. Did I do that? Wow, running in the cooler air really does make a difference! Also, it started raining harder during my last lap. The rain was dripping off my hat whenever I looked down to avoid the puddles and fiddle with my mp3 player.

The hill on the way back, turned into a shallow river on the trek back home, at least the left side was. The right side seemed less effected by the downpour. Fortunately, the small army of construction workers were no where to be seen, so it was a gawk free run.

By the time I got to my door, I wasn’t huffing and puffing up the three flights of steps like I normally do. It felt great!

Regarding form – I still need to work on my left leg, but it did cooperate with my right foot much better today. I have hope that my left foot will consistently land on the ball of the foot. It takes a lot of mental effort to focus on correct form.

Running straddling the line between the lanes has been really a blessing. It keeps me focused on my arm movements. I have a tendency to swing my arms past the mid-line. By being aware of my arm placement,  I can keep nagging neck and shoulder pain from interfering with my training schedule.

What do the Macarena & Herb Alpert Have in Common?

Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass

I listened to… It started out with a Herb Alpert type of brass sound, then went into a James Brown sort of montage. Next came a popcorn techno beat followed by a thinly veiled Macarena theme. I got as far as the rap swing segment before I was done. I listened to 52 minutes total, out of 65 minutes.

I must have been running with my shoulders up around my ears because I could feel the inflammation in my neck. Mental note – I ate chocolate yesterday.

I walked about 1.2 miles and probably ran about .6 miles for a total of 1.8 miles. I tried a shot of Starbuck’s expresso with soy milk on ice. It didn’t tear up my stomach as bad as I thought it would. I may have to try it agin, but I still had a caffeine buzz going at 3PM.

This time, after my run, I made a point of stretching out my hamstrings, calves, quads, hip flexor and iliotibial band. No soreness today. Is it because I didn’t run that much or because I took the time to stretch out? Its the former, I think.

Week 4 Interval

I skipped 2 days and ran this morning. I also skipped week three of Interval 5 K training and went from week 2 right to week 4 because I had an objection to the lyrics in week 3. The great news is that I completed week 4 with no problems. The last two days my knees were acting all wonky too, yet another reason to take a short brake.

I think I have figured out how to tackle the neck pain in running. Just pull down the shoulders. They have a tendency to creep up on me. If I pull them down the neck tension goes away.

Lisa colored my hair today, dark auburn. I think I’ll keep the color. I don’t know though. I’m kind of wishy-washy on that subject. Thinking about a dark honey/caramel color though. I’m going to talk to Anne-Marie and see what she has to say on the subject first. When in doubt, talk to a professional.

Edit: I finally did make up my mind and went blond. It was a really brassy blond and I’ll probably never do it again. I look better in darker colors.

Neck Position

Regarding Dr. Romanov’s take on the neck position. I got it all wrong. I’m one of those people who unconsciously sticks their neck out. That coupled with the herniated disk at C7 & weak neck muscles have spelled disaster for me as of late. Click here for Dr. Romanov’s article.