Just to let you know- this blog is no longer active. I'll be keeping up my 101 in 1001 list until its completion, but will not be writing new posts. You can read the post below if you want the long version. Thanks for the journey to all my friends in the blogosphere!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

I escaped!

Yesterday, after the weird sensation of teaching fourth grade on a Saturday (we had a snow make-up day and will next Saturday too), I was very excited to take advantage of the warmer, less icy, more sunshiny conditions and get outside!

Since I simply don't know what's good for me, I still dragged my feet about actually getting geared up in my running clothes and there was less than an hour of daylight when I finally got out. I never wear more than long workout pants and a long sleeve dri-fit over a top when I run in the cold. I almost always shed the longsleeve within 5 minutes. Yesterday, however, I considered going back in and getting a jacket and/or gloves...it was pretty chilly.

Once I got a little ways in though, I felt fine. I was SO relieved to glance at the Garmin and see that my first mile was sub-9:00 without me trying for any kind of speed. (I'm not really focused on speed at all, especially now, but it is so discouraging when it seems like a struggle to just get a sub-10:00 mile on the treadmill. It feels so much easier on real ground.) I slowed down a little after that, but kept happily plugging along past the turnaround and up to 3.5 miles.

All of the sudden though I just felt so tired. I think my body just realized that 1. I hadn't fed it anything but junk that day, 2. It's only been doing 1 mile a day all week, 3. It's been fighting off a cold for a week with only sporadic medicinal help from me, and 4. It wasn't really used to running in the cold.

I walked a little ways, not out of necessity, just out of tired/laziness, but couldn't for long because I immediately became cold again. It would have been ideal if someone I knew came driving by and I could flag them down and just ask for a ride the rest of the way home. (Which is not an unlikely fantasy in this small town.) I sucked it up though (I wasn't miserable or injured, just tired) and jogged the rest of the way home.

So, it wasn't a dramatically amazing escape from the dreadmill, but I'll take any 5 miles outside over the best 1.01 on the treadmill.

4 comments:

  1. Saturday school???? I never see any of my neighbors on my runs....

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  2. A snow make up day on Saturday. Hahaha! I can't see our teachers in Michigan going for that or the kids for that matter.

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  3. "Snow make up days"?! What kind of evil-ness is that?

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  4. How interesting that y'all had class on Saturday! Great job on the run!

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