Saturday Morning Walk

Did a quick stroll for 3/4 of a mile.  Just wanted to get out there and move a bit.  Thought I wanted to run, but definitely didn't feel like it when I got to the track, so I just did a few turns and then walked home through the neighbourhood.

Surprise!

It's Friday and I've done my run already!  Wahooooo!

The ground was definitely wet and covered with mounds of melting snow.  So how does running in that stuff go?  Something like this:

Splish, splash, splish, SWOOSH.  Woah.  Splish, splash, splish....

Today, I changed things up a bit.  I skipped my warm up lap (my walk to the track is about the same warm up time) and started running on the first lap.  My stats definitely reflect that change.  Oh, I also calibrated the watch to auto-lap every 1/4 mile.  This time, it counted all my laps properly.  ;)  But the total distance thing becomes different.  Oh well.

Total distance:  1.75mi

Best lap:  2:53 (my first lap!)

Avg pace:  13:09/mi

Avg heartrate:  171 bpm

Brrrrr

Vancouver is sitting in a blanket of white.  My apartment is sitting in a blanket of cold.

Tomorrow is my run day and I have to figure out a way to get out onto the track (which will surely be covered in snow).

Any ideas??

Wahoo!

Temp:  -5C (actually, -11C with wind chill)

Had a great run today.  In fact, I did two of my laps so quickly that the Garmin watch missed one of my laps!  I'm not kidding -- look!

So that means that I had two laps that were under 3 mins!  That's the first time... and my silly watch missed it! *haha*  The stats also show that I shaved a whole minute off of my run from Monday (same distance).  So today is a WAHOO day!  :)

Total distance:  1.8mi

Best lap:  around 2:55

Avg pace:  12:46/mi

Avg heartrate:  159 bpm

Wednesday morning

Looks like it's going to snow later today (5-10 cm).  I better get my run in before it starts to fall!

To take drugs, or not to take drugs....

As I start to run more, the possibility of injury or aches and pains looms.  No matter how careful you are, sometimes these thing can't be helped.  So what do you do when that happens?

Take an ibuprofen and ice the area?

That seems like fairly common knowledge.  Well yesterday, I read a great article that cast doubt on that.  In it, it mentions some preliminary studies that show that inflammation is a part of the process for the body to heal itself.  When we reduce the swelling through anti-inflammatory drugs or ice, according to this study, we risk proper recovery in the long term.

Crazy, isn't it?

Read up on it yourself: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/alex-hutchinson/take-a-pass-on-the-advil-swelling-may-help-you-heal/article1808598/

Now, I've never been a fan of taking any pills for pains, headaches or whatnots.  I've always thought that if it hurts, my body is probably trying to tell me something.  But that's just one way to deal with it.  What do you do when it really hurts and you need to get back to functioning?

Brrrrrr-run

Temp:  -4C with 24 km/h winds

Such a chilly day today!  Holy cow!  My finger tips were getting icy while I ran.  Any skin that came in contact with the air had a ruddy red hue to it.  *hahah*

On the plus side, the school oval was dry (or frozen over) so that meant I didn't have wet socks or muddied pants when I got home.  Who knew that running in the cold could bring such bonuses?!  :)  And because of that, I forced myself to do an extra lap.... even though I really wanted to get back home and warm up.

In pouring over the data, I've been trying to find meager signs of improvement.  Looks like my lap times are a few seconds shorter and that my heart rate is lowering (trust me, not from lack of effort!).  But when I'm out on the track, I can't seem to run further or longer and it doesn't seem any easier.  I'm glad I have the watch to give me an accurate idea of where I'm at.  That's one of the reasons why I've stuck with using the oval... so that it's easier to track the differences in lap times.  Don't worry.  Eventually I'll move off of the track and onto the street for longer distances.  Promise.

Total distance:  1.79mi
Best lap:  3:00
Avg pace:  13:21/mi

Avg heartrate:  157 bpm

Monday morning

... ya know what that means, right?

Today's temp shows as being -4C.. with wind chill making it feel like -11C.

I can't wait!  See you in an hour!

Sweet tooth

For some reason, fighting the sugar cravings bad tonight.

This is what I'm craving.  One of the best gelato places in town.  My two favourite flavours are cherimoya and marzipan.  By the way, now that Christmas is around the corner, the little Italian grocery stores in my area are finally stocking marzipan bars again.  Yay for that!!

For now, I'm brewing some Mint Chocolate Truffle tea and sweetening it with agave syrup.

Oh!  There's the tea kettle whistling!  :)

Sleep!

I love how timely this photo article is!  Yes, indeed.  Sleep does help the brain be more alert!