A weekend Away From The Trails

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A weekend away from home also turned out to be a weekend away from the trails too. The running gear remained neatly packed in a weekend bag so heavy that carrying it around was an iminent risk for a serious case of rope burn. I should have left that stuff at home.

Luckily enough I didn't have to do the carrying myself as my travelling companion was more than willing to take on the assignement. I know... I don't deserve that kind of treatment but it is a new week with new schemes and new challenges. Somehow, I'll make up for that running session though it won't be by running.

It was great spending time with family and I wouldn't swap that for any trails in the world.

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Pep Talk? No Thank You, Not While I am Training!

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Yesterday's 24- min run became a 30-min interval session:

14 min run
3min walk
5min run
3min walk
5 min progressive- speed run finishing with a sprint

I get stressed up by people who run faster than I am (which is almost everyone) but who insist on hovering around to spend their energy on throwing pep talk phrases at me; "come on now, faster, you can do it, yep - just half the distance to go, move it..." STFU!!! That stuff does more harm than good. It disrupts my concentration and quite frankly it is very annoying too. The same goes for spotting, at the gym.

Given an alternative I've always opted to run solo - because one simply never knows what is going to happen out there. Yesterday I took a chance and set out running with a potential running buddy - for the first time.

Now, I am not sure whether it was a positive thing but the session didn't proceed according to schedule, just as illustrated above. However, we covered a lot more distance than I would normally have done on my own - during the same period of time. Sometimes I run slower than I should for fear I won't last through the session. Must stop with that.

Anyway, we were taking turns to gradually increase speed only without competing: It was more like testing each other to see we could keep up. A lot of laughter? Yes, there was. Pep talks? None!!
It felt great having someone "push" me to work harder and I'm doing it again BUT the minute pep talks start flying around, we're out of business.

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Late Evening Session

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Late run tonight. At 20:00hrs, the whole place was deserted. I too was eager to do my business as quickly as possible and then return home for some leg work and stretching. I had to stretch for a very long time and then give the legs a serious rub. Running on asphalt isn't quite a walk on the beach:)) My feet can testify!

However, I did intervals today so my "bad"  knee wasn't such a nuissance during the session. It has been misbehaving now for 2 days. (If it is not the knee then it is the lower back or the hip.) The stupid runner's knee.

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Aktiv Träning finally on the menu

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My subscription to Aktiv Träning has officially kicked in. In my posession now is my first issue of the magazine. It looks so yummy I can't wait to sink my teeth into it.

On the other hand, I can't get past the back of the cover; laced with all these races I never knew existed, it is so hard to resist dreaming about all the races I could run next year. It is probably not the smartest thing to do seeing that I haven't even gotten through my debut race but I can't help myself.

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Fatigue

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Thought I might log onto Funbeat but can't remember the password. I am too exhausted anyway so I'll deal with that tomorrow.

Ever since I deserted the treadmill and started running outside, I get extremely tired after the runs. It is okay when training occurs in the evenings but a pain when in the mornings.

Still, I'd like to think that it is due to all that fresh air.

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Vegan Eating

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I have been seriously thinking about jazzing up my diet with some veggan eating. As a matter of fact I did try it about a year ago and was doing okay until I ran out options. The experiment lasted about three weeks.

Finding substitutes for dairy products was easy but on the meat side it turned out to be tricky. There was a subsitute for chicken filet and I recall making a very delicious stir-fry with it. I also found some very yummy veggie burgers and some not so yummy veggie saussages. Aside from that, there wasn't much to choose from and it wasn't so easy to find either.

Reminiscing, I realise I lacked sufficient knowledge about what the veggan world has to offer. I didn't know where to look because I didn't know what I was looking look for.

Now, the food pyramid, that I understand! It may look different every time I turn around, but it has been hammered in my head so hard since I was a little girl, I'll find it in any grocery store.

Thus, as far as vegan eating is concerned, I may have to re-educate myself seriously so I can find  my way even better among the supermarket shelves.

Source:  The Harvard School of Public Health

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The perfect Run

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That running session in the post below did happen. I was so bushed afterwards I could hardly speak let alone type.

Physically, the run was perfect. A perfect run for me is when I perform all the way without struggling, when I don't get an asthma attack and when my knee does not act up.

However, the sidewalks and the paths were somewhat of a nightmare. Covered with snow and in some areas with ice, it was much like running up an escalator rolling in the opposite direction.

That must have been what tired me out. That and all the other action I was having:

• dodging road slush paddles and ice patches
• climbing up snow heaps collecting on the roadside so I could get access to the shortcuts and the paths
• dodging cars only to find out they were heading in the same direction and then having to turn back
• reading a text message and taking a phone call (my phone is my running buddy for now)

Anyway, given all that action, it is no wonder time flies by so quickly in the outdoors and it is now wonder I was so exhausted after that session. Still, it was the perfect run and the best of last week.

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I am sticking to the outside

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Heading out in a short while. Would really like to go to the gym - obviously because of it's warm environment ;) - but unfortunately for me the clock moves so slowly when I am on the treadmill. So I am sticking to the decision to move the running into the outdoors. Although the ground is still so snowy, the weather is quite nice today - it is very sunny which is a good thing as I don't do cold so well. Nothing cramps my breathing style like some frosty minus-degree air when I am running.

Well, I am off now. Let's see how this one goes.

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45 Breathless-icy-windy Minutes

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Having decided last weekend to shift my running from the gym into the outdoors, I am starting to wonder if indeed it was the right decision to make at this time of the year. I mean the only sign of spring I have seen so far is the bundle of the (gorgeous) red tulips I got from some friends last Friday. Let's be real, with the kind of weather we've been having up to now, these flowers cannot be local.

Anyway, this week's first run didn't happen on Tuesday, as scheduled but on Wednesday instead. It turned out to be a fiasco too. I took the garbage out with the intention to keep going after disposing of it only to turn back and change into my light snow boots. With all that snow, the running shoes were nothing less than a pair of skies so they had to go, lest I should break a limb in the middle of no where.

5 minutes into the run and I am gasping for air and I don't know what to do. I have been following the scheduled time duration religiously that in my mind there is no other alternative than to follow through. For that reason I push on a bit more until I realise for sure that this breathing ailment is not going away unless I stop running. Imagine being out of breath and not being able to breathe freely.

The wind, in addition is just being down right merciless. Every gust of it is packed with loads of fine icy snow flakes splashing in my face like a bucket of icy cold water every few strides. Some of the flakes end up in my nose which is fine if there's need for it but what I want is air, not snow flakes. I want to breathe, not snort snow (ever).

Run-walk, run-walk-walk, ru'-walk-walk, ru´-walk, run-run-walk... It is a battle and although not executed as scheduled, I manage to make the planned 16 minutes of running. 45 breathless-icy-windy minutes later, I am back at home.

As a newbie at this asthma thing, the whole ordeal caught me with my pants down. I hadn't taken my medicine and wasn't even sure of its location. These attacks do rarely happen but from now on, I’m not going out there so unprepared again.

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