It's getting colder around here, but I'm committed to keep running outside as long as I can. I've switched from shorts to sweatpants, and my super-technical (read: $10 cotton) running T-shirt has been supplemented by a fleece jacket. Light gloves have been added to my repertoire as well.
I'm really not sure what I'll do once the snow hits the ground - running on slippery sidewalks doesn't strike me as a really good idea. That said, the city does a pretty good job of keeping the sidewalks and pathways clear, so it might actually be a doable proposition. As an added plus, running in cold weather burns extra calories - on top of the running itself, my body will have to burn off some fat just to keep warm!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Another day, another run...
Back home and I headed out for an afternoon on this chilly Sunday afternoon. It felt great to enjoy the crisp fall air fill my lungs while I listened to the repetitive thump-thump-thump of my runners on the concrete.
It constantly amazes me that I can go out and run for over 45 minutes and over 7k (with about 1k devoted to warm-up and cool-down), when it seemed challenging to just go for 20 minutes straight a few months ago.
You can check out the run on Runkeeper here.
It constantly amazes me that I can go out and run for over 45 minutes and over 7k (with about 1k devoted to warm-up and cool-down), when it seemed challenging to just go for 20 minutes straight a few months ago.
You can check out the run on Runkeeper here.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Working in Calgary this week, still running!
I'm working in Calgary this week, but that hasn't stopped me from running! I headed out last night for a sunset run along the Bow River - the run can be found on Runkeeper here. At 7.15k, this is my longest run yet... the GPS in my iPhone was a little screwy around the downtown towers, though, so I'm not sure if that's totally accurate. Should be pretty close, though.
Today is a scheduled rest day, but I might be joining some colleagues for a volleyball game tonight. I haven't played since junior high, so I'm fairly certain I'll embarrass myself!
Today is a scheduled rest day, but I might be joining some colleagues for a volleyball game tonight. I haven't played since junior high, so I'm fairly certain I'll embarrass myself!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Back to 100%
Wow, I went for a run last night and it feels like I'm totally up to my previous level of running fitness. I was worried that my fitness level would have dropped after being sick for a few weeks, but apparently the human body is pretty good at bouncing back from illness.
My run last night, which you can see in Runkeeper here was for 6.45k (including warmup/cooldown), so about 5.5k of actual running. My eventual goal is to compete in a 5k race, but there aren't really a whole lot of them until the spring. I suppose I could just work on my endurance a bit and aim for a 10k instead!
My run last night, which you can see in Runkeeper here was for 6.45k (including warmup/cooldown), so about 5.5k of actual running. My eventual goal is to compete in a 5k race, but there aren't really a whole lot of them until the spring. I suppose I could just work on my endurance a bit and aim for a 10k instead!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Mostly healthy, back running
After a few weeks of fighting off some sort of virus-based cold/flu thing, I finally managed to get back to running last night. My run, viewable via Runkeeper here wasn't that long - only about 25 minutes running, and about 5.3km total (including warmup/cooldown), but it felt like a huge accomplishment to get back "in the saddle" after being on my butt for a few weeks.
I'm going to do my best to get back into a schedule of running every other day. It's getting colder now so it's getting harder to run outdoors, and I'm not a huge fan of running on the treadmill. Time to get some winter running clothing, I think.
I'm going to do my best to get back into a schedule of running every other day. It's getting colder now so it's getting harder to run outdoors, and I'm not a huge fan of running on the treadmill. Time to get some winter running clothing, I think.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Downtime... stupid colds...
I really love my kids, but this time of year they morph into festering germ-pods, ready to infect me (the noble parent) with whatever variety of illness the kids are playing with nowadays.
One of my children gave me a nasty cold, and I've been down for the count for a few days now. It's not so much the stuffed nose and coughing - I can deal with that - it's the fatigue! I've never felt so drained. Hopefully within a few more days I'll be able to get healthy again.
I've still kept up with the Hacker's Diet exercises each morning, even though they've felt a lot more challenging lately because of the cold. My goal for the next few weeks is to establish a routine of running on the treadmill at the gym, and hopefully I'll still squeeze in some outdoor runs before it gets too cold out.
One of my children gave me a nasty cold, and I've been down for the count for a few days now. It's not so much the stuffed nose and coughing - I can deal with that - it's the fatigue! I've never felt so drained. Hopefully within a few more days I'll be able to get healthy again.
I've still kept up with the Hacker's Diet exercises each morning, even though they've felt a lot more challenging lately because of the cold. My goal for the next few weeks is to establish a routine of running on the treadmill at the gym, and hopefully I'll still squeeze in some outdoor runs before it gets too cold out.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The perils of Thanksgiving
This past weekend was Thanksgiving in Canada, and we went to visit the inlaws in Saskatoon. Despite being out of town and having plenty of other people around the house, I managed to fit in a couple of runs while there, upping my distance to 6.48k and 6.72k respectively (links are to the Runkeeper activity pages for those runs.
I'm quite pleased to see some of the updates to Runkeeper - it now allows selective map sharing for activities, which is a feature that I requested a while ago. It allows me to share my runs via the web, but lets me limit which maps are viewable. I'd rather not share my exact address with the world, and sharing a GPS map of my runs would do just that - as with most runners, the start and end points of my runs are at my house.
Runkeeper now has a publicly-viewable dashboard for each user, which is a pretty useful feature.
The bad news is that the combination of turkey, wine, and desserts added four pounds to my waistline in three days. I know that only some of that weight gain is 'real' - a lot of it is just the normal day-to-day variation in weight - but I need to cut down for the next week to bring my weight back to target. Nothing dramatic, just a few calories cut here and there.
I have some commitments that prevent me from running today, but I'll definitely hit the pavement tomorrow.
I'm quite pleased to see some of the updates to Runkeeper - it now allows selective map sharing for activities, which is a feature that I requested a while ago. It allows me to share my runs via the web, but lets me limit which maps are viewable. I'd rather not share my exact address with the world, and sharing a GPS map of my runs would do just that - as with most runners, the start and end points of my runs are at my house.
Runkeeper now has a publicly-viewable dashboard for each user, which is a pretty useful feature.
The bad news is that the combination of turkey, wine, and desserts added four pounds to my waistline in three days. I know that only some of that weight gain is 'real' - a lot of it is just the normal day-to-day variation in weight - but I need to cut down for the next week to bring my weight back to target. Nothing dramatic, just a few calories cut here and there.
I have some commitments that prevent me from running today, but I'll definitely hit the pavement tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
