Stretching or Resting?

So I think I have discovered something. I'm not very good at stretching. Yes, I do it, before and after every run, and even periodically during the day. I stretch for at least 1/2 an hour a day. But with cold weather now upon us, I think I need to double or triple the amount of time I spend stretching.

At least, that's what I think my legs were telling me this morning on a 4 mile run in the dark.

Running across ice and snow with my LRL (Little Red Light), I felt my legs really tighten up around mile two, to the point that I had to take a short stretch break. They never recovered really and the rest of the run wan't very comfortable.

The other possibility is that I need to give my legs more rest between runs. I used to run one day on, one day off, but lately it's been hit and miss and I'll run 2 days in a row, then rest one, or run 3, then one off, or something like that. I'm not on a schedule per say, I just try to listen to my body and run as much or as far as it is telling me it can go. So it might be telling me to rest more. But I don't like resting. I like running. Maybe I do need to schedule my runs. Or maybe I just need to stretch more. You tell me.

On the lighter side, my character, Dwight, is beating Michael and the rest in the Fave Office Character Challenge through Nike+.

The Office is on tonight. Woo-hoo.

The Biggest Loser....

When Lisa and I did the local Biggest Loser challenger earlier this year, we definitely had some success. We each lost a significant amount of weight (combined over 50 lbs). People came up to us all the time (and still do) and say “have you lost weight?” and then they usually follow it up with “how have you lost that much weight?” as if there is a secret to losing weight. When I would answer them with “exercise and eating right,” most people seemed disappointed.

The thing is, most people already know the answer to that question before they even ask it, they are just hoping for a shortcut.

The holidays are upon us full force and everywhere I look there are reminders about avoiding the Battle of the Bulge during the holiday season. That is all fine and dandy, but what about the rest of the year? People have the same battles/cravings/temptations throughout the year. My thought is, learn to control those cravings throughout the year, in your daily life, or at least moderate them, so that when holidays or parties come around, they won’t present you with any temptation that you haven’t already faced and dealt with already. I love cookies and candies just as much as the next person, but I also know by experience what unhealthy eating can lead to.

Regular exercise/Running has really lead me to evaluate the type of fuel that I am putting into my body. I am hopeful that this Christmas will be different than years past when I absorbed as much holiday junk food as possible.

We watched Biggest Loser last night so we could be prepared for the finale next week. Did Bob really say that one of the former winners gained all their weight back? Who was that? And, how does that happen? And maybe it's just me, but I could see America voting for Ed just because Heba might come across as selfish for not asking America to vote for her husband.

Anyway, I'm rooting for Michelle.

The weatherman is a liar....

So yesterday it was a beautiful sunny day here, mid 50's, and I went for a very nice run wearing shorts and a t-shirt. In December. Yes. It was awesome out.

But the weatherman said that it was going to snow sometime today, our first snow of the season apparently. I didn't believe it. But I told my 7 year old anyway, who loves snow. He was so excited and went to bed last night with dreams of waking up to snow and going outside to play in it.

This morning we woke up and there was no snow, so my disappointed son said "the weatherman is a liar."

While I was trying to explain to him that the weather is very hard to predict, even for a weatherman, and it can pretty much do whatever it wants to, especially here in Kansas, it started snowing. Yep, it's snowing. All day, and tomorrow too I think. If the weatherman is right, we might get 3-4 inches. Welcome to Kansas. Sunny and beautiful one day, cold and blizzard like the next. Might be time to hit the elliptical.

Winter Running

I used to dread running in cold weather….in 2005 when I had tried to take up running, it was the cold weather that I think eventually caused me to quit, and then I never went back to it…….now, 3 years later, I actually kind of enjoy running in cold weather…..not brutally, frostbite cold type of weather with negative windchill temps..…but I can deal with running in temperatures of 30s and 40s……the arctic chill wind makes it especially tough…..but when clothed properly and prepared mentally, it’s really not so bad. I've been experimenting with the right combination of layers of shirts, undershirts, pants, gloves, etc to try to get just the right layering for varying degrees of coldness. Anyone have a clothing system that works for you?

We don't have snow like the below picture yet (my kids a couple of winters ago), but I know it's coming soon.....



Of course I say all this on a day when it's pushing 50 degrees out and sunny and I was able to run 4 miles in shorts....

Jingle All the Way....

This was my first Jingle Bell Run. I wanted to run it mainly for two reasons. First, I had heard that it was one of the more popular races around, and a lot of fun, and second, my mother in law has arthritis, so I felt good about supporting an event sponsored by the Arthritis Foundation.

I had heard that getting a good night's sleep the night before a race is not as important as getting a good night's sleep the night before the night before (that's 2 nights before, if that makes sense), so I tried Thursday night to get a good night's sleep. I think I actually succeeded, and felt well rested on Friday, which was a rest day from running anyway. I wanted my body to recover and be ready for the race on Saturday. Friday night I wasn't so concerned about getting a good night's sleep, so I stayed up fairly late. I

called my buddy Adam to see if he wanted to run it with me and he said yes, so I was stoked. He has been running longer and is faster than me, so I was looking forward to running with him. He lives about a mile from me and we've run together before. He is going to do the OKC marathon, and I'm half tempted to join him and maybe do the 1/2 marathon event. It's in April so I have plenty of time to train, although Run to Finish has mentioned a 1/2 in Olathe in March, so I will have to see if either of those will work out. Soccer for Bryden will be starting back up sometime in the spring so my Saturdays will be occupied again coaching U8 soccer.





Here is a pic of me, Adam (next to me), and some of his running friends....

Some highlights from the run/event:
--Santa Claus was there
--So was the Grinch
--many runners dressed in the Christmas spirit, with Santa hats, reindeer hats, etc...one woman ran the race as a wrapped present
--runners had to tip-toe through geese poop for about 1/2 mile while running along the river bike path
--one guy ran the whole four miles in full firefighter gear, helmet and all...wish I'd have gotten a pic, that is impressive
--there was breakfast and lunch provided(if you count donuts as breakfast and a hamburger as lunch)
--I saw my friend Reese and he took 7th overall, he was trying to finish under 24 minutes...that's just absurd that he can run that fast...

I felt pretty good overall but went out a bit fast and got winded. My mental state was also very off today. There is something about running with a bunch of other people that bugs me, when I am used to running alone.

Is a mile really a mile??

I crossed the finish line at 37:19, which is a pace of about 9:20. That is slower than I intended on running it, so I was disappointed.

When I looked at my ipod, though, it said that I had ran 4.54 miles at a pace of 8:18 or something like that....so, my ipod must be off in tracking distance. I did calibrate it though, over thanksgiving, and it came out exactly right right. Has anyone else had problems with their iPod tracking distances incorrectly? I know a lot of people use Garmin devices. Are those more accurate?

My buddy Adam finished in 34 minutes something, I couldn't keep up, and I didn't really try to. I am slow, and I know it, but that's okay. We had a great day of running and enjoyed the race.

Morning Runner Syndrome....

So I really like running in the mornings, before I have to go to work....with the seasons changing this is becomming more and more of a challenge....running in the cold takes extra effort for me......

Usually I run around 6:30-ish....well today I woke up early for some reason and couldn't go back to sleep, so I decided to go running...it was 5......a.......m. Yes....it was early. And dark. And cold. And did I mention early? To fight the coldness I bundled up really well, with my new gloves and even a neck warmer. I was nice and toasty after about a mile.

And, to fight the dark, I wore my new little runner's light that my parents got me as an early Christmas gift. I think they were worried after reading my last post about running in the dark. The light is actually pretty cool, it clips on your body and gives off a nice red shine, kind of like a bicycle light. The only place I could find to clip it was on my collar, so I felt like I had a red-orange glow on my face the entire way. Thanks mom, I felt extra safe today. I tried to take a picture of the light above, didn't really come out too well.

Just did a nice, easy 2.5 mile run today, at about a 8:50 pace. It was about 20 degrees this morning, so that was about as far as I felt like running in that coldness. I am hoping it is warmer than this on Saturday for the Jingle Bell Run.

Running in the dark....

Seems like no matter when I run these days, it is in the dark....today was no exception. I ran when I got home from work and at 5:15-ish it was already dark. Amazing. I even turned the Christmas lights on before I went on my run. The good news is that the weather was great and I got to wear shorts. Yippee. I ran 3 miles in 8:28 pace, which is great for me. Really felt good overall, except for a slight twinge in my lower back at about the 1.5 mile mark...it subsided after about 1/2 a mile. I intentionally went a little faster than normal, to try to get my body used to running at a slightly faster pace. The Jingle Bell run in in 4 days, and it is a four miler. If I could keep this pace up for 4 miles, I would be ecstatic. Lately I've been listening to the Phedippidations podcast during my runs and they are pretty entertaining. The guy records his podcasts during long distance runs, which is pretty amazing. On today's episode (an old one actually, as I'm working my way through the archive) he talked about the mental aspects of running, and I couldn't agree more that there is a lot about running that involves the mind. When my mental state is there, it doesn't even matter how my body feels most of the time. Today my mental was good, as was my breathing and body. Those are the three things I try to pay attention to when running, and when they all three click, then it's a great run.