Bike ride. Discovered the trail goes sliiightly downhill away from home, which means on the way home it was all sliiightly uphill. My knees were slightly upset, and my saddle may have to go up a smidge (or I'm just even more out of shape than I thought hahaha).

Snow Cheap #3

Wow, it's almost like rejoining this place was a curse! (Nah, just coincidence.) Can't run today, have my brother's birthday dinner. Can't run tomorrow, have a Home Owner's Meeting (somehow I ended up on the board; I suspect a conspiracy between my dad (head of the board), one of his neighbours (board member), and my neighbour (former board member)). Yay, Snow Cheap this wednesday! I think I'll have to brave the West side and join Fleet Feet Ridgeway for their friday Happy Hour run (I think the East vs West side thing is mostly bull, but I'm a nervous driver when going to new places), and maybe their Monday Fun Day run too.

Either that, or get out of bed early and run by myself. Which I'll have to start doing soon anyway, if I want to prepare properly for the Flower City Half Marathon (yes. Yes I do). For now though, gotta finish my tea and get my lazy butt to work (maybe morning workouts are a good idea...).

I missed it here--how did I end up staying away for so long? D: My sense of time is terrible as it is, so maybe I was more depressed than I thought; looking back, that sure seems to be the case.

Thank you Fleet Feet and the Winter Warrior program for getting me out of my unintentional hibernation! SO glad I finally "manned-up" (or whatever more appropriate phrase) and signed up instead of just thinking about how fun it could be like the last two years I tripped over that page. I think joining the Newton Running Form Clinic at Fleet Feet on a whim reminded me how much I like running (when I do it right, that way my back doesn't hurt) and got me to finally get a new pair of shoes--trail shoes, so I also signed up for the Snow Cheap race series.

My goals for this year are still a bit muddled since I've never had a good track record for accomplishing goals, but I've got more race information on a handful of post-it notes so that's a good start. Also, finally got my bike (it was my birthday present! [My birthday was in May :p]) so maybe I can do the duathlon I've been eyeing for years if I manage to get myself fit enough in time.

We'll see how long this unnatural optimism lasts. Until then, I will enjoy it. Okay, enough of my long rambling sentences with their multi-embedded trains of thought: First decision is whether or not to do the Flower City Challenge Half Marathon.

Glad to have you back. The hardest step is opening the door to start running.
Bob Anderson 1/9/14 7:38 pm

Thanks for the welcome back--and that is most definitely true! The bright side though, is that once you've opened the door, it's easier to open again, which makes the next time easier, and before you know it you're just doing it.
Karin Venderbosch 1/10/14 7:04 am

This was supposed to be an hour (went to bed early last night and got up even earlier this morning just to make time for that!) but my bum couldn't take it. Now I know I'm really out of shape--I used to be able to take around two hours before the discomfort started bothering me. I guess I'll have to invest in some proper bicycle shorts or a pillow or something.

Still can't find my dumbbells, but maybe my bum will have recovered enough for me to have another go after I get home from work.

Maybe it is not a bad idea to split it up. The main thing is that you are getting in the miles. How many miles are you covering in an hour?
Bob Anderson 1/6/12 11:23 am

Finally got my brainpan sorted out a bit, so I'm back. Still too dark in the morning/evening for running during the week, and I've gained weight since I last exercised (it's horrible), so I should probably take it easy for a little while.

My turbo trainer arrived today and my brother fetched my bike and set it up for me in my bedroom, so I had a nice thirty-ish minute bike ride (watched two anime episodes). Wanted to go longer, but I forgot to get water when I started, and when I went downstairs to get some, I learned that it's really loud. Which means if I want to use it while people are home/sleeping, I'll have to haul it downstairs into the living room, where it's a lot quieter.

I'm sweaty and gross and a bit tired (should be more tired, will have to go an hour next time or dig out my dumbbell set again), but it's the good kind of accomplished tired instead of the usual "tired of life" miasma I've had lately, so I'm going to be properly determined and keep up this exercise thing! (At the very least, I have a half marathon in April I don't want to miss.)

April will be here before we know it...it is hard to get out in the mornings but even harder at night. Tough time of the year!!!
Bob Anderson 1/5/12 11:18 pm

That's what happened to me last year--I refuse to be surprised like that twice in a row, because that would be just sad. We don't have much traffic here, so I'm not too worried about going out in the dark (as long as dawn is soon, or dusk isn't too far in the past), but I've watched a little too much "true crime" on television lately (thanks Mum), so I'll wait 'til there's more light, thanks all the same. Not looking forward to the stupid "daylight savings" messing things up either...
Karin Venderbosch 1/6/12 3:21 am

I got up early so I could run before work and it's kind of scary in the dark. There are streetlamps part of the way, but needless to say I cut my run down to 2 miles (I've been wimping out on distance too much lately; on the bright side, this might've been the best 2 miles I've run in a while? I couldn't find my timer so I'm not sure exactly). I did bring a flashlight with me, but I should probably acquire a reflective vest or something; my white trainers are not enough to make up for all my dark clothing.

This was going to be 5 miles, but pretty much as soon as I made it up my hill and got smacked in the face, I ended up running my usual 3 miles instead. And the wind was in my face the whole time (what was up with that?). Hopefully the wind will calm down soon or I'll have to run on the trail through the woods--the trees keep most of the wind away, but it's a really flat trail and I'm lazy enough as it is haha.

More rain. But it was a proper rain this time, not the miserable drizzle earlier in the week. Also, a bit on the windy side towards the end.

First run I got rained on; almost cut it short, but successfully resisted the urge. My shower was extra satisfying afterwards. Also, I ran in my race shoes instead of my regular shoes today, and I think I rather desperately need new ones. :(

I like running in the rain unless it is really pouring...
Bob Anderson 10/12/11 9:08 pm