boskokitten

I may not be a fantastic runner.  I may not have a huge amount of endurance.  And I may not be very fast.  Yet.

But.
There are so many wonderful things about running.  Today as I was running, it was very cold.  I prepared my self by putting on leggings, a pair of pants, a skirt, a hooded sweatshirt (designed for workouts), hat, and gloves… My legs never got cold.  In fact, for the most part I was fine.  At first my fingers were pretty cold, and from my chin to my nose, I was very cold.  The last to warm up was my lower lip, and I have to say that having a stiff lower lip was a strange feeling.
When I run, I don’t really think too many deep thoughts.  I tend to mostly think about how I feel physically and what is going on around me.  My mind may wander, but I’m usually not keeping track and so I don’t typically remember many of my meandering thoughts.  Because my mind is so “clear,” if I’m having emotional issues, I almost always feel better during the run and a little less stressed when I’m done. 

I’ve run in the rain, which was an interesting experience.  I remember how at first it was very strange feeling the running run down my face into my eyes and mouth, but at I got used to the feeling, I didn’t feel the need to blink every time a raindrop hit me, and I started to enjoy the feeling.  I tend to get warm, very quickly, while running.  I did purchase a hat with a brim just to help in the future.  Today, it started to snow while I was running.  It was so much more gentle than the rain.  And the cool snow landing on my warm face was such a neat feeling. 

I like running.

The human body really is an amazing thing.

Today, I went for a short run.  I’m hoping to actually make it a habit.  I am thinking about running a 5K on New Year’s Eve.  I’ve trying to get a hold of my dad to see if he wants to do it, too.  I think it’d be more fun to do it with someone.  But anyway…  since I have an actual goal, perhaps it’ll make it easier. 

But why am I saying the human body is amazing?  Well, it’s been a while since I’ve gone running.  And it’s also been a while since I’ve run regularly.  I only ran for 10 minutes, but the first 2-3 minutes sucked.  If this had been me several years ago, I probably would have stopped.  I was tired, and breathing was hard.  But I kept at it.  And I never really notice when it gets easier, but it does.  And I no longer feel the burning desire to stop.  I look around and notice the scenery; the leaves changing colors.  And I enjoy it.

 A few years ago, I had started running with a friend.  Because of my competitive relationship with him, I pushed myself harder than Iwould have alone.  I didn’t want him to think I was a wimp.  Because of this, I discovered that I could do more than I ever realized!

Not too long ago, someone gave me an iPod Nano for free, because he received it from work and already owned an iPhone.  About 2-3 weeks ago, I bought the Nike + , which is a little attachment for the iPod that records your runs/walks.  If you own specific Nike shoes, there is a little spot you can put the sensor under your foot.  Otherwise, you have to get some sort of shoe pouch.  I have chosen the second method, because my feet don’t tend to enjoy Nike shoes. 

 The neatest thing about the Nike +, is that you can create an account on Nike’s website and your iPod will send the information  to it, so you can keep track of your runs.  So far, I’ve only done it once, because I don’t have an official shoe pouch and I don’t want to lose the sensor.  That and I’m not very consistant with my workouts.  But it is a really neat gadget.

 It even records the time, and tells you your mileage, and your pace.  You can set a “power song”, although I had a heck of a time getting mine to play…

I am currently on the drama diet.  I hate drama, and I usually am able to let it roll right off me.  I have been told by several people that they envy my ability to avoid that stuff.  I think it stems from the fact that once I realize it’s stupid stuff, I avoid/ignore it.  I love to here about it after the fact and once there has been a resolution.  But I don’t like to be involved.  Perhaps it is because, anytime I have been involved in drama, I make myself sick to my stomach.  I don’t like people to be mad with other people.  I always want to fix it.  And I overthink things and dwell.

On a good note, I went to a bellydancing class at my athletic club, or gym if you prefer.  It’s hard to loosen up.  But I forgot about the drama for an hour and actually got hungry.  I ate a bit when I get home, but my stomach still feels a bit empty.  I don’t really want to eat much more, since it is nearly 11 at night, and I really should go to sleep.  Especially since I slept so poorly last night.

I restarted my weight ticker, because I was trying to compromise the pounds based on the home scale vs. the doctor’s scale (which always seems to be 10 lbs more).  I’m going with the home scale for 2 reasons, 1 - It’s more complimentary and 2 - It’s more convenient.

On Saturday, I rode my bike along the Oak Leaf Trail (mostly).  My goal was simply to ride further than my previous ride (approximately 3 weeks prior in SD).  I managed to get minorly lost in the process.  :)  At about the point I decided to head back, I took a fork in the trail, thinking that it would just loop me around.  Rather, it took me straight West (instead of South).  Oops. 

One thing I thought was really neat along the trail: I went under 2 railroad tracks, and the clearance was only 7 feet.  As I passed underneath, I wondered what it would be like to be that close to the bottom of the train as it was traveling those tracks. 

I wasn’t on vacation, but I was away from home for more than 2 weeks living in a hotel.  I have not weighed myself since I’ve come home…

A little over a week ago, I bought myself a brand new bike.  Better than than the Target/Walmart kind.  Yesterday, I rode 9 miles. 

The prior weekend, I had my PT test for the military, and I passed.  I ran a lot faster than I expected. 

Last night, I went out for a run. I ran 1.5 miles (the amount I need to do for my PT test with the Air Force Reserves). I was very slow (just under 17 minutes). And I was kind achy for the rest of the night. I tried those various stretches that I last posted. I think they helped. It was weird because the opposite knee was the one feeling issues. And my back is sore.

And with the stress I’ve been feeling this week, I’ve lost 1.5 pounds, because my stomach has not wanted food in it. And I just tried to eat a salad I had from yesterday, and it did not keep well and really grossed me out.

Exercise Log

This link is to a video (approx. 5 min.) and has lots of streching to prevent IT Band/knee injuries.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid717784762/bclid909837219/bctid1138037408 

 And this in another good one for stretching lower legs…  I’m going to have to watch them a couple of times to remember them all

 http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid717784762/bclid909837219/bctid1137792433

The scale at work, which is like the doctor’s scale says that I am at 152.5 (with clothes on) at about 1pm today.  While the scale at home says 143.  So, I split the difference for the starting point.

Saturday, I went to the gym.  I ran, and my knee didn’t actually start to hurt, but it felt odd.  So, I decided that with my limited time, I would also lift some weights concentrating on my lower legs.  I didn’t do too much, because I wanted to head down to see my honey in a relatively timely fashion.  But I am still sore.  I’ve taken some ibuprofen today, and that seems to help some.  This is the kind of pain I don’t mind, though.  I’d rather hurt/ache do to working out, rather than general pains coming from not working out.  Or even the kinds that I get from sleeping funny.