It was warm outside!!!

I can't believe it! It's January and it's so nice outside. According to the Weather Network, it was -5*C/23*F with no wind. I must admit, it felt downright tropical. I know that's sad to say, given that it was still -5*C, but for the first time in a long time, I went outside and thought "warm". With that, I took my 9 miles outside today.
No complaints on the weather-front but I am still so bored with the local scenery. My two options for running: a) the 2-mile loop in my neighbourhood, or b) the 2.5 mile, straight, flat county highway that is immediately beside my neighbourhood. (I suppose there's also the base but it's about a 1.5 mile loop in some sort of wind vortex that involves taking the tunnel to cross a highway.) So for my 9 miles, I did 2 miles in the Qs, 5 miles out-and-back on Grande-Anse and then 2 more miles in the Qs. Boring.
I think next time I might have to drive somewhere to run. There's a bike path that I know of in Jonquiere, but I highly doubt it's maintained in the winter. The other thing I've noticed is that there aren't very many large residential areas. There are just small pockets of houses tucked between major streets that are too dangerous to run on (heck, too dangerous to drive on most days). I also don't want to drive 20 minutes somewhere to discover that the road conditions are awful for running.
Next week's long run is only 6 miles (cutback week), so I'm sure I can manage that, whether it be outside or on the treadmill. On the schedule for tomorrow is an easy 3 miles plus the Bodyrock workout I missed on Friday.

11 randoms

Good morning all! I'm just waiting for my brunch to digest before I head out on this weekend's long run (9-miler). The weather is beautiful and warm (-6*C/21*F), so no treadmill for me today. While I wait, here are the answers to 11 random questions, as given to me by yes, folks. i run like a girl

1. What is one bad habit you want to break?
I'm a total sucker for junk food. There seems to be a distinct correlation between how bad the food is for me and how much I like it. I'd probably be 20lbs lighter.


2. What is the best compliment you have ever received?
It's totally random and I don't even know why this particular compliment sticks out but here it goes. Back in high school, every year I participated in the Ontario Student Classics Conference (read: Latin geek convention) with my high school Classics Club. One of the competitions at this conference was a Live Performance; it could be singing, dancing, music, whatever as long as you could link it back to the ancient world. I did ballet throughout high school and was working on my R.A.D. Advanced 1 qualification when I graduated and went off to university. So for this competition, I choreographed and performed a dance (ballet with modern flair) to the Shrek version of Holding Out for a Hero (track 14), telling the story of Andromeda waiting to be rescued by Perseus. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, it's ok.) I totally rocked the performance and I ended up winning 1st place. After the awards ceremony, a teacher (50-something-year-old male) from some other random school came up to me and told me how impressed he was. It was completely unexpected and the fact that he sought me out to tell me really meant a lot. 


3. If you were stranded on a desert island and had a case of food -- only one type of food -- what would it be?
Kraft Dinner. See question #1. 


4. If you could have a beer with any person (living or dead), who would it be?
No question - Livia. I want to know the truth!


5. What is your biggest pet peeve?
Spelling/grammar mistakes caused by homonym confusion. You're is not the same as your!!!!


6. Favourite song of all time?
I really don't know. I tend to go through phases. Right now, I'm partial to Glee covers involving Santana. Oddly specific, but I don't care.


7. Guilty pleasure song? (You know - that one you rock out to when no one else is listening...)
Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins. You know the one from Top Gun? I live on a fighter base and one day I felt a little silly, so I blasted the song on the car stereo and drove around the base like that. With the F-18s taking off in the background, it was pretty awesome.


8. Favourite vacation location?
I've never actually been there, but I would love to go to Italy. (read: ancient Roman stuff)


9. Are you a re-reader or one-and-done?
Usually one-and-done. Sometimes I'll re-read a book if it's been a few years and I don't really remember what happened.


10. What is the career you secretly dream about starting when you retire from your current job?
Something where I get paid to organize and plan stuff. Or professional fabric painter (I used to make the costumes for the Fashion Show competition at the aforementioned Classics Conference). Or Latin textbook author.


11. The place you wish you were right now, instead of being at a computer?
Obviously - out running!

Another week has flown by...

I can't believe it's Friday already! Not that I'm complaining, of course, but I have no idea where the last 5 days have gone. Here's what I managed to squeeze in workout-wise:
Monday
3 miles on the TM in 31:55
Upper-body workout. I'm up to 65lbs on the bench press!
Tuesday
Spinning! I love spinning!
Wednesday
Rest day. I worked non-stop all day, so it wasn't exactly restful but it gave my legs a bit of a break.
Thursday
5 miles on the TM in 54:00
Yin Yoga
My boss called me at the last minute to do some placement tests for the local naval reserve unit. I got home from yoga, spent 2.5 hours on the phone testing 30 students, then another half-hour putting the students into groups. It ended up being a much longer day than I anticipated.
Friday
Today, I had planned to do 3 miles and a Bodyrock workout (550 Rep Massacre). However, we're in for a big storm this afternoon and they decided to close the base. Which means the gym is closed. I guess the 3 miles will have to wait until tomorrow.
Have a great weekend!

Week 1 complete!

The first official week of marathon training is over! Only 18 more to go. The scheduling of my runs mid-week got a bit messed up due to circumstances beyond my control, but I adapted and here's what I did:
Monday - 3 miles in 35:30 (TM)
Tuesday - upper-body workout plus spinning class
Friday - 8 miles in 1:30:56 (TM)
Saturday - 3 miles in 33:32 (outside)
Sunday - 5 miles in 57:42 (TM)
I feel like it's really slow but I'm sticking to the suggested paces and I think it's paying off. I've hit the end of the week pleasantly tired but not outright exhausted. That's a good sign, right?

Chilly run - off the TM and back outside for a bit

Yesterday, I did my 8 mile long run at the gym on the treadmill. I was pretty much the only one in the cardio room all night. I guess that's what you get for going at 7pm on a Friday night. (Is that pathetic?) Technically, our gym has a 30 minute limit on cardio machines and I feel bad violating it when I do a longer run. But if there's no one else vying for a treadmill, I don't feel so bad, so I try to go when it's less busy. I did my 8 miles in about 90 minutes and I left feeling as though my soul had been sucked out. It takes so much more mental energy to run on the dreadmill. Given that it was -25*C/-13*F plus wind chill, I knew I didn't really have much choice but it didn't make it any less unpleasant.

Today, I saw that it was only -17*C/1*F with no wind! Only -17*C! My husband stuck his head outside and said, "Wow, it's actually warm out." Sad, right? So I decided to take my 3 miles outside. It was wonderful! Well, aside from my frozen face, but that's more my problem for not wearing my neck gaiter. I'll probably be back inside for tomorrow's 5-miler, but at least my Garmin knows I haven't forgotten about him.

Happy running!

I won! I won! I won, I won, I won!!! (NRR)

Back in September, on my way to work, I got pulled over and got a ticket for going through a red light. The thing is, I didn't - the light was actually green (not even yellow). This was the first time I'd ever been pulled over and as if that wasn't stressful enough, there's the language barrier to deal with (which is made worse when I'm stressed). Anyways, while I understood the words the cop was saying, they didn't make any sense. I kept asking him for an explanation/clarification, but he wouldn't listen to me at all. Finally, he just said, "If you don't like it, challenge it." And that's exactly what I did.
Fast forward several months and the court date was today. In preparation, I videotaped the traffic lights and their pattern to show that the cop's version of what happened was impossible. I was prepared to present everything in French (I requested to have it in English, but I figured it was a long shot), but I was soooo nervous. I barely slept last night as I kept running through things in my mind. While I was waiting for my turn, I was so stressed that I was shaking violently. I kept telling myself to calm down, take deep breaths. That lasted about 2 seconds before I was shaking again.
Finally, it was my turn. There was me (defending myself), the lady representing the Ville de Saguenay, and the cop, who came in to give his account. I had the opportunity to ask him questions, but his testimony proved my point perfectly so I declined. I was given the chance to speak for myself and after being sworn in, I asked the judge to be patient with my French and any mistakes I might make. Surprisingly, he gave me permission to speak in English. I've discovered that a lot of people here (especially those in professional trades) can understand English fairly well, even if they can't speak it (like me in French). So while everything else was in French, I was able to present my argument and my video in English. He asked me a few questions, but I explained quite nicely how the situation, as the cop described, was impossible. And guess what! The judge agreed and the ticket was thrown out. Wahoo!!!! I was so happy - I was smiling and dancing all afternoon. I'm so happy to have this weight lifted!
Speaking of weight-lifting, that's what I did at the gym afterwards with my friend V. We did an upper-body routine and I can actually see progress in my quest to do a pull-up. Later, I went to spinning class and had a blast! Today has been a pretty darn good day. Thanks!

Marathon training, day 1 - Yay!!!

3 days of running in a row - it's been a long time since I've done that.
Saturday was an easy 3-miler on the treadmill. We were under a windchill warning all weekend, so running outside was out of the question. -36*C/-33*F will make your face freeze in a matter of minutes and I have no desire to have a frostbitten face. I also got the pleasure of shoveling because some idiot decided to install our furnace exhaust 6 inches off the ground. In case you haven't noticed, winter happens here. As I discovered on the coldest day of the year, the furnace won't work if there's snow blocking the vent; since we got about 20cm of snow overnight, you can see why this would be a problem. Chris has been restricted to walking only if necessary (because of his unresolved knee problems) so shoveling is out of the question for him. That leaves it to me, she of the bad back (thanks RMC library). I had so much fun shoveling out the vent and then the car and finally the driveway. I repeat - f**k you, winter. F**k you.
Sunday was my longest run since the beginning of October. I did 7 miles nice and slow; it took me about an hour and fifteen minutes. In the evening, I tried out my new Kinect game, the 2012 version of Your Shape: Fitness Evolved. At Christmas, we bought the original version but it was really disappointing. After reading a bunch of reviews, I decided it was worth it to give the new one a shot and holy man, it's not even the same game. So much better! I really enjoyed the Bollywood dance class and they improved all the things that frustrated me before.
Tonight was an easy 3-mile recovery run. Nothing too special to report, other than it was my first day of marathon training!

Realization

This week has been a great week for workouts. I'm a bit surprised, considering it's my first week back at work; I thought I would be too tired to get all my training in.

Monday
In the evening, I had a 1hr yoga class and I actually convinced my husband to go with me. He said, "It wasn't bad - it's just not my thing", which is code for, "Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed it." I don't think he'll be coming back though. I followed that up with a run outside in the freezing cold. It was awful, just awful, and it left me dreading my next run.
Tuesday
I went to the gym in the evening with my friend V (yes, she's still my friend, even after the Iron Strength workout I made her do). We did a quick upper-body workout and guess what! I tried to do a pull-up and I was able to bend my elbows a bit! Sounds lame, but this is huge progress for me. After the gym, I went into town for my spinning class. It was the first class of the winter session, so there were a lot of new people. I love the instructor - he gives a challenging class and I always feel great afterwards (tired but not dead). Well, he managed to scare away two people who left mid-class and didn't come back. Wimps.
Wednesday
Wednesday was a rest day; well, rest from workouts at least. After a full day of teaching in Jonquiere, I had my first class with one of my new private students (ESL). I'm very pleased with how it went and she seems quite happy with what I can offer her. After that, I went to see my chiropractor, to check on the tendinitis in my knee (among other things). He was impressed with my improvement and though it's not quite 100% yet, it hasn't been giving me any trouble while I've been running - yay!

Now, the realization. After Monday's awful, freezing cold run, I realized that I was sacrificing the quality (and enjoyment) of my runs just to continue doing them outside. Living where I do, it's not practical to run outside throughout the winter. Sure, it can be done, but at what cost? This week, for example, we had -25*C/-14*F temperatures and that's before the windchill. That's par for the course here, especially in January and February. I was lucky enough to be able to run through December without any serious difficulty, but reality has set in. It's cold here and that's not going to change for several months. Like I said, I could do it, but what am I really accomplishing?
I'm also fed up of running around my neighbourhood (2 mile loop) and since it gets dark ridiculously early here, I don't have any other options unless I get in the car and drive to town. Also, the rural road where I used to run is now covered with snow and the shoulders are taken up by snowbanks. When I was doing shorter runs, the 2 mile loop was ok. But as my runs get longer, the 2 mile loop just isn't cutting it anymore.

Thursday
That all being said, for Thursday's run, I decided to do it on the treadmill. Yes, on the dreadmill. And guess what? I actually enjoyed it. It was one of the best runs I've had in a while. I wasn't bundled up so much that it took a ridiculous amount of energy just to move. I actually had access to water and my Sport Beans, which would have been impossible outside (since upon removing your gloves, your fingers freeze almost instantly and you have zero dexterity). I was able to run at a decent pace, something that's been lacking in my outside runs. I also listened to a marathon training podcast, which not only took away a lot of the boredom but also provided some interesting information and tips. All in all, I think I made the right decision. I'm sure there will be some days when it isn't so cold and I'll be happy to take my run outside then. But, I think I'm going to be sticking with the treadmill for the next couple months.

Terrible run

I ran. 5 miles. It sucked. It was cold. That's it, that's all folks.

Very sore today

I went to the gym yesterday with my friend V and we did a modified version of the Runner's World IronStrength workout. Because we had done an arm workout on Tuesday, I cut out the upper-body set, and I changed it from a time-based workout to a specific number of sets. This is what we did:
3 x 15 jump squats
3 x (15 plank rows, 15 push-ups, 15 sit-ups)
3 x (10 lunges, 10 single-leg squats)
3 x (15 mountain climbers, 15 leg downs)
3 x 10 burpees
1 min left, centre, right planks

We were pretty tired by the end. Holy crap, it's intense! Despite a full half-hour of stretching afterwards (plus more foam-rolling when I got home), I'm pretty sore. I'm going to try to go out for an easy run today, but we'll see.

Another freezing run in the books

The military police here must think I'm nuts! They drove past me a total of 5 times during my 4 miles (2 different cars, too). It was -19*C/-2*F with a windchill of -26*C/-15*F, 9:00 at night, and there I was, out running dressed like the Michelin Man (thanks JamesKS for the analogy). I didn't take any pictures this time, but I arrived home looking pretty much the same - icicles in my eyelashes, eyebrows and hair, with a layer of frost covering my neck gaiter. It had better warm up soon!

(On a slightly more offensive note....When I got outside and the cold air hit me, I actually said out loud, "F**k you, winter!" I was listening to my iPod at the time and I'm not entirely sure how loud I said it. Thankfully, most of my neighbours are francophone, though I'm confident most of them know the F-word.)

Run on the dreadmill :(

The weather here has been absolutely brutal. I contemplated doing my 4 miles outsides, but it was -18*C/-2*F with a -31*C/-24*F windchill. Since I was going to the gym tonight to do an upper-body workout anyways, I figured I would hit the treadmill afterwards and get the miles in.

The strength workout was awesome. I met my friend V and we continued about where we left off before Christmas (we took it one step back to compensate for missed time). I was surprised (and pleased) at how little strength I lost in that time. I have noticed a significant improvement in one of the exercises we do, the jump-up pull-ups (in preparation for real pull-ups). For some reason, this normally-brutal exercise seemed relatively easy. Normally, I do 3 sets of 4, but I think I will up it to 5 reps next time. One of my goals for 2012 (which I forgot to mention earlier) is to complete ONE real pull-up. Just one, that's all I'm asking for.

My run was reasonably good, considering it was on a treadmill. Ever since I got my Garmin, I have resisted running inside and for good reason. It's so boring! I used to love it because of all the numbers and feedback on pace, time, etc. But now I get that with my Garmin so there's no reason to continue with the mind-numbing dreadmill. 

On another note, this 4-miler is the longest run I have done since Nov. 25 when I did the Virtual Turkey Trot. My marathon training starts in about 2 weeks, so I'm looking forward to longer runs and higher mileage weeks.

We are so Canadian...

Last year, my husband built a make-shift dogsled out of an old pair of skis and some plywood. We have a rope/harness system to hook up the dogs so they can pull the sled. Tonight, we took it out for a cruise around the neighbourhood. The two dogs are strong enough that they can carry the weight of one person on the sled, so I "snow-boarded" behind them. It was a lot of fun for both us and the dogs!
I also went for a run earlier tonight, a 3-miler around the base and the neighbourhood. Even though the air temperature was relatively warm (-5*C/23*F), the wind (43km/h or 26mph) made it quite chilly (-12*C/10*F). 3 miles down, 997 to go in 2012!