Sunday, February 26, 2012

Slow but good

It was a sunny day, and I was really itching to get out and exercise. I haven't biked in a while, so I was kind of hoping to roll the Trek out of the garage for the first time since November, but it was chilly (and my fingers hurt so much when they're too cold), so I decided to run instead. I headed out to the trail for a 4 miler.
I've lost a lot of fitness since the beginning of the winter, so I knew that I was going to be slow, and I was. I padded along and couldn't help but notice that, while it wasn't difficult, it also wasn't easy.
When I got home, I had that tired, slightly sore, I-just-worked-out feeling, and it was really good. It has been far too long since I've had that feeling, and I'm ready to get back into a routine so that in a little while, a 4 miler will be easy. I'm going to start running after work, cross-training with biking, hiking, and strength training, and (after a few weeks of consistent exercise) try some fartlek runs and track workouts to build speed.
I don't have a schedule for all of this, but I want to be able to keep up with my running buddy again, and 5k season will be upon us before you know it, so I have a lot of motivation. Let's see how it goes!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Well again!

Aside from some sneezing and occasional coughing, I'm finally over the virus that has been bothering me since then end of January. After some successful hiking this weekend, I felt that I was finally ready to run again, after 4 weeks off.
The weather has been great, so my plan was to bring my running gear to work and run around town before going home. At the last minute, though, my mom told me that she needed a ride home, so I ended up meeting her and going for a run at the walking path around the school sports fields next to her work while she walked. I took it very slowly and enjoyed the new scenery. The path is located on top of a hill with great views. It is also marked with maps showing the distances of various routes around the fields. If I haven't mentioned it before, I love maps, and these were done quite well.
Anyway, I ran about 2.5 miles at an easy pace and feel pretty good afterwards. It will be a little while before I can either see a significant increase in either speed or distance, but this is a good start!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Not feeling so hot

The weather's been unbelievably warm this winter, making for great running conditions, but I've come down with a virus that's had me under the weather for two and a half weeks and doesn't look like it's going anywhere anytime soon.

My last run was 4 miles around town after work 2 weeks ago. It felt great to get out, but it made me feel so much worse afterwards. Since then I've gone for some low-intensity walks and hikes, and it looks like that's the most I'll be doing until I beat this thing.

Happy running to everyone else. Stay healthy!