A Winter's Tale

[temve]

No, it's not Monday and this is about as far from a weekly check-in post as it gets, but feel free to check in anyway!

It may be hard to believe, especially to those of you digging yourselves out from the masses of snow brought about by the recent blizzard, but another winter's almost over, and I'd love to hear how you managed to get through it.

I, in no particular order:

a. spent the best part of a week confined to my house with the flu
b. ran across a newborn sand dune deposited by the January river floods - it will be an awesome beach-oid come summer, but right now it's right across the damn trail
c. reacquainted myself with why I don't like treadmills
d. ran in sub-freezing temperatures, bundled up in two layers of long sleeves and pants and being honked at by cars
e. acquired a really ugly but nifty and very cheap white fleece vest that keeps my core nice and toasty
f. forgot my headphones every time there was something worth watching on the TVs at the gym - unlike the rest of the sporting population that evening, I'm actually interested in Roman history
g. forgot my stupid socks but didn't realise it until after I'd already paid my gym entry fee and thus spent 5K running sockless before getting a blister, giving in, and being reduced to biking for the weekend
h. signed up for a half-marathon in mid March, which sounds a lot less crazy now than it did when I signed up for it
i. made my short runs longer (about 8K) - now to make the long runs (about 10K) longer too!
j. ran 18.6K on the last sunny day of autumn; had cold hands and excellent radio signal throughout
k. ran 5K in under 30 minutes one memorable time in freezing January
l. just today, to my great surprise, ran 10-minute miles: 5 of them in a row. And the feeling that I could have done even more of those without exhausting myself made me quite wide-eyed for a moment...

I guess I'm a real runner now. Huh.

How was your winter?

Comments

[thalia]

another winter's almost over

*falls over laughing*

Good job, though! Yay for ten-minute miles!

[isis]

Hee, that's what I was thinking - it's only February 3rd! Winter is SO NOT ALMOST OVER!

[ell]

GROUNDHOG SAW HIS SHADOW!!!!!

*clicks ruby-red running shoes together 3 times*

There's no place like spring.
There's no place like spring.
There's no place like spring.

[ell]

As I've been saying all along, you always were a real runner.

You're just a faster runner now \o/

[temve]

Hey now - the end of winter is certainly closer than the beginning! *sends warmth*

:D

[temve]

Okay, I just had to check your profile to make sure I wasn't inadvertently offending someone living in the Arctic... but really, the end of winter is closer now than the beginning, right? *hopes*

[temve]

Ruby-red sparkly running shoes? :)

[thalia]

Not in Chicago. Winter started early December and will finish mid-April, if we're lucky. It's a good thing all this snow is pretty.

[blnchflr]

I wanted to post a check-in post on Monday, as I'm finally running again, but then life got busy. Maybe tomorrow I or someone will post one.

We had in the vicinity of 1½ month of snow and ice here, and in the beginning of that, I took a spill on my bike and twisted my bad knee, which meant I was too scared to bike and run, even after it healed up.

Snow and ice are now (currently - it's only beginning of February; last year we had snow until April) gone, and I'm biking and running again, which is such a colossal relief - I was feeling desperate not being able to exercise (indoor gym membership not being a financial priority of mine)!

I thought I'd be building my condition from scratch as per usual (I'm the eternal beginner runner, having to start over after long breaks), and the first run was pretty slow - but in just two weeks I was able to run 3K in 18:43, which I'm very pleased with, considering my fastest 5K time is 31:30!

[temve]

Go you for running again!!

I've found that too - you don't lose your fitness completely even after weather or sickness induced breaks. Also, I wouldn't call 31:30 for a 5K slow at all! As the very sporty girl above you says, you're definitely a runner, and I have to contradict your icon vehemently :)

(funny how we runners have parallel stories to tell - I got jumped at by a pedestrian last weekend too while out on my bike, and the three big bruises I've retained from that are turning interesting colours at the moment...)

[mansikka]

I just had a lovely weekend: yesterday, ran 15 miles, and 12 today, and delightfully did so in 9:30 miles (yesterday) and slightly slower, but still a little faster than 9:45, today.

I've become more forgiving of myself if I sleep in and can't drag myself out in the freezing rain or blizzard or whatever the hell's blanketing NYC at the moment. I know I'll get back on target the next day (or the day after, if I'm particularly lazy). Still, every time I lace up my shoes and go out in the morning chill, it's always for at least 7 miles, and usually for about 10. I used to be really hard on myself for skipping a day, and realized that that negative energy isn't worth it.

:)

[ilanarama]

I feel a little guilty enjoying our relatively blizzard-free winter, but it certainly is making it easier to rack up the miles. I'm proud to say I haven't resorted to the gym treadmill yet.

First for this year: xt using cross-country skiing. I've gone 3 times and it's a good workout!

[ilanarama]

Hey, so this means you made your goal! :-)

[blnchflr]

I know, go me :oD ! It's a much better feeling than not meeting one's goal, I tell ya.

[blnchflr]

Today I ran 3K in 17m 25s - a staggeringly fast time for me. In fact, I keep thinking I must have timed myself wrong or somehow cheated on the course, because I wasn't supposed to be able to run 3K this fast until April! But it all looks like it's on the up-and-up, *hands*.

And still, I don't think I'm a real runner - not like, you know, real runners. Imposter!syndrome, it's so damn hard to shake!