Like sucking on a giant ice cube

Today marked the first day of the cold-weather season. It won't officially be winter for almost a month, but the 37-degree temps were definitely not fall weather.

As I started up the killer hill, the cold air that rushed into my mouth seemed like the coldest air I had ever felt. I kind of wanted to blame it on the gum I was chewing, some "ice" flavor, but I am not kidding when I tell you I was actually picturing my mouth wrapped around a giant conical ice cube for a couple of minutes, for some odd reason.

I had noticed last week when I ran that I was breathing in and out through my mouth, kind of forcefully, whereas I think normally I try to sometimes breathe in through my nose and then exhale on more of a "blow," if that makes any sense. Well, with today's frigid air (at least to my mouth), the deeper mouth breathing was very uncomfortable.

Fortunately, after I crested the hill and started running on the flat street, my mouth no longer felt like Antarctica. I was cold for the first mile, for sure, and kept my hands inside my hoodie. But on the way back, I was actually a little bit warm and able to let my hands run free and not worry so much about breathing.

Nonetheless, the cold resulted in my completing my first mile in over 10 minutes (I forget exactly how much). I added some side streets to my second mile, which meant I ran almost 1.5 miles on the way back. And I finished up with a few more minutes of running, followed by three laps around the outside of the gym and up the steps.

I hope the mouth-ice cube thing is just a fluke because we have quite a few months of cold temps coming up. If not, I will just have to deal with it. But for now, I am looking forward to giving my feet and legs some time off from running.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pushing it

Yesterday I completed my usual two miles in about 17:20, which was my Best. Time. Ever.

I actually finished my first, tough, mile at about 9:18, which pretty much blew away my previous best time, at around 9:45. I rounded out my second mile with a time of about 8:02, also my best.

When I was finished those two miles, I ran up the hill parallel to the killer hill (note that this neighboring hill is every bit as awful as my usual first hill). And by run, I really mean jogged slowly as I was almost out of gas. Once I got to the top, I managed to jog for a few minutes before alternating between fast runs (not quite all-out sprints, though once or twice I managed to do just that) and easy jogs. I am guessing I tacked on over a mile with that, based on the 12 minutes it took me.

I am going to try to get in a second run this week; I really want to keep up with my two-a-week runs. But if not, I am planning a couple of swims in there, to stay in shape.

I will be 39 in just over 1.5 weeks. I am planning to roar right into the end of this decade.

Oh, the pain

This week was one of my most productive, athletically speaking, in quite some time. I ran about nine miles over two days. I swam three times; though technically the third time I managed only a couple of laps, I did work my legs for about 20 to 30 minutes while sitting on the edge of the pool each of those days. I ran up the 65 steps 20 times on Friday. And today I walked around downtown Pittsburgh for several hours for the Light-Up Night second day celebration. On top of that, thanks to my not being able to find everything and forgetting things on my list, I covered a lot of distance at several grocery stores multiple times this week!

I am beat and I am sore. I am not sure if the leg pain (both thigh and calf) is because I had not run that many steps that many times for over two months or if it was because I just did not stretch enough when I was done. Either way, I probably could have done without all the walking today. But no rest for the weary: I am supposed to take my kid swimming tomorrow, and hopefully the ol' legs will be recovered by then.

Regardless, I want to hang on to this week because with Thanksgiving next week, I will be lucky to get one run in. And even if I do manage to run and swim twice, with the amount of food I plan to consume...

Just call me the every-day marathon runner

If I had a dollar for every time one of the parents at school said to me, "That is so great that you run every day" or "I can't believe you run all the time," I would have a lot of dollars. Each time, I have to tell them that I run only twice a week (and sometimes not even that), which surprises most of them.

On a very good week, I will run and walk twice each, but that so rarely happens. The more likely scenario is I leave my car two or three times a week to walk or run, and if someone saw me exiting my car, they would not necessarily know which of those activities I am doing since I don't start running until I am out of the lot and down the driveway. Of course, I do run by probably a dozen or more cars of parents once I actually start running.

I also think it is funny that one of my friends is impressed because I "run marathons"; to her anything over a mile is pretty much a long-distance run, thus counting as a marathon in her eyes. And a woman at lunch today could not believe I manage to run four or five miles at times.

But back to this week, during which I ran about 4.5 miles on Monday and about 4 miles today, which was followed by eight minutes of running around the outside of the gym, including 20 steps (I counted). Hopefully, I can get an "official" step workout in, but my guess is I am done running for the week. On a positive note, I think I cut a minute of my time from Monday to today. On an indifferent note, I noticed that for some odd reason since the temps have turned cooler, I rarely exhale in a "blowing" sort of way. I pretty much pant.
No matter, I feel pretty good about my last few runs.

Finally two runs in a week

I finally got my butt in gear and ran on Monday and again today. Monday's run was another short one, just over two miles at a decent pace overall. I did manage to pick it up a bit while running through a nearby park on my way back. I appreciated the change of scenery, and my knees and feet appreciated the softer ground. I ended the run by doing three laps around the outside of the school gym, which included running up a bunch of steps (20? 30?), down and around the sidewalk, and along the driveway. It was nice to end the run with that.

Today I had more time, so I ran for over 40 minutes, which was about four miles. I took this run about 25 minutes after eating a not-so-small lunch, so it was a bit more leisurely, at least in the beginning. I felt good overall, though kind of chilly for at least the first mile. The temps were probably in the lower 50s, but sunny, so I ran in a long-sleeved t-shirt. After the first mile, I was glad I did not have another layer. At the end of my run, I decided to walk to the local coffee shop, which is about 15 to 20 minutes round trip.

I most likely will not get a third run in this week; I am happy to have accomplished what I did. But I am going to try to swim and get a 15 to 20 minute walk in.

A better run

Today, after yet another week between runs, I managed to complete my usual two miles in 18 minutes. Best. Time. Ever.

The first mile I completed in 9:46; it has been nice to keep the tougher mile below 10 minutes the past few times. I ran my best second mile, at 8:14. Definitely better than my crappy, stress-induced second mile from last week.

After the two miles, I managed to jog up the hill that is pretty much parallel to the killer first-mile hill, no easy task after having had a pretty good run. Next, I ran back and forth in the flat upper lot a few times, stopped only by the smoke drifting out of the cars of a mail carrier car and a cable guy. I guess that lot must be a good place to take a smoke break. I ended with three runs up and down the 66 (or however many) steps.

All in all, it was a pretty good workout, although I really should be getting a second run in most weeks; I can't even call myself a runner anymore, for the love of Pete. I have been swimming some at least once a week as well as walking or running around with my kid to try to keep in shape, but this blog is not called "Doing Various Exercise Around the Burgh"!