Another beautiful day in Pittsburgh

We have had some beautiful March days lately. I probably should have used yesterday's just about 70-degree sunny day to get in a run, but I decided to run the steps instead. This time I smartly went sleeveless, though I probably could have also done without the 3/4-length leggings.

As usual, I felt great going up the first time, but, man, it does not take long for me to wonder how I am going to get through 20 trips. Pretty much by the second trip down, I was feeling tired and warm. I decided not to worry too much about my timing since it was the warmer than when I last did steps, but I definitely did not want to increase my workout by more than a minute.

Luckily, somehow, I bested my time from two weeks ago. I completed 20 trips in 16:07, shaving just over 20 seconds off that workout. I am not going to boldly claim that I want to get my time below 16 minutes, because, quite frankly, I would be happy with 17 minutes, maybe even 18. I cannot figure out why my timing has gotten better this year/month as compared to previous years, when I felt as if I were in better shape. Perhaps I stopped more during those workouts and then did not stop my stopwatch while doing so.

And the downside of getting through steps in a short(er) amount of time is that if I do nothing else, that means I get just over 15 minutes of exercise in, which is pretty much nothing (well, don't tell that to my thighs and heart!).

So I when I finished my 20 trips up and down the steps, I proceeded to run around the outside of the gym, which includes about 20 steps, for seven minutes. So I probably ran about 3/4 of a mile, maybe more. I am definitely satisfied with 23 minutes of working out.

If I did not work my legs so hard, I would do something today, but probably I will just walk around for a bit and enjoy the weather. Too nice to go to the pool (which, by the way, we did on Monday, and I got in about 20 laps).

I did, in fact, wimp out of the 5k.

When I woke up Saturday morning, at around 7:30, I knew if I jumped in the shower right away, I could make it to the Race for Pace in time for the late registration. But the weather and my aching thighs had a different idea.

When I ran steps on Thursday, although it went well, for some reason, it left my thighs extra sore for a few days. I could not see putting my nearly 40-year-old body through a three-mile run, with hills. On top of that, it was quite windy on Saturday, and the temps were in the mid to upper 40s. I was just not ready to face my November run in the middle of October. So that was that.

As for recent exercise, I swam on Friday, though only about 15 laps, thanks to my soreness. On Monday, the kid and I took an almost 30-minute walk, and then yesterday I ran the steps. Feeling a bit pathetic about wimping out on the race, I decided to push myself on the steps and try to beat my time from last week. Time to complete 20 trips: 16:41. So, yes, I did beat last week's time. And my thighs actually feel pretty good today.

Now if only I could motivate myself to run three miles and actually run in a race. If only...