Crazy Tights

It is so weird how my level of motivation to do anything can vary so much from day to day. I didn't want to do anything after work today. Fortunately my training plan called for a rest day, so I didn't have to try to drag myself out for a run. I did today's Yoga Camp video and pretty much called it a day. 

I bought a crazy pair of running tights - they arrived today! I keep seeing all these fun tights on blogs and instagram, and I finally got a pair of my own. 

It's just a bit of a departure from all of my black leggings/capris. They're pretty - we'll see how they do on my run tomorrow!

The house was warm according to the Buddy thermostat this afternoon.

I normally do yoga up in the office, but it's been chilly lately, so I have been rolling my mat out in front of the fire. Then the side of my body that's closer to the fireplace gets too hot. I can't win.

I made dinner on the wood stove again tonight. It got a little out of control. Somehow I ended up with a mountain of sweet potato, onion, chicken, broccoli rabe and avocado. I wasn't mad about it.

Do you have any crazy workout pants or do you stick with more subdued ones?

The Buddy Thermostat

It's weird to have an alarm going off in the morning again. I have also gotten bad about going to bed at a reasonable hour. As much as I enjoyed having a break from work, it will be nice once I'm back in the routine. Plus I'm in training mode now too - I'm adding back all the routine at the same time.

I brought Buddy on my run today. He was psyched, but then drove me crazy the entire way back to the house.

For some reason, Buddy always gets really slow when we turn around to go home, no matter how long or how short our run is. I managed to trick him one time by taking a loop around a street he had never been on and he didn't seem to realize we were heading home. He's a weirdo.

We like to use him as our thermostat in the house. The warmer it gets, the more stretched out he lays. When he's cold, he curls up in a tiny ball and tucks his nose under his feet. But sometimes he's a little dramatic and inaccurate.

He is currently laying right next to the wood stove, which is burning furiously, like this:

Ridiculous.

I have nothing else terribly exciting to share today, so I'll just leave you with more cute Buddy pictures.

Winter Warrior

There's something extra tough feeling about running when it's stupid cold out. I mean, not really stupid cold, I did wait until the "feels like" temperature was above zero.

After having a freezing pair of legs on my run yesterday, I tracked down my serious winter tights (this is the newer version of what I have) - they're fleecy on the inside! They feel super restrictive at first, especially compared to the shorts I was wearing a few weeks ago, but they definitely do the trick when it's frigid out.

My training plan had speed work for today. Running faster is so much more mental than anything else for me. I get in my head and convince myself I can't do it. I can't run fast. Woe is me.

But I know I can if I try. I figured out how to set intervals on my watch (which I didn't know it could do) and ran my warm up to the flattest area in our neighborhood to run some 400m repeats.

The repeats were supposed to be at 5k pace, but I haven't run a 5k in so long I just ran them comfortably fast (if that makes sense). I don't know if I could maintain that pace for a 5k right now, but I was happy with my repeats, and now I have a baseline to compare future workouts to. The training plan I'm following alternates repeats and tempo runs every week.

I baked a potato in the wood stove tonight. It's hard coming up with one person meals with our limited cooking options. Tom has been working in the city this week, so I've been on my own for dinner the last couple days.

I tend to have snack meals when left to my own devices. This mish mash was my lunch today.

Grapes, strawberries, almonds, bell pepper, chips and queso. Don't be like me.

It was delicious.

Are you an all weather runner?

What's your favorite dinner? I need inspiration.

Back At It

I had just enough of a break from work to start sleeping in again. The alarm this morning was definitely a rude awakening.

I spent a ridiculous amount of time wandering around the grocery store after work. I am the queen of indecision and I couldn't think of anything that sounded good for dinner. I'm a little surprised no one asked me if I needed help...or if I was lost.

It got COLD today!

Half marathon training has begun! Not that I've actually registered yet, but Sleepy Hollow is a small race, so I don't have to worry about it selling out. I did register for a 5k the other day though. I haven't raced a 5k in...years I think. It's not my strongest distance, but some friends are going to be running it, and I convinced Tom to sign up too!

I had to dig out my one pair of full length tights for my run today. I even wore a long sleeve shirt under my jacket, which never happens. The wind was super cold.

I had to keep turning my neck gaiter - every time I pulled it down it would freeze. The funny thing was that it didn't even cross my mind to not run today. I'm sure our neighbors think I'm crazy.

Most of the time I do my yoga upstairs in the office, but I was so cold after my run today that I brought my mat downstairs and set up by the wood stove. I pretty much love all of Adriene's videos (which is why I never stop talking about them), but I am really enjoying Yoga Camp!

I absolutely refused to wear five layers to go outside and cook dinner, so I used the wood stove instead. It actually turned out pretty tasty - and I was warm the whole time! I count that as a win.

Apparently the roaring fire I have going isn't good enough for Buddy tonight. He kept pawing at his bed and looking at me sadly until I helped him get in his cave. He hasn't moved since.

Are you a shopping list maker or do you wander the store like me?

Have you started registering for races yet? 

The Firewood Workout

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The downside of the cooler weather (that I was just so excited about) is that we go through a lot of firewood. Our wood stove is pretty awesome and most of the time that's all we use to heat the house. Tom and I usually move firewood together because it goes much faster with two people, but he's been busy with work the last few days.

This morning I spent a few minutes trying to get the Polaris to start (it doesn't like the cold), and made a few trips from the wood pile to the front porch. I hardly ever drive the Polaris, so I had fun once I got the hang of it.

I started with this:

And stopped when it looked like this:

It took me three trips and almost an hour to fill the thing, but at least now we're set for a while. My arms are tired, so I think it totally counts as a workout. ;)

Buddy and I took my new shoes (Mizuno Wave Rider 18s) our for a quick couple of miles this afternoon. I didn't want to do too much since I ran 13+ miles in the last two days, and am getting ready to jump back into training mode tomorrow.

My shoes match my hat. I didn't even notice until after I got home.

After our run I hit the mat for day 2 of Yoga Camp. It was a longer video than usual, but it was just the right combination of relaxing and challenging for me today.

If you're doing yoga camp, don't freak out when you see how long the video is (51 minutes). It sounds like it is the longest of the entire month, do what you can, accept where you are. I still fall out of balancing poses all the time. Enjoy the time you're taking for yourself and remember that you're not supposed to be an expert - it's day 2!

Are you a matchy-matchy person when it comes to workout clothes? I am not, it sometimes happens, and sometimes I clash terribly. 

Get Out and Do Things

I ran with a new (to me) group this morning. I always get a little nervous just showing up places (new running groups, yoga studios, etc), but I'm trying to make myself get out and do things from time to time. This group meets at 7:30am (ewwwwww), but they're about 15 minutes closer to the house than my usual group.

It was a little tricky to find where they meet, but I managed to get there before they all took off. Everyone was really nice, and explained the route to me.

There was another new woman who I started out running with, but neither of us knew where we were going and we were quickly losing sight of the others. She told me to go ahead. I felt bad leaving her, but she had her headphones and seemed perfectly happy to run on her own.

I did a little speedwork to catch up to a couple of people and chatted and ran with one older man for a while before he told me he needed to slow down and that I should go on. They have water and gatorade set up about 3.3 miles from where they start (they take turns putting it out every week), and some of the group waited there to make sure I knew where I was, which was nice. Then they were off again. Some took what is about an 11 mile route, and others went on one that is 13+ miles.

A few of us turned around at the water stop and I ended up running back with a man and his dog in total silence. Not really my idea of running with a group.

They run around a reservoir, which is very pretty (I forgot to take pictures), but there really aren't any mid-pack runners for me to run with.

My usual group starts together and ends together and you can always find someone to run with at any pace. There's more of a community feeling than with this other group. I know part of that feeling is because I'm new to the group, but if I hadn't made an effort to catch up with people, I feel like I may have been left behind.

After I got home, I lounged around with Buddy and some coffee before tackling the enormous pile of dishes in our kitchen. I was doing so well keeping up with the dishes until this week and then we were out of clean plates...

Yoga Camp officially kicked off yesterday, but Adriene understands that people might not be at their best on New Year's Day, so the yoga actually started today. It was a pretty relaxing video, which worked out nicely since I've been doing a lot of running the last couple days.

Do you ever run with a group?

Are you good at mornings? I'm not.

A Fiery New Year

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Happy New Year!

We celebrated the new year with some friends the traditional way: by lighting a giant bonfire of Christmas trees collected from surrounding neighborhoods. 

Buddy was more than ready for bed by the time we got home. He doesn't stay up late.

I woke up this morning and couldn't find my Moov anywhere. I shook out my clothes that I wore to the bonfire, and then checked the bed. It was all tangled up in the sheets. I don't know if it got hooked on something or if I took it off in my sleep, but at least I found it.

We'll see if it happens again.

My running group has a New Years day run every year, so I drove down to join them. They're reasonable, and don't meet up until noon. We had a really good turnout, I think there were around 40 people in the group photo before the run.

I bought myself a FlipBelt the other day and hadn't tried it out yet. I put my phone in at the start and it didn't budge the entire 7 mile run - no bouncing! It might be one of my new favorite running accessories. And now I may actually run with my phone like I know I should - safety and whatnot.

I also got in three 30 second planks as a part of my 100 days of fitness challenge. Everyone was being a bunch of overachievers so I didn't just do the bare minimum. That's the good version of peer pressure.

Buddy got a new chew toy from Tom's parents for Christmas.  I think it's safe to say he likes it!

I love when he holds things with his paws like that.

How did you ring in the New Year?

Are you participating in any challenges to jump start 2016?