Christmas Run

Merry Christmas!
I hope that you are enjoying this holiday time of year and can spend time with your friends and family.

I have to admit my training has taken a little bit of a break more so because of icy road conditions for running, laziness (and travel) for biking and pool is closed for swimming until January.  But, life is happening too and I realize my training has to roll with it too.  I have done a little strength training and stretching inside, but nothing rigorous.

So I have to share what I received for Christmas...  A Garmin Forerunner 310xt with heart-rate strap!!!

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!
Do I need it... NO.  Am I totally geeked, YES!!! It is intended for triathletes so I can use it for running, biking and swimming! So, now, I'm learning how to use it and all it's capabilities.

So, far I've paired the heart rate strap, set-up my Garmin connect account and paired the watch to my account so it will upload my data through ANT+ technology.  This is the same protocall that Roger is researching for the Moxy Monitor and we hope that some day Garmin will pick up the muscle oxygen reading SmO2 and display it on their watches.

Because of traveling and celebrating Christmas, my first chance to do a run was Christmas morning! I'm not sure why the watch was displaying "Saturday 10:17PM" but I'll figure that out later...

...Everything else is right.  Nice 4.15 mile run averaging 9:22 min/mile.
I also got to try out my Mother-in-law's Yak Trax.  She saw my post on face book and asked me if I wanted to try them.  Cool!  So, here is a picture of them.

They are really easy to put on.  The loop indicates the back. You just put the toe of your shoe in the front and pulling the loop in the back pull it onto your shoe.

I've heard mixed reviews. So I was anxious to try them and see how they felt.
It was so beautiful that morning! It was funny running in the country. Long straight roads. First, I spooked some cows.

You can't really tell by the picture because it took me so long to pull it out while running, but the cows were all grouped together by the fence and then bolted to the other side of the pasture when I came running by.
Then there were dogs.  Yep, every farm I think has a dog and the dogs are outside left to run.  YIKES! My first experience where I didn't know if I was going to have a leg after running by one of the farms.  Definitely could use some advise here.  Do you yell at them, ignore them, eye contact or no? Stop? Run faster?

Well, I got past OK and at the end of my route I came to Lidtke Mill on the Upper IA River.
And here is a picture of my favorite silo.  I love this color brick and think silo's and barns build with this brick are so beautiful.

You can't really tell by the picture, and it didn't really dawn on me until I was at the Lidtke mill, but I was going downhill most of my run out and had to go uphill most of the way back.

I definitely liked the Yak Trax, but realize their limited use.  You really will only use them on snowy paths and roads.  They were awesome for fully snow covered areas and for running on the gravel roads where I was.  But as soon as you encounter bare pavement with nothing to "sink" into they provide a weird feeling for landing and actually slip a little with nothing to "grip."  I also don't think these would help in my glare ice conditions on my circle at home, but I don't have far to get to gravel where I live, so something for me to consider.

Thanks for reading and I hope you have safe and happy running!

Cold Weather Running

I saw a quote on FB that I think is so appropriate for any new athlete that trains or competes outdoors.                  "There is no bad weather, just bad gear."

So true when it comes to cold weather running in Minnesota. I learned quickly I needed new clothes. Up until Monday, December 10th the coldest weather I had run in was 21 degrees F. My running class is on Monday nights and as the temps started to fall on Sunday, I knew I was in for a really cold run on Monday. I go to class straight from work, so I packed my back with: silk knee high socks, cotton sock (I'm allergic to the lanolin in wool), running tights, cotton pants, wicking long sleeve, mid-layer long sleeve, light down feather jacket, neck warmer, hat, light gloves, big red fleece mittens. I was ready. I had my class as my motivator to get out and run in...  -4 degree F Temperature.

Then... my class wimped out on me! I guess an email went out, to an account I don't check at work, earlier in the day that said we would be doing inside core work for the class. To give some credit to the instructor and the others in the class: It is a beginner class, it was really cold, the ground was snow packed from 10" of snow that had fallen the day before, and there was an indoor running track alternative at a school in town later that night. But there were some other unforeseen circumstances that caused the class to be delayed, moved, and then finally cancelled.  Finally, the instructor did say she would stick around and run for about 20 minutes with anyone who wanted too. 

There were three of us!  I was all psyched and ready to go. Below is a picture of Sarah, my instructor, and I before going out.

One other lady came with us too. I think she had headed outside already so I missed her in the picture. She pulled a calf muscle a couple weeks earlier that she was still nursing, so she ran a couple laps with Sarah and I and then bowed out to stretch.  

We took a pretty easy pace because it was slick out. I was dressed so warm I was still sweating by the end and during the run we could feel our eye lashes getting crust with frost and ice, but I had no idea how frosty we were getting until we looked at each other at the end...

 After a couple tries I finally got this second picture to flash and really show the frost.  My hair is not typically white!

I already forgot how long we ran, but it was about 20 minutes, so I think it was around 2 miles or slightly over.

You can stay warm!  But get inside quick after you are done. I still sweat quite a bit, so I drove home and changed into dry clothes before I got chilled. I would like to have a cool head sock like Sarah's. It is wicking so she can wear her hat over it and her head doesn't feel the moisture like mine does by the time I'm done. Plus the front can pull up and cover her full face if needed only letting the eyes show.

Happy running!  Thanks for reading.

New Clothes!!!

I went shopping! I knew I would need to invest in some gear, but somehow clothing didn't cross my mind.  So, maybe I will need to spend a little more on this venture than I thought I would.  I had put "running gear" on my Christmas list, but well...  I needed it a little sooner. 

I got two tanks for my aerobics/strength training class on Saturday mornings, two long sleeved base layers, one mid layer that could be a jacket on warmer days, one outer shell for windy days, a base layer pants (like long underwear), a new pair of outer pants and a pair of gloves. Most things were on sale, so I averaged about $10 a garment (more for the jackets). I'm pretty excited about all that.

I am realizing it would be a lot cheaper to just go the running route and not do a triathlon, but then I wouldn't get to swim!!!

Here I am in my older gear. I was getting ready for my second run and my first interval training. You can see I'm wearing a Moxy Monitor and watch. The devise is worn next to the skin, seen here on the outer leg muscle. I know the name, I just can't spell it. It works really well under compression shorts, but since it is cold out now, I positioned the monitor under my pants and then careful not to move it too much, I wrapped the Moxy cuff on the outside of my pants.  It doesn't have to be tight, so once positioned, I didn't really notice it was there.

Off for interval training.  It was a simple 60 sec. run 90 sec. walk.  Remember I'm a beginner here. It was interesting to see my SmO2 readings valley and peak with my work and recovery but I am totally limited by cardio right now so for now I'm just seeing what I get rather than using the numbers to guide training.

Thanks for reading!!!

First early run - Clothing needs help

For awhile there are going to be a lot of "firsts."  Had my first early run.... on a cool, windy for me, day.

I'm not a morning person.  But, before I thought about starting this journey, I realized that I would have to get used to either getting up early or have late night work outs.  And even though I'm a night owl, my nights are reserved for sitting in front of the fire with my husband to talk about the days events, and dream/plan about the future. So morning it is.



Today was a perfect day to get up and run.  My husband had to get up early for a meeting/conference thing he is attending in Rochester, MN.  And although I like my sleep, if I get woken up in the early morning hours, it can be very difficult for me to get back to sleep.  This morning I didn't even try, after My Guy was out the door, I was up getting ready to run.

This was my third run and I'm very much needing help/advise in the clothing department.
First, it is cold out and in MN it is only going to get colder.  How the heck are you supposed to do warm up?  Is it supposed to be apart of your total distance you are wanting to run for the day???  I have been trying to stretch a little inside and then do about 5 minutes of warm-up aerobic activity, but I hit the out doors and wham, I'm still freezing for about the first 1/4 mile and then because I dressed for that first 1/4 mile, I'm sweating buckets by the end.  HELP!

I need an ear band and gloves because I have issues with those extremities, but what I'm using is not working! The head band is too my pretty, alpaca good for fall headband.  It doesn't keep out a lick of wind which I need for running.  I need to keep my ears covered, protected from wind but not so warm.  My mittens are actually working fairly well but the thumbs are too tight. I don't think are going to last long as the weather gets colder either.  I'm thinking I need to get something fleecy.

As for jackets?  I've decided (after three runs!) I just need to wear one and be willing to take if off and tie around my waist.

Thanks for reading and I'd appreciate any suggestions you would have!