I should be taking a nap while T Junior sleeps.
I am tired. He had another coughing fit at 2 a.m. and, once again, we were back in the steamy bathroom. I sat on the toilet in my t-shirt with a fleece-jammied toddler on my lap for 20 minutes.
T Junior slept in until almost 9. I got up at 5:50 for a morning run. I had the heated blanket on and everything.
Once again, this blog helped keep me on track as I thought about my bloggy running friend Lisa doing the same thing (pulling herself out of a comfy bed for a cold, morning run), down in the Bay Area.
I stumbled to the bathroom to get ready. Outside was dark and wet with a breeze. I could hear the drops pinging the window over the tub. Fun. I’d set my clothes out the night before, so I got ready quickly, then went downstairs, ate a banana with peanut butter and drank about 10 ounces of water.
I haven’t had much luck with rainwear. But I had not tried my ski jacket yet. It’s a waterproof shell, and I didn’t actually realize until this morning that it is waterproof (I’ve had it since my freshman year in college — 1995!). It also has zippers under the armpits to keep cool. But I got sad as I slipped my arms into the sleeves. I haven’t been skiing in 3 years, or maybe more (holy crap!). When I lived in California, me and my dad or me and my friends or some combination of that, would make the short drive to Tahoe several times during the winter. I learned to ski when I was 3 and I miss it.
As you can see, I decided I would wear my fuel belt so I could take water and a package of Honey Stinger chews. I’m glad I did as I needed them. My hips ached and I felt out of juice just before 3 miles. This is why I need to run on my lunch hour, I can’t miss three days in a row! I had to walk in order to eat the 5 fruit smoothie chews. They were pretty good. Easy to chew up and tasted nice. They reminded me of a less-sweet version of orange gum drops without the crunchy, sugar-coating and they didn’t stick in my teeth, which was nice. They didn’t taste as vitaminy as the Sport Beans I tried on Sunday. I followed up my Honey Stingers with water.
The only thing I didn’t like about the chews is that I had some phlegm or something (similar to what you get when you eat a lot of sugar) in my mouth afterward for a little bit, but it did go away before I finished 5 miles. I didn’t have any tummy issues and the chews seemed to kick in about 5-10 minutes after I ate them. I seemed to have more spring in my step and finished the last couple of miles fairly strong. The run was about an hour.
My jacket worked great and I’m glad I wore it because I got rained on the entire time. And it was COLD! It’s definitely mid-November in the Northwest. I need to get one of those fleece headbands to keep my ears warm.
It was so great to have my run done with this morning. I came home, stretched, showered and had a cup of coffee before T Junior woke up. Tomorrow is a cross training day and I’m hoping to maybe walk on the trail WITH Mr. T and with T Junior in the backpack. Hopefully, it won’t rain or will at least clear up for a little bit. Mr. T has been doing a lot of walking and has lost 18 pounds in, something crazy, like a month. Seriously. It’s crazy.
Well, I better try to get some rest before my toddler tornado resurfaces from his slumber. Good luck to everyone with races this weekend! I can’t wait to read the recaps!
5 comments
I got up at 5:50 too and was wondering if you were up as well. Too funny. Thanks for doing the review of the Stingers. I'm going to pick up some beans, shot bloks and the stingers and see which one I like best.I didn't eat before my run this morning but should have. I just cannot eat that early in the morning.I'll email you shortly. We need to plan some morning runs together. That would be fun and keep us accountable. Not that the blog doesn't already.Have a great weekend!
Awesome early morning run! I'm impressed that you got up so early to run, especially with the rain. I've been curious about the Stingers. Thanks for the review.
Aww, poor little T Jr! And poor you for being up late with a sick boy. 🙁 But GOOD for you for getting out the door this morning for 5 miles! That's awesome! This morning was extra cold, I thought. Brrr. A headband does seem like a great idea.
Hi Kerrie, stumbled across your blog today and liked what I saw so new follower :)Anyway, I found your blog because I'm going to Seattle on business Nov. 21-22 and need to run an 18-mile run as part of my marathon training (first marathon over on Feb. 7!) but Seattle is cold and rainy! What's up with that?!? So I was looking for tips to run in cold and rainy weather. I'm a SoCal native, born and bred, and don't care for cold weather.Anyway, check out my blog at muddyrunner.blogspot.com. And let me know if you've got any tips or anything 🙂
Lisa! Eat before your run! I know how you feel, though, my body wants to refuse food that early, too. But I force myself to eat something small.Thanks, Zoe and SS. When I went back to bed at 2:45ish and then was still awake at 3, I told myself I would not use the little interruption of sleep as an excuse to not run. So, score one for me. 🙂 And, yes, it was especially cold this morning, wasn't it?LB, thanks for the follow! I will definitely be over to check out your site. I wish I knew of a good place to run 18 miles, but I don't. However, I bet I know some people who do…I'll be over to give you some suggestions. 🙂