Teeny snowflakes flitted down and tickled my nose as I got started on my run this afternoon. The ground was dry, but it was cold enough for snow. It had been trying to all morning. On and off, on and off.
It wasn’t enough snow to show up on a picture, though. But when I got to this hill, there was evidence of it. A little bit of white clung to some frozen spots on the asphalt.
I was careful climbing this incline. Slippery!
I only planned on 5 miles today, but the route I wanted to run was going to end up being 5.5. And then, around Mile 4, I thought, Oh, what the heck, and just decided to do the same loop twice and make it 6. It took me about 70 minutes, and I felt I ran easy while listening to my Seattle Half playlist.
The last two miles were pretty uncomfortable, though, because my right hip ached. It was enough for me to notice that I had inadvertently shortened my stride. It felt so tight and I could not wait to get home and stretch. When I was done and back in the house, T Junior “stetched” with me, and I noticed my left arch hurt, too.
Yesterday, I had some friends over for our annual holiday get-together. They arrived around 3 and left at about 6. It’s good to have people over. If I didn’t, I’d probably never clean the house! But I had a ton of cleaning and Christmas decorating to do before they arrived. So, I didn’t run. But I baked, hung ornaments, picked up toys, cleaned the bathroom, picked up toys again, wrapped gifts and picked up some more toys. Then my guests arrived and we chatted and ate holiday desserts.
And I stood. The. Entire. Time.
In my socks.
Last night, when I sat down for a few minutes and then got up to make dinner, Ouch! My feet and my back hurt (my lower back, the injured part). I didn’t realize what I was doing to myself at the time. In retrospect, I should have worn shoes, but I was just having a good time socializing.
Even with all of those aches and pains, it sure felt good to knock six miles out of the park. While I was running, I thought about some bloggy runners who are in races today and my high school friend who ran her first marathon in Las Vegas. Can’t wait to see how everyone did!
I also came up with a “to-run” list for this week.
Monday: Stretching and strength training
Tuesday: Run during lunch (3 miles)
Wednesday: Run during lunch (3 miles)
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 3 miles with the BOB (ugh)
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Jingle Bell 5K*
Actually, I made a number of other lists today. I’m feeling back on track!
*Seems I was unclear about which Sunday I was talking about in yesterday’s post. The Jingle Bell 5K is on 12/13. But thanks all the same for the “good luck” wishes!
8 comments
Other than the fact that I can't stop coughing right now, I really enjoyed running in the cold today! I swear, it made me run faster! I love the snow dusting on the ground in your pic. I wish we had some – just a LITTLE. Enough to get out of work for a day 🙂 And here, it doesn't take much.Good job on the 6 miles!!
Thanks, CG! Yeah, I didn't mind the cold too much, but I wish I had a headband.
Great job on the mileage!! I'm with you on the cleaning. Sometimes that is the only thing that gets me in gear to clean!
Great job on the six miler! It's awesome that you can just go out and run that far. I hope your back and feet feel better soon!
Great job getting out there!!
And I thought 55 degrees was chilly! Snow might be a big deterrent for me, so that makes this run that much more impressive to me.
It's okay to listen to your body. You just finished a HM, so there are bound to be some aches and pains. You should give them a chance to heal before you put to much stress on yourself about missed miles. elieve me, in the long run the miles you miss aren't going to mean much if you're injured.
I had to laugh when you said you had planned on only 5 miles. Five miles is just a drop in the bucket for you know. Hope your hip feels better.