Monday, March 11, 2013

First Run of 2013!

I RAN TODAY!!!

Okay. That's out of the way.

I'm not an indoorsy kind of runner. This is because I don't own a treadmill, nor do I have a gym membership (though I *might* invest in one in the future ..). I'm not convinced that if I had a treadmill or a gym membership that I would ever choose to run inside instead of outside (they are called the dreadmill for a reason!). I'm an outdoors runner at heart!

That being said - Canada, during the winter? Not ideal running conditions for this Mama. Mounds of ice and snow and slush make it super hard to run (and super easy to get injured!). My double stroller isn't of the jogging variety, thus making it impossible to push through the snow (and dangerous to run in the road!). Plus, my asthma does NOT behave in the icy air.

So, sadly, my running took a vacation during the winter. Too bad it wasn't in Florida! I admire the many of you who choose not to let winter stop you! Maybe that's something I'll ensure to work on next year, since I was so unhappy with being unable to run. Looking back, I wish I'd never let winter stop me .. But also knowing the struggles I'd have with my asthma, maybe it was best. Maybe I should have invested in a gym membership sooner.

Ah well. Coulda, shoulda, woulda. I choose to live and learn, not regret. Onward and upward!

I'm happy to say that I was able to get my first official run of 2013 in today!! My feet practically sang with glee as I slid them into my running shoes (which are in dire need of replacement!).

Since my normal running path looked like this:

I had to pick somewhere else with a path that I knew would be clear enough and safe enough to run with the stroller .. And so, I chose the streets of a nearby neighborhood.

I ran week one, day one of my Couch To 5K running app, which was SO hard the first time I used it back in June and so very simple this time around. I was almost giggling through it (1. Because it was so easy and 2. Because my bum jiggled a lot more than I remembered it doing on my last run .. Time to run that thing back into shape!). The intervals were one minute of running, 2 minutes of brisk walking, for a total of 20 minutes, starting and ending with a warmup walk and a cool down walk. It was so much fun, and the kids were happily cheering me along (good job Mama, almost there Mama!). It was great! Even though my favorite running pants were a little tighter than they were before winter ..

So that was my run. It was cool outside, but bearable, quite wet (I expected that - MELT, darned snow!!) and my asthma only bothered me a little.
Me with my favorite little cheerleaders! :)
I am running Ottawa Race Weekend's 5K this May (not the 10K as I initially wanted to do - I'm not quite there yet!) and really want to try for a PR, so I'm starting the running program from the beginning and picking up my pace. It's going to be such a fun springtime running challenge!

Can't wait for a snow-less, puddle-less run on my favorite path this summer! But until then .. The neighborhood road will do :)

Happy Springtime running, folks!

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