Brrr

What a chilly run yesterday! I wore fingerless mitts, which helped some (although I think I need full mitts), and last night finished knitting this:

It's a headband to keep my ears warm, with a hole for my ponytail. Will try it out tomorrow!

Despite the cold, the run felt great, and I could have gone farther/longer. I think the glutes exercises I've been doing are helping with my running, by making me stronger. Did 15 reps each side this morning (goal is to increase by 5 every 6 days, and get to 30 by the end of the month or so).

A bit woogy today

Started off yesterday morning with a 20 minute run. My phone was refusing to acknowledge the headset (aftermath of the bath I guess?) so I ran without music, but it was fine. I had been grumbling to myself about needing to invest in cold-weather gear (it was about 5 C yesterday morning), but got over it and just wore regular tights under my shorts and a long-sleeved t-shirt over my top, and it was fine. No excuses!

Then I went to see my physiotherapist, who was happy to report that my back is a lot better, but did some IMS on my pecs which hurt like crazy! I don’t even know if “hurt” is the right word, it’s just this intense spasm reaction that isn’t really “pain” per se, but boy did it make me yell.

This morning, I woke up to a bit of vertigo, which I do not like. My shoulders are even though (in August when I had vertigo, my left shoulder was up 2” higher than my right). So I don’t know what’s going on. I even got a good night’s sleep last night, even if I was out late!

Still managed to get some exercise in this morning: 30 sit-ups, plus this routine for glutes, which I am doing for the month of November. And then a giant breakfast.

Look at all the B12! I am guessing that’s from the kippers.

The other thing I’m trying out is Intermittent Energy Restriction. I was going to try this before, thinking it would be easiest to fast on the days when my kid is at his dad’s house, but as it turns out those were the days I enjoyed eating the most, because I could eat out, or eat things the kid doesn’t like, like eggplant with lots of garlic! So this time, I’ve worked out that Monday and Thursday are good days for me to fast (not really fast, but keep calories under 600), and then I can enjoy grownup meals when my kid is away. IER has been correlated with better heart health and blood sugar levels, but most interesting to me is the research showing cognitive benefits.

Not fasting and running on the same days though! That would be nuts.

So for now, my schedule looks like this:

Monday	Fast
Tuesday	Run + Glutes
Wednesday	Glutes
Thursday	Fast
Friday	Run
Saturday	Glutes
Sunday	Run + Glutes

Updates!

Whoops, I thought I had posted after my 5k but I guess not!

For some reason the weather decided to be unseasonably warm and sunny on race day - and because we were running in the city down a major thoroughfare, we had sun directly in our faces, and also beating down on our backs as it reflected off glass towers. Ugh. The race was extremely crowded (a popular fundraiser, lots of people were there for the cause and just walked the whole way), so I ended up walking for the first bit simply because there was no room to move. Eventually the crowd thinned out and I was actually able to run, although it felt like an obstacle course due to the number of people. Between the crowds and the heat, I did not make good time at all (a friend of mine warned me that would happen), but the run up to the finish line still felt pretty great.

I have been seeing my physiotherapist every week or two as well, and am doing better though not perfect by any means. Part of this is due to the moving of boxes and furniture (my husband and I separated a year ago, and there were many things left behind that I finally got moved out), which my back does not like. I still have a cabinet downstairs that needs to go upstairs, but I will need a couple of people to help with that. Seeing my physio on Friday, we'll see what he thinks.

Between the back pain and the onset of fall and the passing of race day, I have gotten very lazy. I find it hard to get up in the morning when the skies are dark. And without the impetus of race day and the regular schedule of the C25K program, it was easy to do nothing. I have made a resolution for November though to get back at it, and yesterday morning I got up before 6 o'clock and went for a run. It was cool and crisp - about 8 degrees I think? - perfect weather for running for me! I was chilly to start, but fine once I got going.

It's interesting how a body that has had at least a bit of training will remember what it needs to do. Even though it is a solid month since race day and I have done nothing in that time other than the usual walk to work and furniture moving, I had no trouble running for 20 minutes straight, and no trouble doing 30 situps this morning. I remember years ago when I decided to make morning situps part of my routine, it was near impossible! But now I guess the muscles are still there and even if I go a month (or more!) without doing them, it is not hard to get back into the routine.

My current plan is to run three mornings a week: Tuesday, Friday, Sunday. I hope the weather holds for a while.