Happy New Years Eve

Yes, it is barely 20 degrees outside, but I could not, with good conscious, go into the new year knowing that I made excuses for not going on a run with Henri tonight.

Really, it wasn't that bad. We ran through the neighborhood rather than around the outside, to avoid the wind chill. I have a feeling it would have been much different had we run the outside. It probably would have taken me longer to warm up, but maybe I wouldn't have been so uncomfortable when we got back inside. I was literally tearing off my clothes. I was still too hot after changing so I stood outside for a little bit. So, I'll have to figure out the proper amount of layers for each degree of temperature. At least I didn't have to worry about where to put my gloves.

Since we went a different route tonight, I didn't have my usual markers to know when to walk, but I knew this route was shorter so as long as my ankle felt okay, I was running the whole thing. I did and it felt really good to be able to run the whole run. If we can continue to get two runs in a week, maybe I can be back to my three miles by the spring and start working on the speed again.

New Threads

I was able to take one of the new running outfits I received for Christmas for a spin tonight. This one is C9 from Target, part of their Always Be Seen Collection. Both the pants and the shirt are reflective so we can be seen better at night. We do both wear our LED lights, but it never hurts to have more visibility! The best part about this outfit is, it's blue! Yeah, okay, all of the running clothes I got were blue. I have an obsession. I'm also OCD so all of my stuff matches and I can mix and match as the weather changes.

Another new addition to our running experience is my new FlipBelt (in blue, of course). This was a prize in the virtual 5k we participated in this fall. I was really hoping to win it, but I knew if I didn't, I still needed one. I didn't win it so, it was in fact added to my Christmas list. I'm so excited! It will come in handy in the spring and summer, when I don't have pockets, but it gives me more versatility in my outfits now, too. I don't have to worry about wearing a jacket that has pockets. It all fits in this belt! I felt ten pounds lighter not having to wear my jacket and not having things bounce around in the pockets. I didn't have a place to put my gloves once my hands warmed up, but I can figure that out.

Feeling lighter and feeling cool in my new suit, we ran a little faster tonight. It was new stuff, it was fun and Henri knew I felt good so, he felt good. It wasn't a lot faster, but I could tell a difference in the pace. I had to focus on my breathing towards the end and I got stitches in my side so I didn't push the last block just to work out my ankle. I'll do that later this week. 

Check out my MySpace Selfie! Kickin' it old school with the camera angle. For some reason all of my MySpace pictures only showed one of my eyes. I had to stay true to that. Anyway, cute blue outfit and fuzzy accessory. My husbands comment upon our return home and seeing me (and after Henri sprinted around excitedly because he was so happy with our run) was, "Whoa. Look at the fancy outfit!" That's right. I have reflectors. I am fancy. (And blue!)

Christmastime is Here

It's Christmas evening. Christmas is almost over. The hustle and bustle is coming to an end. Soon we will be able to breath a sigh of relief and go back to business as usual.

Henri and I went on a run after I got off work yesterday. It had been raining all day. It was supposed to snow, which it did briefly, but big gloppy snowflakes that fell like lead. It wasn't even pretty. It was rather disappointing considering we were supposed to have nice snow for Christmas.

There was finally a break in the rain when I got off work, so we took the opportunity to go on a little festive run. Since it wasn't going to be dark, we were able to stop by some trees that I've been trying to get our picture by. The picture still didn't turn out great since it wasn't dark enough to see the lights, but with a few stickers and filters, it celebrated the fact that we went for a run on Christmas Eve.

I got some new running clothes for Christmas, some more suitable for the cooler weather. I'm excited to take them for a spin!

Henri was very good boy this year, or at least he must have been because he made out like a bandit this year for Christmas. He got his BarkBox on Monday, which had two toys in it. I got him a personalized Pridebites fribee, which he has been working on finding a weak spot to destroy it. I got him a glow-in-the-dark Chuck-It ball for playing at the dog park when the sun goes down. My husband even picked out a toy for him this year, which they put a hole in it within minutes. My sister got him a few toys that should be able to withstand his destructive habits, for at least a while. 

He likes to unwrap his presents, shredding the paper into tiny bits. He immediately starts punching the toys with his nose, hunting for a squeaker. He had a big morning, opening presents, playing with his presents and playing with the wrapping paper from our presents. We went to the park since the sun decided to come out today, where he played and enjoyed being outside. He ate pork stew for dinner tonight and has been enjoying his favorite uncles visiting. It's probably been one of the best days of his life! Isn't that what Christmas is all about?

  

Good News, Bad News

Let's play Good News, Bad News. 

Good News: We had snow flurries this morning! (Because I like snow!)

Bad News: It didn't stick.

Good News: The sidewalks were not treacherous for our run!

Bad News: The temperature finally dropped into the 20's.

Good News: It's going to warm back up this weekend (Back to the high 40's!)

Bad News: There's rain in the forecast early next week.

Good News: That rain might turn to snow on Christmas Eve!

Bad News: I go in to work earlier next week, which usually means going to the dog park instead of going on runs.

Good News: It's going to rain so we might not be going to the dog park (Mud)...

Bad News: Or running...

Good News: But maybe running!

Bad News: Next week is Christmas!

Good News: Next week is Christmas!

Bad News: I've got lots of stuff to do to be ready, crafty stuff that takes time.

Good News: If it's raining I'll have extra time (?)

Bad News: That means no running, no exercising for Henri (Or me because it's really hard to jump around in the living room with the Christmas tree and it's not fair for me to get exercise and not Henri, haha!) 

Good News: I added a little more distance to the run with the ankle. My body was hitting it's stride and I would have loved to kept going, but I need to be good.

Bad News: Not running next week will put a damper on that.

Good News: I have Henri and he is the best motivation for running I could ever ask for so if there is a way, we will be running.

That was fun!

Christmas Playlist

It's wet and rainy again. We just can't escape it. It was hardly a mist so I decided we could handle it together. Especially since it's still in the forties, it acts as more of a cooling agent, keeping us from overheating. 

Despite the lack of snow, I ran to my Christmas playlist. I have some of the classics, but I also have some more updated versions of some of the classics. One of my favorite Christmas songs is Carol of the Bells, mostly because of the California Raisins Christmas special that used to come on when I was a kid. I know. You probably have no idea what I'm talking about. You're missing out, I'm telling you.

Clearly this is not the version that I ran to. While I wouldn't have been able to see it, I would have still known every claymated move and been laughing, making it that much more difficult to run. So, I created a little playlist of some of the songs we ran to today because as soon as I starting thinking of one great one to share, I thought of another, then another. You get the idea. Anyway, It was cool to run to just Christmas songs with the Christmas lights, even though the weather is not quite "Christmas" to me.

It was also important that we went on a run tonight because afterwards I took Henri to the mall to see Santa. He's always so nervous at new places and I thought maybe a little run would help expense some energy and make it a little better for him. He did sit while we waited in line. That's a huge step for him in a new place. Well, we'll keep working on it then. Pictures to come! 

Rain, Rain and More Rain

Seriously, I know it's been all about the weather lately, but it's so confused! I guess it's great that temperatures are above average. (I don't know if that's actually true, but it seems like it, especially after last year.) Instead of snow, we just keep getting rain. Lots and lots of rain. I guess it's better than having to worry about ice or snow covered sidewalks, but it's still annoying when we can't run. It wasn't too bad yesterday when I got off work, but it was misting and I didn't think that it would be very enjoyable for Henri, and it's ultimately about him so we opted out.

Today would normally be a dog park day, but I had an appointment right after work so it was dark before I got home. Of course, with the weather changing back and forth, I'm now getting a cold. It's just a runny nose right now, but that's not exactly helpful when running in the cold. I also felt kinda icky today, but for some reason, moving around actually felt better than sitting around. So Henri, my nose and I went for a run. Ew, gross! Actually, I thought it would be much worse.

Of course, now our schedule is all out of whack. I am not supposed to run consecutive days so we can't run tomorrow as we normally we. Maybe it will rain. That will make it feel okay. Or maybe I'll feel really icky. Not as okay, but still helpful.

I accidentally forgot to wear my ankle wrap when we went out today. I didn't notice it till we were walking back up to the house. What I did notice was that my ankle and foot didn't hurt at all. It hurt quite a bit after our run last week so this was a welcome change. In fact, last week it hurt until I took off the ankle wrap, which I usually keep on for a bit after to keep my ankle compressed. Suddenly, the pain went away. I'm wondering if the wrap is doing more harm than good. I might have to email that sports physical therapist.

I'm still pretty disappointed that we didn't get to do our Polar Paws 5k this past weekend, especially since every weekend since they've cancelled it has been in the mid to upper 30's, if not higher. Way to go, people! Low sign-up due to cold weather. Wusses! Yeah, I'm bitter. I waited a whole year for this! I had some super cute outfits planned for Henri and I! Now I have to hope that they'll work out for next year. Crossing our fingers and paws! (Next year there will probably be a blizzard!) 

I should have planned my own virtual Polar Paws! Not that I have that many followers, so it still might have just been me and Henri participating, but I should have thought of that! Next year, if it's cancelled again, I'm doing it. Somehow, I'm doing it. Stay tuned for that!

Oh, Mother Nature...

The weather really cannot make up it's mind. Is it going to be warm (for this time of year) or cold? It is December after all. 60 degrees this past weekend, still in the 40's today, it's the perfect weather for this puppy! He is playing so much more at the park, playing with dogs he's never played with before, just for the joy of playing in the cooler air. He was always excited to go on our run, but probably just because it was a run so he got to be moving fast...ish :) Now it just feels good to be outside. Crazy dog!

Meanwhile, I'm trying to decide which weather I like running more in. It's nice to be able to breathe, but the coughing and nose running faster than I am is...probably a sign that I'm getting a cold from the back and forth weather changes. I've got plenty more winter to decide, or at least I think I do. I'm sure mother nature is just teasing us with this warmer weather and we will back to snow and ice in no time. It is the Midwest after all.  

Christmas Lights Lighting Our Way

We were not able to go for a run last week. It was disappointing, but it was really windy on Monday, and Wednesday, my husband was off so Henri had just gotten back from the park when I got home and would have taken him for a run. If it had been a few hours, he would have been fine, but I didn't want to push him. Then the retail world sucked me in so when I wasn't trying to catch up on sleep, we were at the park. In just that one week, I lost my motivation and it was hard to get it back to go on a run today. It might have had something to do with it going from 50's and 60's this weekend to the 20's as well.

There was something that helped inspire the run today. Christmas lights are going up all around the neighborhood, so, even though the cold wind was blowing (Really, is this wind ever going to stop?), we could run within the neighborhood and be protected by the houses with the pretty lights.

The downside to running within the neighborhood rather than around it is it's a shorter run. It's just under 2 miles, which is what I'm consistently running on my ankle right now. I'd like to keep extending that, but it is winter. I can give myself a break. I could probably find another block to loop around or something, but I honestly might get lost.

I enjoyed to lights. Henri didn't really seem to notice until we ran past a house with a blow up Santa in the  yard. He watched it suspiciously, but it wasn't moving this time so we ran by without any incident. (See? Protected from the wind.)

That one week off made my ankle ache more than it has in awhile. I might need to go to the gym if it gets too icy or cold for us to go on runs, just to keep working on my ankle. That's disappointing. If Henri wouldn't be afraid of a treadmill, I'd get one for each of us, so we could still run together, in the comfort on our own home.

Here is a picture from our run tonight. Of course, it's dark, but we are wearing our own Christmas lights. I'm disappointed that the Polar Paws 5k that Henri and I were going to run this Saturday was cancelled due to low sign-ups. I was really looking forward to the holiday part of it all. Being in retail, it's hard to keep up the Christmas spirit. Hopefully, or festively lit runs will carry me through.