Ever tried cross country skiing?
Ever tried cross country skiing at night?
Our local ski club hosts a weekly guided night ski. They start at about 5K early in the season and work their way up touring the loops to go longer distances each week. For the past two seasons, I've been meaning to try it, but never got around to it. This week, I made the commitment to do it. Even better, I followed through.
I am so, so glad I did. Tonight's loop was only 5.5K, and then a few of us did another 1K (I would guess) around the lit track. There were about 17 in the original group of mixed level skiiers. It was snowing quite heavily at the start which was really pretty in the head lamp going uphill and along the flat bits, but stung the eyes on the down hills!
It is supposed to get really cold tonight (-20C, -4F), but was the perfect temperature for the ski at -5C (23F). I had on a double layer on top and bottom, plus my running jacket, toque, buff and ski gloves. I was definitely chilly while waiting for the group to assemble, but was dressed perfectly once we started moving. There is nothing worse than being overheated!
All of the headlamps looked so neat coming around each bend in the dark. I always liked seeing this with our running group when we ran at night in the winter, but it looked even better on the snowy trails.
I skied this same loop on New Year's Day, but it seemed to go much faster in the dark. I'm not sure if that was because we were actually going faster or if it was just the mystery of not knowing how long each up hill was!
I am so lucky to have such a great trail network only 15 minutes away. I will definitely be going back for more!
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Week In Review Dec 31 - Jan 6
A week into the new year, I've only got 5K under my belt, but it's been a good week.
Monday - Rest
I did not see 2012 out with a run unless you count running around doing errands to get ready for the evenings festivities. I did make healthy choices by being sure to put out veggies along with the other snacks for the night, and positioning myself next to that plate. Despite the party going on at our place well past midnight, my last drink was champagne at the stroke of 12. I had big plans for the next day and I didn't want to be dragging myself through the first workout of the year.
Tuesday - X-Country Ski (6.5K)
It was my first ski in two years. I went out with the BF's sister in law and nephew and our dogs. I let Cookie pull me for the last 400m or so. I wish I had a picture! A good day for a ski and a great way to start the new year!
Wednesday -
I planned to get up to run before work, but when I got up and saw that it was -14C (7F), I just couldn't force myself outside. If I was training for a race, maybe, but not just for kicks. I did yoga instead in the warmth of the house.
Thursday -
The BF had a cold all week and I woke up feeling like I might be coming down with it. I took the extra sleep time.
Friday -
See Thursday. I have my fingers crossed that I made the right choice here. Other than being abnormally tired Thursday and Friday, despite the extra sleep, I haven't come down with the cough and blocked nose that I was dreading.
Saturday - 5K Run
Cookie and I ran around the river walk in just over 30 minutes. Given that it was the first run in over a week, and there was plenty of snow on the ground, I was happy with that!
Sunday - 1 hour 50 minutes snowshoeing.
The BF still has his cold and a sore knee to boot. I was happy that we made it out at all. It was a slow and steady climb in deep snow, but most of the way had been packed down a couple of snowfalls ago with a snowmobile. We were in a snowmobile free zone, so it was kinda annoying that they had been there, but kinda good because we were only sinking a couple of inches rather than to our knees like a couple of weeks before.
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| Near the start |
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| Taking a break! |
Running kms this week: 5
Cross Training time: ~3 hours (I don't know how long we skied for)
Phone-A-Friend: Denise
Goal for next week: Less coffee, more water!
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Happy 2013!
Happy New Year!
Cookie and I went out for our first run of 2012 this morning. It was a grey day with a few flakes of snow in the air, but not too cold at -4C (25F). This past week I've been fighting off a cold and taking the extra sleep in the morning rather than running before work. Cookie felt the effects of not running all week and was in this position for most of the afternoon:
.JPG)
It is at this time of year that most people look back at their goals from the year before and set new ones for the year ahead. I'm having trouble doing that. For one thing, I know I didn't come close to hitting my mileage goal in 2012. I signed up for a half marathon but didn't run it. In fact, I didn't run a single race all year. I didn't run much at all last winter, and after a few stops and starts in the spring, built slowly all summer. I think my longest run of the year was 10K last January! I'm not really sure though because I rarely blogged, only sometimes logged my miles, and wore my Garmin only when I felt like it.
That's about all I want to dwell on 2012. Moving on!
But moving on to what?
Good question. These days I'm pretty comfortable with running 5K, but am a lot slower than I was. We've been out snow shoeing every weekend, and I put my ski pass to use for the first time on New Year's Day. (Ever tried skijoring?) I've been doing yoga at least once a week for the past couple of months, and until the temperature dropped at Christmas, I was doing well at getting up and heading out for a pre-work run in the dark 3 days a week. I've also signed up for a once-a-week, 5-7K, after work running group starting this month. After starting a new job last month, I feel like I'm getting into a bit of a routine, and it's good.
But what's next? Here's the next segment of my non-plan plan:
Step 1: Start building my long run towards 10K.
Step 2: Evaluate the following options in mid-February:
a) Stay at 10K for long run distance and work on speed
b) Build mileage for a half marathon in May.
I am just going to take this year month by month. No long term plans...yet. I do want to get back into the habit of blogging and tracking my miles. I don't like that I don't know how far I went last year. And I do want to run at least one race this year, but I'm not ready to commit to a distance.
I also want to get my money's worth out of my ski pass. I'm hoping I like the guided night ski this week and will continue to go at least twice a month until the end of the snow.
Last but not least, I want to keep snow shoeing in the winter and hiking in the summer with the BF and the dogs every Sunday. I think we made it out 48 of 52 weeks last year.
I feel like I should have some long term eating/living goals for the year, but I think I'm going to take those month by month too. With starting a new job in December, and it being my first job in an office away from home in over five years, I've realized how easy I had it for meal planning for so long. And by that I mean, that I didn't really meal plan, because I could take a 20 minute break mid-afternoon each day to run to the store and get that night's supper. Then when I was off work, I indulged in making more complex meals, baking my own bread, making pasta from scratch, and lots (and lots) of desserts. It was nice having all day to get dinner ready, but those days are over. In January, I want to develop a habit of making a weekly menu, and doing a weekly shopping trip. I know it sounds basic, but old habits are hard to break!
The only other thing I really want to focus on this year is my friends. Most of my friends, the ones that know me the best, live in a different time zone. You wouldn't think 3 hours would be a big deal, but it is. Over the past couple of years, I've found that I speak with my friends in Ontario less and less, and I miss them. This year I want to speak to one friend a week. I'm going to tell you who I talked to in my weekly update.
Yes, I want to read more, maintain work/life balance as I settle in to my new job, eat healthier snacks, be kinder to others and myself, save more money, blah, blah, blah. But I'm taking it one month at a time. We'll see how this goes.
Cookie and I went out for our first run of 2012 this morning. It was a grey day with a few flakes of snow in the air, but not too cold at -4C (25F). This past week I've been fighting off a cold and taking the extra sleep in the morning rather than running before work. Cookie felt the effects of not running all week and was in this position for most of the afternoon:
.JPG)
It is at this time of year that most people look back at their goals from the year before and set new ones for the year ahead. I'm having trouble doing that. For one thing, I know I didn't come close to hitting my mileage goal in 2012. I signed up for a half marathon but didn't run it. In fact, I didn't run a single race all year. I didn't run much at all last winter, and after a few stops and starts in the spring, built slowly all summer. I think my longest run of the year was 10K last January! I'm not really sure though because I rarely blogged, only sometimes logged my miles, and wore my Garmin only when I felt like it.
That's about all I want to dwell on 2012. Moving on!
But moving on to what?
Good question. These days I'm pretty comfortable with running 5K, but am a lot slower than I was. We've been out snow shoeing every weekend, and I put my ski pass to use for the first time on New Year's Day. (Ever tried skijoring?) I've been doing yoga at least once a week for the past couple of months, and until the temperature dropped at Christmas, I was doing well at getting up and heading out for a pre-work run in the dark 3 days a week. I've also signed up for a once-a-week, 5-7K, after work running group starting this month. After starting a new job last month, I feel like I'm getting into a bit of a routine, and it's good.
But what's next? Here's the next segment of my non-plan plan:
Step 1: Start building my long run towards 10K.
Step 2: Evaluate the following options in mid-February:
a) Stay at 10K for long run distance and work on speed
b) Build mileage for a half marathon in May.
I am just going to take this year month by month. No long term plans...yet. I do want to get back into the habit of blogging and tracking my miles. I don't like that I don't know how far I went last year. And I do want to run at least one race this year, but I'm not ready to commit to a distance.
I also want to get my money's worth out of my ski pass. I'm hoping I like the guided night ski this week and will continue to go at least twice a month until the end of the snow.
Last but not least, I want to keep snow shoeing in the winter and hiking in the summer with the BF and the dogs every Sunday. I think we made it out 48 of 52 weeks last year.
I feel like I should have some long term eating/living goals for the year, but I think I'm going to take those month by month too. With starting a new job in December, and it being my first job in an office away from home in over five years, I've realized how easy I had it for meal planning for so long. And by that I mean, that I didn't really meal plan, because I could take a 20 minute break mid-afternoon each day to run to the store and get that night's supper. Then when I was off work, I indulged in making more complex meals, baking my own bread, making pasta from scratch, and lots (and lots) of desserts. It was nice having all day to get dinner ready, but those days are over. In January, I want to develop a habit of making a weekly menu, and doing a weekly shopping trip. I know it sounds basic, but old habits are hard to break!
The only other thing I really want to focus on this year is my friends. Most of my friends, the ones that know me the best, live in a different time zone. You wouldn't think 3 hours would be a big deal, but it is. Over the past couple of years, I've found that I speak with my friends in Ontario less and less, and I miss them. This year I want to speak to one friend a week. I'm going to tell you who I talked to in my weekly update.
Yes, I want to read more, maintain work/life balance as I settle in to my new job, eat healthier snacks, be kinder to others and myself, save more money, blah, blah, blah. But I'm taking it one month at a time. We'll see how this goes.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Best Laid Plans
Just when I had my whole month of December mapped out....
....I got a call for a second interview!
The second interview last Tuesday turned out to be a job offer, and I started last Wednesday. I'm trying to keep my excitement in check because at the moment it is only a one month contract (but there is a possibility that it could extend for a full year depending on a few things). For now, I'm just trying to enjoy it, learn as much as I can, and hope for the best. The work is right up my alley and without giving too much away, I'm very excited about the project I'm working on.
As I get used to a new job, I'm also getting used to a new routine. Starting things off on the right foot, I ran Wednesday and Thursday morning last week and this morning before the sun was up. Today I also went for a post-work walk with the Cookie. I've been packing healthy lunches, planning ahead for dinner and getting to bed early. It is a big change from my old job where I worked from home and set my own schedule, but I'm a person that thrives on structure so I think it will work well for me if I can keep a positive attitude about it. It will get easier to get up when the alarm goes off in the dark, right?
....I got a call for a second interview!
The second interview last Tuesday turned out to be a job offer, and I started last Wednesday. I'm trying to keep my excitement in check because at the moment it is only a one month contract (but there is a possibility that it could extend for a full year depending on a few things). For now, I'm just trying to enjoy it, learn as much as I can, and hope for the best. The work is right up my alley and without giving too much away, I'm very excited about the project I'm working on.
As I get used to a new job, I'm also getting used to a new routine. Starting things off on the right foot, I ran Wednesday and Thursday morning last week and this morning before the sun was up. Today I also went for a post-work walk with the Cookie. I've been packing healthy lunches, planning ahead for dinner and getting to bed early. It is a big change from my old job where I worked from home and set my own schedule, but I'm a person that thrives on structure so I think it will work well for me if I can keep a positive attitude about it. It will get easier to get up when the alarm goes off in the dark, right?
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
The Barely Plan Plan
I know that when I don't have a plan at all, I don't run as much as I would like. I also know that when I have a very detailed plan, I lose my love for running, though an upcoming race keeps me motivated. Without a race on the horizon, still working with pretty short runs, snow on the ground making speed work a challenge, I've come up with a sorta-plan.
No set mileage, no set times, no set workouts, no days assigned. I know that each run will be at least 5K, and I know that I'll push myself harder on some runs to try to get faster. I know that I will do some kind of race in the spring, but I haven't decided on distance. For now, if I feel like doing more, I will, and snowshoeing and skiing are inter-changeable depending on what I feel like doing. As long as I do some strength training of some sort each week, I'll be happy. It's about building a habit this month, not getting a six pack.
How much do you plan when you're not training for a race?
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| (I gave up rotating this one!) |
No set mileage, no set times, no set workouts, no days assigned. I know that each run will be at least 5K, and I know that I'll push myself harder on some runs to try to get faster. I know that I will do some kind of race in the spring, but I haven't decided on distance. For now, if I feel like doing more, I will, and snowshoeing and skiing are inter-changeable depending on what I feel like doing. As long as I do some strength training of some sort each week, I'll be happy. It's about building a habit this month, not getting a six pack.
How much do you plan when you're not training for a race?
Monday, December 3, 2012
November In Review
Time is flying by! I really don't know where it goes, but I can't believe it's already December. This week I'm trying to figure out what happens to my day(s). I'm not working, so surely I should be done my Christmas shopping/have a sparkling clean house/be keeping up on correspondence, right?! Oh, if only that were true! Despite setting out to complete at least a project a day in order to feel somewhat productive, I'm behind on all of the above. More on this soon, as I am tracking my time this week to figure out how to get the most out of December!
Before we get to that, I need to take a look back at November. I started November with my longest no-rest streak ever. I didn't run every day, but I did SOMETHING active every day for 21 days. Usually, I went out for a full hour of walking or running and walking combined, though I did have to cut it short a couple of days due to some job prospects. This started at the end of October and took me into mid-November. Then I took a rest day, for no good reason, and then kinda lost my steam. I had an interview and was a pile of nerves that should have run, but didn't, and there was a day spent baking... After an off week I got back into things this week and finished off the month with three snowy 5K runs with Cookie. It is getting too cold to walk in the same clothes that I run in, so we're either going to have to run longer, or go out twice in two outfits if we're going to keep aiming for an hour a day.
Time spent running: 6 hours 32 minutes
Time spent walking: 14 hours 57 minutes
Time spent yoga-ing: 2 hours 50 minutes
Homemade Christmas gifts completed: 2
Homemade Christmas gifts completed: 2
Christmas cookies in the freezer: 102
Christmas cookies in my tummy: I've lost count.
What I'm looking forward to in December: Night-skiing and a weekend away with the girls!
What I'm looking forward to in December: Night-skiing and a weekend away with the girls!
Monday, November 19, 2012
Monday Bullets
A little catch up...
- 21 days. I did one hour of exercise (running, walking, yoga, or abs) every day for 21 days. I took a rest day on Saturday, and back on track on Sunday.
- Dressing for run-walk combos is getting trickier now that the weather is colder and the running part is getting longer. I find I'm freezing during the 30 minute walk, and roasting 5 minutes into the run.
- Cookie had an eye infection last week and I went for my first run without her in months. I felt like I was forgetting something! She is such a good running buddy.
- I've been on a smoothie kick lately.
- One of my good friends from my time in Bangkok ran her first half marathon on Sunday - in Thailand! She is training for a full marathon. I am so proud of her and impressed that she can run in that humidity. Way to go Miss Moon!
- Another friend ran her first marathon in Philadelphia on Sunday. Yay, Julie! All of these races have me itching for a new training plan...
- The job hunt continues... Speaking of which, I'm going to be making a few blog changes over the next few days, just to make sure I'm anonymous to potential employers. I don't think I've said anything offensive, but just to be safe.
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