W2D3

Today dawned sunny, but cooold. So very cold. The mid-twenties warmed into the mid-thirties by noon and I figured that if I was going to run at all, I had better get going before I talked myself out of it. For the program I'm supposed to run three days a week, with a recovery day in between. My week begins on Saturday, when we go run with our friends, so Monday and Wednesday are the next two days. Friday I'll be taking an easy day out on the road instead of going for too long between runs. Trying to keep the self-discipline going- it's part of the point.

I have some new running gear that I was eager to try anyway, so I donned my insulated pants; three layers on top; headphones running to the nifty pocket on the sleeve holding my phone/music player which was playing a podcast of music and audio cues for my intervals; hat and gloves to finish the warmth; and out I went!

Today was Week 2, Day 3, which means that after a five minute brisk walk I ran 90 second intervals with 2 minute walks in between. As I ran the music helped to keep me upbeat and not pay so much attention to the snow flurries that were hitting me in the face. Having the intervals given to me by the audio helped a lot, instead of carrying the kitchen timer and re-setting it every time.

So 25 minutes later I finished my final run and walked out a five minute cool-down before getting back inside for some slow stretches. Funny, but the house hadn't seemed so very warm when I left it for my run.

Frozen face and drippy nose aren't so bad really. I got out there on a day that I'd much rather have stayed indoors and pushed through to the end of my run with no cheating. Yes, there are physical benefits to be sure, but the knowledge that I actually accomplished this run today feels better than anything else right now.