Uphill cycling (a NSV)

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Viv

Yesterday was the first day of spring and I took the opportunity to start cycling to work again.

During the winter I walked the 1.1 mi to the office so I always get in a little exercise just by going to work but I prefer cycling as it takes less time which means I can sleep a little longer. If you know me, you know that I love sleep.

On my way home, I have to cycle up a hill, which is quite a little workout, especially when you ride an old bike without gears.

I won’t lie, 99% of the time I just got off the bike at some point and pushed it up the hill. I think there were maybe one or two times I actually cycled all the way up. I was lazy and didn’t want to work up a sweat. And it was hard.

I even still did this last fall when I was already losing weight, eating healthily, and working out a lot. And yes, I felt kind of lazy, especially when older people managed to cycle all the way up, but I also didn’t really care.

Well, yesterday was the first time I rode my bike in months, and between that and still not feeling 100% well after a cold I had last week, I thought I would just ride my bike up as far as I could and then get off and push the rest of the way uphill.

But I didn’t. I cycled all te way up the hill! After months of not even riding my bike! Yeah, I was a bit sweaty and I could tell that my heart rate had gone up, but at the same time it felt a lot easier than I remember it being.

I know this is just something small and insignificant, and it may seem silly to write an entire blog post about it. But you know what, this little feat reminded me just of how far I have come. Of how much fitter and stronger I am now. And that makes it significant to me.

And just like that it’s spring

Posted on February 25, 2012 by Viv

I went for a run today. As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve decided to get into a running routine again, and I started today. As I’ve only done a few runs in the past 2 months, I started again with week 1 of Jane Wake’s 10K running plan, skipping the first two runs and going straight to the last run of week 1. The last run of the week is always the longest and I wanted to make the best of getting to run on a Saturday afternoon in gorgeous weather.

It was 12C outside so I wore capri running pants and a t-shirt for my run. It was so nice not to have to bundle up for this run. It really felt like it was spring for the first time this year. Let’s just hope it sticks around. I wouldn’t mind if we were done with snow and ice until November or December.

I really like this picture. Sometimes I need to see a picture of myself to see how much my body has changed. I feel like I actually look like a runner now. I never did before. I still want to slim down a bit more but I’m quite happy with where I am already.

On my run, I met another runner who made me wonder if he was running in an alternate universe, being that he was dressed up for temperatures roughly 10-20 degrees colder than it was. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, pants, gloves, and a hat. All I could think was, how is he not dying bundled up like that when running in 12C weather?

I ran a route that I hadn’t run in a while, though I realize now that it’s actually probably the best of all the routes I have run so far as it’s almost completely flat and longer than others. The lovely scenery is another plus. Such a shame though that there are no lights along the road so I can only run it while it’s light out – a problem everywhere in this area as soon as you leave the town.

I stopped to take pictures a few times along the way because it was too beautiful not to. I will have plenty of serious runs with no breaks in the evenings when it is too dark to take pictures anyway. I still ran a pretty good pace during the running interval and I am positive that my running will benefit immensely from the strength workouts I did during the 30 Day Shred. I should definitely keep up the strength workouts to work on my posture and pace. I think I will manage a sub 35 5k pretty soon.

It was so beautiful today, and I cannot wait for when it is light out again in the evenings. Should be as soon as next month when we switch to summer time. I am looking forward to running outside the town again and discovering more running routes this year.

It was definitely a great run. Aside from the other runner, I also met a Nordic walking group. A few weeks ago, I met a running group while going to the grocery store, so there seem to be a few runners in the area. I prefer running by myself, but I always get terribly excited when I see other runners here.

Winter runs

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Viv

In the past month, we’ve had some cold weather. For a couple of weeks in January & February, we had temperatures of -10 to -22C! It was incredibly cold. Since then, things have gotten a little better and we have even had above freezing temperatures a couple of times since then. Spring is definitely on its way.

With the cold weather, snow and ice, there has been very little running in my life ever since that 10k in early December. While there were probably a few days that I could have gone for a run and didn’t, I do miss it. A couple of weeks ago, during the cold spell, I decided that it had been long enough since my last run. It was cold at -10C but it was also a gorgeous, sunny winter day. I just went for a short run of about 3 km, and it was tough on my lungs, but I also enjoyed it.

There is something about running along these snow-covered fields under a bright blue sky.

On Wednesday, as I was doing the 30 Day Shred – it was Day 29 – I felt like I could not work out in front of the TV another minute. I stopped my workout after Circuit 1, and decided that was it for the 30 Day Shred. I will write about my experience with the 30 Day Shred in another post. To make up for it, I went for a run. I just grabbed my running jacket, my key, and went out for a short run. I ran about two rounds (2 km) in 15 minutes and it felt so good. It was good to be running again, and that was when I decided that I needed to get into a running routine again.

Running according to a training plan takes up a lot of time as you run 3–4 times a week, but I really miss it. I enjoy working up to a certain time or distance. I enjoy being outside. I enjoy moving.

The past few days have been a lot milder and it feels like spring is in the air. I hope that the weather will get warmer soon, and that we won’t be getting any more snow. I have decided to start running regularly again, probably following the same 10k running plan I followed in the fall. I have definitely lost some of my fitness in the past two months, at least in terms of running. I can still run 4–5 km at a time though, so Jane Wake’s running plan seems a good starting point. I would love to run another 10k race in the spring so what better time to start than now?