I’m runfessing and sipping tea all in one post. There wasn’t a whole lot of running in January, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have things to get off my chest. There always seems to be a steady stream of things to tell you and odd things going on in my life. I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours!
The Vitamix has been christened. It will be used a lot in the coming years!
I would tell you . . . I’d been eyeing a new Vitamix for a few years. Mine is at least 12 years old, maybe older. It sees a lot of use. Mr. Judy found me a good deal, and it sat on the the counter. And it sat . . . and sat . . .
I had soups I wanted to make (I don’t use it as much for smoothies in Winter) but I just never could seem to find the time. I finally made a Potato Leek Soup and the new Vitamix is christened. Now to figure out what to do with the old one . . . which still runs, by the way.
I runfess . . .
#thestruggleisreal when it comes to getting out the door in Winter. January was actually on the mild side, despite some snow, some freezing rain, and some bitter cold. But mostly it was unseasonably warm, including running in that skirt for one long run!
Finding the skirt? It was not something I expected to need in Winter, so it was packed away. But in which cube? Getting out the door is hard enough without having to go through the Summer running clothes!
I runfess . . .
Running on the treadmill usually means I do a more thorough warm up, because I’m not out there freezing my butt off waiting to get started. Things got intense mid-month, I was stressed, I was busy, I was tired. I realized as I was running on the mill one day that foam rolling never even entered my mind — I runfess that I didn’t do it afterwards, either (because it was already lunchtime and I was hungry!).
I runfess . . . I did pretty good with food through most of the holidays. Until I spent much of the week between Christmas and New Years at my moms. Of course spending another week with her after my Dad passed was also a struggle, with more eating out and not many healthy choices available some days.
Who knew eating at a senior living community could be such a food struggle?
I shake my head every time I see this. It’s not the only one, either!
I would tell you . . . We had a planter outside on the deck, and we brought it in knowing it would probably fall apart out there during Winter. It has pots with dead herb plants on it. In those pots, which have not seen a drop of water in months, these seedlings are growing — that’s what the subject of this post refers to. Seriously, how?
Have you ever seen plants growing without any water (other than cacti)?
Have you had to haul out Summer running clothes this Winter?
Open stuff immediately, whether or not you’re ready to use it?
What do you have to runfess from January? Come join us
Snow. Check. Ice. Check. Extreme cold. Check. Pouring rain. Check. Mother Nature sure threw a lot at us this week, but I did my best to keep on keeping on.
*Disclaimer: Amazon affiliate links; I will make a small amount of money if you buy through these links
Running Updates
The good thing about running inside was trying out some different skirts. This one’s Hover.
Monday -7 in the morning — without the windchill (and there was windchill) — I know some people would still run outside in those temps, but some people bungee jump too.
5 miles on the treadmill, 3 at tempo, and stick a fork in me (as far as running).
Getting some abwork in in between miles. This skirt’s Jette.
Tuesday While cold, it was sunny and not too windy. I didn’t really want to drive somewhere and the roads in my neighborhood were still too slippery. I did 4 miles on the treadmill, stopping each mile to do some abs.
The last time I did a similar workout it seemed to take forever. This time, while yes it took longer than just running obviously, it felt good — maybe in contrast to how hard yesterday’s tempo felt!
A better shot of the Wonder Wool top. Such bright colors this year!
Friday Yesterday it poured cats & dogs, then changed over to snow, and this morning the roads just looked a mess. I decided to stay safe and do a shorter run on the treadmill. I made some energy balls I’d been meaning to try out on a long run (so good!). And then I kept looking at the weather, looking at the road, looking at the weather . . . I decided to go for the long run after all.
It was almost noon by the time I started, so I was running through lunch. Had I decided to do this I definitely would have eaten differently and probably not made those energy balls. Basically I was running in neighborhoods near the park, but not in the park — not exactly exciting, but more exciting than running in my own neighborhood, and the roads in my neighborhood were still quite messy with slush and ice when I left.
I was still cautious and slowed over anything that looked wet, but there was no slippery ice like last week and aside from some tired hamstrings (probably because I didn’t foam roll before or warm up at all) the run was fine.
Sunday Another cold (but not too bad, except for the wind) supported run/race. It was a tough morning at home, and my heart wasn’t really in it, but I knew I’d be better off running and I also knew that on my own I wouldn’t have pushed it as hard. Not that I really thought I was pushing hard but it was a pretty good pace and nice negative splits.
Peanut Butter Mud Pie — the waitress split it in half unasked!
Favorites of the week
This pie. It’s made multiple appearances on this blog, usually after a double digit run, and it never disappoints.
Seat warmers. Not on my car, obviously, which is almost 19 years old, but the ones in my husband’s car. I swear I wanted to ask him to just drive around some more on the way home from the restaurant so I could just luxuriate in the warmth. I may have actually asked that out loud . . .
I you liked some of the Skirt Sports I’m sporting here, feel free to ask about it and/or use my discount code 522CRJ for 15% off.
Let’s get the conversation started:
Do you have an amazing dessert that you love and therefore never try the other desserts at the restaurant — even though they look pretty awesome too?
If you do run on the treadmill, do you mix things up on it?
Do you have a different fitness routine during winter?
Treadmills definitely seem to be polarizing among runners. I’d almost say either you love them or you hate them, but there is a middle ground, and that’s where I think I fall.
My treadmill story in a nutshell
So what’s my treadmill story? In a nutshell, when I first started to run, most of it was on my trusty treadmill. Which I’d bought so that I could walk during the hot Austin summers (and yes, it got a lot of use when I was a walker). Then I began to run more on the road, and the treadmill got relegated to bad weather days. Eventually I noticed some improvement when doing speedwork on the treadmill, but it’s still relegated to bad weather days. But should it be?
A Useful tool in the beginning
When I started running, it was just at the tail end of our time in Austin. I don’t think I actually ran on the treadmill then. What I did was just throw a little bit of running intervals — with absolutely no plan whatsoever — into my daily dogwalks.
I even remember taking the dogs to the “track” at a nearby grade school. And by track, I mean an unpaved circle that I guess was for the kids to either run or walk around. It most definitely wasn’t 400 meters. But I’d put the dog in a stay and I run around it once. Then twice. And so on. It was a win-win: I was running and training the dogs at the same time.
Then we moved, and I eventually decided to train for the Freihofer’s 5k. Initially all my training was on the treadmill, because, you know, I wasn’t really a runner. Eventually I knew I had to run on the road since it was a road race, and so I did.
When I’m here, it means it’s cold, snowy, rainy, or windy — or all of the above
Bye-Bye treadmill — except for weather
Nowadays it’s no longer scary to run on the road. Or the trails (kind of). Or on a track. A very small percentage of my runs are on Old Faithful (because she’s about 18 years old and has been resuscitated more than once).
I don’t love her, although I love the fact that she’s an option. I don’t hate her, either. But I do prefer to run outside when I can.
Is the treadmill a handy tool?
One thing I’ve come to realize, though, is that running on the treadmill allows me to better control my pace. It makes speed work easier — not because of the moving belt I’m running on, although there’s that, but because I set it at a certain pace so unless I stop or fall off, I’m going to hit that pace.
I’ve also noticed benefits beyond simply easily controlling my pace: I feel it actually helps me get faster. I’ve noticed when I’ve had a period when I’m forced (or choose to, let’s be honest here) to run on the treadmill once a week, at a pace I might very well not hit out on the road, I find myself actually running faster, easier, when I am out on the run.
Oh, not every run, to be sure. But I have noticed a definite pattern of improvement with steady treadmill use. In the back of my mind, sometimes I think that I should run on the treadmill once a week — to help me with paces and to give my body a break from pounding the road. I don’t think that will actually happen, mind you, but I do think about it.
It also amuses me that some of the runners I know would never, ever set a foot on a treadmill but wouldn’t think twice about hopping onto a stationary bike or bike trainer. Bike trainers don’t seem to evoke the same emotions as treadmills do. Maybe because there are tools to help us runners battle almost any weather, but it’s absolutely far more treacherous to be on a bike in the same conditions.
Talk to me:
Where do you fall in the great treadmill debate?
Have you noticed benefits to running on a treadmill?
Do you feel differently about a bike trainer than you do about a treadmill?
Race streak, that is. I’ve been doing the New Year’s Day “race” since 2011; I ran this race before I’d even run my first half! First it got pushed from New Years Day to today due to the extreme cold on New Years Day. Turned out to be just as cold today, and despite the ice/snow storm we had yesterday, it wasn’t canceled. But I chose to stay safe (and much warmer) on my treadmill. Of course Darlene @ Myfirst5kandmore ran it. I hate breaking the streak, but it was the right decision for me, especially since I feel as though I’m finally back to normal. I hope!
I’m joining up with the Weekly Wrap from Holly @ Hohoruns and Wendy @ Taking the Long Way Home — thanks, Wendy, for stepping into Tricia’s shoes (we miss your smiling face, Tricia!).
Workouts update
Monday: Short Dogwalk
Tuesday: 6 miles outside! (can you tell I was excited?), dogwalk
Wednesday: Dogwalk, Yoga Booty Ballet
Thursday: Dogwalk, 3 miles easy
Friday: 3 treadmill miles
Saturday: Flat Belly Yoga, trying to shovel (and not succeeding) the ice off the driveway)
Sunday: 4 treadmill miles, driveway still a sheet of ice
The first outside run of 2018! And it felt great . . . for about 2 miles. I went to the park, and while they clear the paths, and were actually clearing paths as I ran, the windrift means there are still stretches where I’m running on snow that isn’t packed down. It was like trail running!
By mile 3 the sun was disappearing and I was tired already. The good news is that I finished my run, never had any sliding at all due to my screw shoes, and while I definitely felt tired afterwards, finally a day where I felt my temp was normal.
Mid 40s so my second outside run this year! Nothing super spectacular about this one. On the slow side but someone checked his phone early in the morning, and while he got back to sleep, I didn’t. So yup, kind of tired. It just felt nice to be running without a gazillion layers on.
Friday
Did you catch it? My first 2 days of running in a row in quite some time. Unfortunately, due to the pouring rain and getting together with a friend in the afternoon, I was back on the treadmill. The good news is that it warmed up and all the snow (mostly) melted overnight. The bad news is more (and ice) is on its way and Sunday’s race, which was pushed back from NYD, is in jeopardy. Again.
Sunday
Yup, still on the treadmill. I watched the first two episodes of “13 Reasons Why” — can’t say as it grabbed me the way it seems to have a lot of people, but then again, it got me through 6 miles on the treadmill..
Favorites of the week
There wasn’t a whole lot of anything going on this week. The bomb cyclone bombed (in that we only got 4 inches, thankfully, which isn’t much in these parts). Yes, it got really, really cold, but the good news is I was able to hunker down at home for most of it and we never lost power.
Met up with a friend I hadn’t seen in a while for lunch on Friday and we went to a salad place I’d been wanting to try for a while. Win-win. It was pretty good, although somewhat pricey for a salad, but as you can see they were huge (we’d already been eating for a while by the time I remembered to take a photo).
Yes, we decided to tackle some sushi again Saturday night. This time we decided to stick to cooked, although the raw fish we had the first time was from Whole Foods and was fine — it’s just expensive!
Notice Bandit looking on in anticipation. We made some edamame to go with our sushi both times. Bandit, our finicky dog, who often turns up his nose at breakfast, loves edamame (turns out Lola will eat it, too). I mean seriously loves it. Like he’ll train for it. He’ll stay for it. Who knew? Weird dog! I also let him lick just a tiny bit of Sriracha off my finger and he seemed to enjoy that, too.
I made a cucumber avocado roll and a “crab” roll. I bought imitation crab that is specifically for sushi. I really don’t like the ingredients — no actual crab, but some wheat and sugar, but Mr. Judy wanted it. We were discussing how we could get in some more variety when I had a lightbulb moment: I could make the avocado peanut rolls I love so much! Next time.
I’m wrapping it up with a few favorite blogs from this week:
Kind of like me. Still battling that on again off again low grade temp. I’m not sick enough to not work out, and not quite feeling good enough to work out as much as normal. There’s the horrible crud that’s been making the rounds that lasts for weeks, and thankfully mine is not that bad.
I’m joining up with the Weekly Wrap from Holly @ Hohoruns and Tricia @ Misssipppiddlin (ok, it’s just Holly now — unless she has a new cohost), but I just decided to leave Tricia in there. We all appreciate your work so much, ladies!
Workouts update
Monday: Recovery day after my LSD, a little shoveling
Tuesday: 5 treadmill miles
Wednesday: Physique 57 Arms & Abs, Dogwalk (first one in a week due to the cold! And probably last one for almost another week — more cold and snow/wintry mix on the way)
Thursday: Rest day
Friday: 3 treadmill miles, shoveling paths for the dogs in the backyard
Saturday: JY Run Your Core, JY Hamstrings
Sunday: 6 mile treadmill LSD, JY Quick Post Run Reset
*Disclaimer: Amazon affiliate links; I will make a small amount of money if you buy through these links
Running updates
Tuesday
After so many rest days, I was definitely itching for a little movement. We’d had 6 inches of the white stuff the previous day, but Mr. Judy took care of that with the snow blower.
Still, messy and cold, I took it to the treadmill. I also increased my run interval to 2.5 minutes, but decreased the pace a little.
Friday
Still on the treadmill and still working on some endurance, I again slowed the pace just a little but increased my run interval to 3 1/2 minutes. Even just an easy 3 miles seemed to take a long time.
Sunday
Yup, still on the treadmill. I watched the first two episodes of “13 Reasons Why” — can’t say as it grabbed me the way it seems to have a lot of people, but then again, it got me through 6 miles on the treadmill..
Favorites of the week
There wasn’t a whole lot of anything going on this week. The bomb cyclone bombed (in that we only got 4 inches, thankfully, which isn’t much in these parts). Yes, it got really, really cold, but the good news is I was able to hunker down at home for most of it and we never lost power.
I thought I would try to begin highlighting a few of my favorite blogs from the week here (in case you missed them):
I am also enjoying the freedom from training — at the moment, anyway. I’m getting at some things in the house that have been on the back burner a long, long time. I had actually hoped to be running more mileage at this point, just for base building, but it is what it is. I’m happy that I’ve still been able to get in some runs.
I’ve been working on goals for 2019 and some other healthy behaviors I’d like to make habits. Would you believe I’ve finally done some Epsom soaks? Twice? More on that in Tuesday’s post, which is all about healthy goals you might consider for 2018. All bets are off when I get into serious training, no doubt, but for now, I have the time, and hopefully I can make some new habits.
And that’s a wrap!
This week I am also linking up with the Sunday Fitness & Food Linkup brought to you by Ilka @ Ilka’s Blog and Angela @ Marathons & Motivation.
Let’s get the conversation started:
Made your 2018 goals — do share!?
Did you get dumped on or was the bomb cyclone a bomb in your area, too?
Or really three Christmas trees. Like much of the nation our temperatures quickly plummeted this week. And didn’t budge. Just like forecast. Throw in some snow, and I was right about those treadmill runs.
The good news is that by Tuesday I was feeling back to normal. Hopefully despite the exposure to my BIL’s cold and traisping around NYC in the cold, I’ll stay that way.
I’m joining up with the Weekly Wrap from Holly @ Hohoruns and Tricia @ Misssipppiddlin even though again this week there wasn’t a lot of activity. NYC is usually good for lots of walking, but not when the temperatures struggle to get out of the teens. But there was a lot going on so I apologize for the length of this post!
*Disclaimer: Amazon affiliate links; I will make a small amount of money if you buy through these links
Running updates
Tuesday
After so many rest days, I was definitely itching for a little movement. We’d had 6 inches of the white stuff the previous day, but Mr. Judy took care of that with the snow blower.
Still, messy and cold, I took it to the treadmill. I also increased my run interval to 2.5 minutes, but decreased the pace a little.
Wednesday
Although I had a bunch of stuff to do in the morning, I also squeezed in 3 miles on the treadmill — we were leaving for my parents, then NYC, and with the bitterly cold temps and choosing to travel very lightly, I knew I wouldn’t be getting in any running.
I’ve been playing around a bit with lengthening my run intervals, so I also dropped the pace just a pinch. Since this was a shorter run I tried out a 3 minute running interval; which was fine. It felt good to get two runs in back to back and feel okay.
Bandit snoozes through my run
Sunday
No, running on the treamill isn’t my fav. And while sunny, it was definitely a very cold day. Could I have run outside? Yes, I could have. Did I feel it was the best option for me? Nope. Obviously.
Played around with pushing the pace just a little and got it done.
Almost the whole family
Favorites of the week
We headed down for a belated 70th anniversary dinner with my parents, my sister and brother, and their respective families. Everyone except one niece and one nephew was in attendance, and since my brother lives on the West coast, that doesn’t happen a whole lot.
Brave souls at the ice rink in Bryant Park
The next day we took the train into NYC. We were trying to meet up with friends who are presently living in Germany, but were in the city for the holidays, but the plans were tenuous. They didn’t want to brave the cold and make it in at night. After a lot of back and forth, Mr. Judy finally agreed to try heading towards Bryant Park and the Winter Village — and we discovered bundled up as we were, it wasn’t bad.
Tree in Bryant Park
Neither of us wanted to actually eat outside (although people were — the Winter Village has all sorts of awesome street food and we enjoyed it last year), so we headed into the Bryant Park Grill right next door. It was surprisingly affordable, especially when they split the rib eye dinner between us with no sharing charge.
Rockerfeller Center Tree
Fortified with hot food, we pushed on to Rockerfeller Center and the Christmas Tree. I couldn’t tell you the last time I saw it — decades, maybe? If you want to see some of my really frozen photos, check out my Instagram here.
Part of my insistence on seeing the tree was a) yes, it had been decades and b) it was nostalgic. Although Mr. Judy is nowhere to be found in those old NYC photos, we met each others’ parents for the first time that Christmas vacation. We’d been dating maybe 3 months at that point? He came home with me, then went home to Wellesley.
I then took the train to Boston, and we met up with my then-roomate (whom sadly I’ve lost touch with — I don’t know her married name!) in Boston. We even went to First Night in Boston, despite the cold — something Mr. Judy definitely wouldn’t be into these days!
A couple of more favorites from this week: we went to see The Greatest Showman. Then my family went to see it after we’d left for the city, the first time my parents have been to the movies since their move (they do have movies there on a regular basis, but not usually first run, although they do get them sometimes).
My sister, SIL & myself all loved it. My mom wasn’t as impressed, but she no longer hears well and couldn’t really make out the singing and I’m sure that played into her enjoyment; but she also thought it was sad. The men universally seemed to think it was okay (don’t know how the younguns felt about it).
We gave my mom an Echo Dot; I didn’t think she was all that impressed with it at Thanksgiving but turns out she really wanted it! We also gave her one of our old smartphones, since you need to set it up the dot with an app, and are trying to teach her how to text, but she’s having trouble with it. It’s not a senior friendly phone, but they live in a dead zone where a lot of networks don’t get signal — but we knew this one did, and it does. Hopefully next time I visit we can work more with her & the phone.
I did miss the last brunch of the Wineglass girls. Although we were home by then, we’d just gotten home late the previous evening, and I was tired plus I had a bunch of errands to run. There’s always the next breakfast. They’re breakfast obsessed.
Tonight we are just sheltering in place. We’re going to make some sushi. Or try, anyway. I will be asleep long before midnight. I wish everyone a happy and safe New Year.
And that’s a wrap!
This week I am also linking up with the Sunday Fitness & Food Linkup brought to you by Ilka @ Ilka’s Blog and Angela @ Marathons & Motivation.
July may have been quiet, but I still have a few runfessions to get off my chest. Or thighs, or buns . . . it seems like food is the theme in a lot of them this month!
Join me, Marcia @ Marcia’s Healthy Slice and other bloggers — reading other bloggers’ runfessions might just make you feel better..
I runfess . . . I have a tendency to bit off more than I can chew — literally and figuratively. The literally being I tend to be a volume girl when eating (don’t give me teeny tiny portions!).
The figuratively being I get caught up in what I want to do vs what I should do vs what what’s realistic to do, and sometimes tire myself out needlessly. Take last Friday, for instance. I wanted to bake some stuff to bring to a party I was going to. And I just wanted to test out a lot of recipes I’d been eyeing for a while!
So I:
Walked the dogs
Made a smoothie to sip while exercising
Rode the stationary bike
Then did arms & abs
Baked brownie bites
Baked Banana oatmeal cookies simply because I had a couple of very ripe bananas
Made a dip for the party
Mixed up the batter for the s’mores cookies I planned to bake the next day
Washed towels
Mixed up the batter for my breakfast cookies the next day
Made a smoothie to drink post long run the next day
Cut up some lettuce and put it in mason jars for future salads
And of course fed the furkids and went outside with them multiple times throughout the day
Basically, I was pretty much on my feet from about 7 am until about 2 pm.
This was the day before my long run, naturally. So much for taking it easy.
I runfess . . .
I definitely got carried away with the S’mores Cookies I talked about in last week’s Weekly Wrap (read it here). And maybe those Fig Bars, too. As in I ate more than I should have.
I’m usually pretty good, but I’m blaming the runger.
I runfess . . .
One day I ran in the morning on a super humid day, which means lots of sweat. I didn’t feel like struggling out of those sweaty clothes knowing I’d either have to wear some new workout clothes or get back into them later . . . so I stayed in them a few hours, until I’d finished my strength training and some yoga.
Good thing there was no one around me to be grossed out by it!
I runfess . . . I wimped out and decided to run on the treadmill on a humid, rainy day that actually turned out to not be all that rainy. I can’t tell you the amount of times I went back and forth between I’ll run outside, I’ll run on the treadmill. It was quite the epic battle.
I runfess I probably would have run outside if I hadn’t misplaced my Garmin charger and my Garmin had very little charge. The charger is magnetic, which is great, except for the fact that it has a tendency to stick to metal objects. I know I’d charged it Friday before my long run, and dammit why didn’t I charge it back up after that run?
It was just an easy run, but how would I know when to run, when to walk? Or how far I’d gone? Not to mention I’d probably have to download an app so I could tell how far I’d run and I didn’t want to deal with that.
Mr. Judy had been complaining about the fact that I hadn’t yet tested out the treadmill after he fixed it again. So that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
I runfess . . . I normally don’t struggle with my weight as much during the summer, but this summer is different. Maybe it was all the travel and halfs. So knowing I only had a little wiggle room on my first of the month Weight Watchers weigh in to stay free for the month, I actually weighed several different dresses before I got dressed.
In the end I went with my lucky weigh in dress. Yes, I have one — basically, it’s the lightest dress I own. I will be heartbroken when it’s no longer wearable! In the end I could have worn something heavier, but I don’t have a scale at home and I wasn’t sure.
Everybody’s luck runs out sometime . . .
Do you sometimes overbook yourself?
How long would you stay in sweaty workout clothes?
What is the weirdest thing you’ve done to get a good weigh-in?
Wouldn’t you like to get some runfessions off your mind? Come join us
