Cold runnings

Today I FINALLY went for a longerish run (that's a technical term, longerish) of 8.76km with a friend of mine. Motivation levels are definitely not where I would like them to be. My excuses: it's cold out, it's dark, and I really like being at home. Well, maybe those are more like reasons than excuses. However, I've recommitted to myself that day-by-day, week-by-week, I am going to get into training more.

The other day I found all of the parts to my heart-rate monitor. All I need to do is change the battery in the watch and I'll be set to do some testing with my coach. The testing that we do will definitely help to keep me motivated. I love being competitive with myself.

On Friday, I used muscles by playing badminton that I never use in training for triathlons. I'm not sure if it's beneficial or not, but it sure was fun. I used to play competitively, so when I was challenged I had to take the challenge. The next day I could hardly walk. The main areas of soreness: butt, back, abs, calves, arm, shoulder, and neck. There is so much twisting, lunging, and side-to-side motion in badminton that is just not present in swimming, biking, or running. Triathlon is very "up-and-down" whereas badminton is very side-to-side. It was good, but now I'm super sore. I wonder if this would be good to incorporate into my cross-training... I'm not even sure that I need cross-training, but it might be fun to go and play badminton on Friday nights. I'll have to think about that.

Honestly, I think the only thing that kept me going the past couple of days is yoga. Without it, I think I would be in bed, unable to move. Instead, I stretch and do some breathing exercises and I feel way better. I can feel my body recovering faster from workouts because of it. I'm loving being a yogi triathlete.

Today's run was pretty good. It wasn't super cold out (the other day it was -25!!!), only around -11 degrees. The ground was a little slippery and I think I'm going to get those plastic spikes to put on the bottom of my running shoes. Last year I was pretty envious of the people who had them and I kept thinking "When I can afford those, I'm totally getting some!" and now I can! So I'm going to pick some up in the next couple of weeks. Last year I fell a couple of times on the snow and ice, so it'll be good to have a plan.

This week, I'm onto my coach's training plan. I still have to get some things in order: the bike computer on my bike (it measures cadence), my HR monitor, my wind trainer needs to come out of storage, cleats for my running shoes, and starting to use the gym near my work for workouts.