On A Postive Note

I spend a lot of time on here complaining. I actually do not find myself to be negative in general, but do use this blog as my outlet ... and it seems as though the stuff that I am trying to get out is generally the cranky, complaining, pessimistic stuff. That being said, I did find a positive thing about the fact that I have to run over mounds of snow, in freezing temperatures, while dodging black ice.

According to a blip in Time Out Chicago, when "jogging on a frosty, snowy day compared to a dry, temperate one" you burn as many as 1.6 times more calories. Since the average person burns about 100 calories per mile running, that means I'm burning 160 just because Chicago weather sucks so much.

See? I can blog about good things too.

Training Log
Time:26:13   Distance:2.52 mi   Pace:10:26
I knew I needed to up my mileage, but wasnt ready for the "big" numbers that this week asks for. I bumped up to 2 1/2 miles with a new route, and finally got to go out early (5PM) before the sun set! It wasnt far into the run when I was pretty sure I wasnt going to make it. I couldnt breathe, my legs hurt ... and I began to panic. How am I going to do an 8K in just a few weeks if 2.5 miles is so challenging?

I kept pushing myself not to walk, finding a little point ahead each turn that I could focus on and run towards. At one point I hit a pretty busy intersection and the light was red. THANK GOODNESS I COULD STOP! I prayed for a nice, long light. No luck, as soon as I stopped it went to green and I was off again. With my house almost in sight I hit another busy intersection, and was trying to rationalize why I should just walk home from the corner because of the traffic. As I hit the corner, I felt like Moses as the sea was parting. It was all clear. Again, I kept running.

I got home and checked Run Keeper. 10:26 pace? WHOOPS. The sad thing is, I was so tired during this run that at times I was running so slow I could have walked faster (seriously, Run Keeper logged me in at almost 14 minutes a mile at one point). So I am feeling a little better about myself now. I made it through 2.5 miles without stopping (though I prayed for reasons to stop) at a pace much faster than I could handle. I have to believe that had I run a more realistic pace that I would have easily completed this run ... and thats my goal for next time!