Running Streak - Days 11 and 12

Day 12

On day 9, when I said that I caught the last bit of sunshine, I didn't think it was for the week.  Today was a great day running-wise, but an ugly day weather-wise: dropping temperatures, sideways rain.  All of the fair-weather folks stayed inside.  Apart from the few hard-core walkers and runners who were out today, it felt like I had the paths and sidewalks to myself.  I like getting out when the weather is a bit nasty, but it takes away any future weather-related excuses I may dream up for not going out in the future.

The route around the bridges (Portage and Alexandra) is my favourite for a lunchtime run.  There are very few flats and a lot of turns, which makes for a good workout and makes the time pass quickly.  What makes it ideal for me is that I can squeeze in a run around the bridges, including changing into running stuff, showering and getting back into respectable clothes, in just under an hour.

I'm noticing now that the tiredness I was experiencing during the day is disappearing, but I need more sleep at night - no more late night TV.  I am also seeing an increase in appetite.  I will need to monitor that closely.  I'm not burning enough calories to justify eating what I want, but I definitely feel like eating more.  A good thing is that mentally I do not want to start putting bad food into my body because I know that it will negate any benefits from increasing my activity level.  I need the physical cravings for candy and pastry to go away.

Day 11

Dark + rainy + windy = awesome.  I felt great today.  I ran at 1:00PM, but it looked like 5:30PM.  When I checked the forecast before work, I was preparing for 9C and raining.  By the time I was able to get out for the run it was 6C (feeling like 2C) with a cold north wind, and rain.  Fortunately, I keep a jacket and Gore Tex ball cap for such eventualities.  A jacket and long sleeve tech shirt was ideal; the shorts I brought made for a breezy run, but I was fine once I warmed up. 

I could only afford to get for 25 minutes because I had meetings bookending a short lunch hour.  I'm really pleased with how quickly the TomTom connects with the GPS satellites; it was nearly instant, even when surrounded by buildings.  If I was wearing my one of my Garmins, between the slowness of the device itself and the weather conditions) I would have been waiting in front of West Block (the most open area close by) for up to 5 minutes.  The run itself was great.  I really wanted to go longer.