I did it again...

...and it was still so hard.

I ran 25 minutes straight outside in the dark and cold. Once again, I think I overdressed. It was about 38 degrees (in philly... so give or take here) and I wore my wicking long sleeve tee, a fleece, fleece hat and fleece gloves... my head and hands were way way too hot...

Next time, maybe just the headband?

I spent 26 minutes in my heart rate zone with an average of 145 BM ( Yeah!) and the highest BPM at 173 ( yeah again!) Training with HR monitor is the best thing ever.

Well, I felt so good after the run/shuffle, I am going to look for some NY day 5Ks... maybe just to taste the race for a bit.


Hmm... might be too much...

I hate teenagers with "entitlement" issues

I was driving down the main road in my development the other night. It was getting dark, and there was a big SUV in front of me. Two teenage girls on cell phones were walking on the side of the road in the same direction as me and the driver of the SUV.

One of the girls pushed the other in front of the SUV. The driver swerved the car... and the girls began laughing hysterically. I guess it was my turn because the other girl then pushed the other in front of my car causing me to swerve. Both were still laughing on their cell phones.

I pulled over, yelled something completely immature and drove away... in fury.

This is just one example of things I see with teenagers and children... Where did teenagers get this attitude?

Simple, bad parenting from people who, had I gone to high school with them, I would have hated.

I am going to get slammed for this.. but whatever...and I am not talking about kids who have special challenges like autistic spectrum disorders... I am very sensitive to that, but for everyone else...

I think a lot of parents today are being bullied by their kids i.e. trained to ensure every child feels "special" and "right" and never "bad" just perhaps a child who makes "bad choices."

And, trained to think their child is:
1. always right
2. needs a cell phone
3. should drive a better car than themselves
4. need to wear name brand everything

And their parents are paying for everything.

Honestly, am I the only person that thinks kids today are getting too coddled? I feel like we're raising a society of uber-sensitive, under-achieving, "entitled" brats. We're raising a bunch of pu$$ies.

I'm not getting into a whole "when I was younger, we had to..." kind of thing. But honestly, I didn't treat strangers the way I see some kids treating people. I might have had pink hair, worn combat boots and crazy clothing, but I was a nice kid who worked hard and never assumed I could get anything I wanted.

So, I decided that when we have kids we are going to move to the country, like on 13 acres of land, and never our kids come in contact with a$$holes in the 'hood.

I'm going to be the bad cop.

I didn't think I would make it...

It was warmer than usual. Balmy for a late December morning... I geared up in my dry wicking long sleeve tee, paired with a long sleeve tee to layer. It was too hot.

Today was the last day of my week six for the Couch to 5K program and I seriously didn't think I could do the 25 minutes of non-stop running. Actually, in my case, it was more like shuffling than running.

I am so slow. Like, freakishly slow.

I tried to keep my heart rate in the 165 BPM area. That's the place I feel most comfortable, like I could go for a long time at that HR... so every time I noticed I was getting out of that zone, I would slow my pace...

I don't know exactly how fast I was going... err... slow I was going, but it felt slower than normal. I am going to chalk this run up to overdressing and being overheated.

I much prefer the brisk, cold, air to run.

BUT... I did it. I wanted to stop, I wanted to walk, but I kept "running" and after 25 minutes... I was complete! I have NEVER done that before... so, I was pretty freaking happy.

AND... I need to lose more of this junk in the trunk. I need to be serious because there is no way I am ever going to get faster carrying this extra... luggage in the caboose!

Dear Robert Ullery,

You know I love you, but when you tell "Now it's tome to run" I tend to whine out loud. Not because I am mad at you, but because I am tired. And in this second day of week 6 Couch to 5K training... well, I get a little fiesty.

See, not all of us live in "Northern California" and have time to create podcast after podcast. It's nice you are an "artist, sculpter and painter" or whatever you are, because I am sure you can run whenever you want. However, for me, a girl living in the Northest with it's cold, rainy and dark winter, I need to get my runs in at 5 am.

And, as a girl who teaches two spinning classes on two consecutive days at 6 pm, getting up early the day after can be a bit of a challenge.

And boy, that heart rate monitor strap is cold in the morning!

Sadly for you and your chipper voice, this means I tend to yell out loud.

But I appreciate your podcasts, the time you took to make them, mix the music and invite us to e mail you with feedback. Unfortunately, the feedback I am most inclined to give could make you upset, so I will refrain.

Thank you, Robert. I will try not to curse at you too much anymore. But if I do, please don;t take it too personally.

I love the little Lehigh...

Christmas eve was beautiful. A cold front came in, but it was brisk, not super windy and very sunny. We were in Bethlehem, so I took advantage of beginning week 6 of Couch to 5K in my brand new, super fitted running shoes, at the Little Lehigh Parkway in Allentown.

Dad didn't think anyone would be out there to run..."Not on Christmas eve" he said, but I knew there would be a ton of people out and about... and there were!

I forgot how nice runners are and how much I enjoy running when there is other people around. Everyone smiles, waves, gives you that little head nod. It makes me feel more accepted or something...

Anyway. It was a great first Christmas as a "Mrs."

I did it!

I ran 20 minutes non-stop, outside on hills, in the cold... slowly... but I did it!

AND, i got real running shoes. I was fit properly, and got inserts to compensate for my high arches, which were a problem... Hurrah! Hopefully, it will make my knee feel better :)

Monday, Christmas eve, I am looking forward to doing Day one of week 6 of Couth to 5K back in the Valley... Hurrah!

hahahaha!

I'm supposed to run 20 minutes without stopping tomorrow morning... outside!

Blah! haha!

On a more serious note, I think something is changing because yesterday morning on my way into the office, I thought to myself, "Wow, I missed my morning run today." Not because I literally missed it, like I overslept, I missed it because I wasn't scheduled to do it.

I love my new AM workout morning routine. And I love knowing I can just walk out of my door and start it. I don;t have to go to the gym and wait for it to open, arrange my treadmill, water bottle, towel, find something on the television... I just do it!

In the cold, no less!

Dear knee....

Why do you hate me so much? I can hear your anger with every crunch you make when I extend my leg or go up stairs. I never did anything to you. Sure, I've called you fat, but you didn't think I was serious, did you?

This blip in our relationship has me vey, very sad.

Last year, I saw an orthopedic specialist, he said you looked great... He called you a "runners knee" and gave me some stretches to do. But I wasn't even running! he should have called you "Spinner's knee." I am so sorry for that.

Now, you are yelling at me again and really have me worried. But it seems as though you've ganged up with quadricep, hamstring and hip flexor. Please don't let them talk you into doing something you'll regret..

You feel so good when I run. I was even in the "zone" this morning... when I felt like I could keep running at that pace for hours. it felt awesome! Maybe I don't thank you enough...

This time it will be different, I promise. I am going to get fitted for real shoes, start taking yoga classes for deeper stretching and keep icing/stretching after exercise.

Let's not do this... not now... I need you, knee. More than ever.

Love,

Erica

Why do I get up at 5 am...

to be outside in the bone chilling wind to train?

The stars.

After a cloudy, rainy past two weeks, I got outside and about 20 minutes into my 30 minute training session I looked up and saw a clear, dark sky that stretched forever spotted with tiny specks of light.

It was beautiful and reminded me that it's not so bad to haul my bum out of bed at 5 am.

Week 5 of Counch to 5K program today! 3, 5 minute runs divided by recovery walks of 3 minutes each.

It felt awesome!

Why do I have so much crap?

I am trying to clean out everything as if I was moving and I could only take the necessary stuff. Like, do I need empty boxes of perfumes I bought? How about sencted candles I've had for three years and never burned? Yeah, okay, that makes sense.

What am I thinking with all this crap I'm schlepping all over. I know what it is, I haven't moved in a while. Like you know when you move from place to place, you end up tossing a lot of stuff when you pack and what not? College is great for that.

In fact, I think as young adults, everyone should go away to college, live in a 9x12foot space and be forced to eliminate junk as necessary.

In my running world.... I bought some cold weather gear like a balaclava

not to be confused with the tasty pastry "baklava"



So, now, I look like a very slow running ninja when I run. Lovely!

My first pre-dawn run....

...again, using the term "run" loosely...

Today I began week three of my "Couch to 5K" program. This week, we do longer running intervals with shorter recovery times. It was cold, it was damp, and it was dark, but after a brief run in with a opossum, I was ready to go.

Maybe it was because the intervals of running and resting were longer, but it felt like I was done with the run in no time. I literally thought "Wow, that was short and painless."

I was also entirely way too hot by the end of the brief workout. How the hell do you balance hot/cold in the winter? I tried to layer, but still was so warm...

This week I'm off to a real running shop to get some fab new cold-weather gear- yahoo!

Things I don't really want to do on a Saturday morning...

1. Run outside in 30 degree weather? check.

2. Feel it necessary to blow snot rickets out of my drippy nose? check.

3. Layer with things other than warm, toasty blankets? check. 

Saturday mornings are the day I take the training to the outside elements. 

It is December 1. 

It is cold.

I am wearing a ridiculous blue, fleece cap with a little fuzzy ball at the top. I feel ridiculous, but when I stop running, I feel insanely good. 

I will be starting week 3 of my "Couch to 5K" training program, which is designed to take non-runners and turn them into brilliant, running machines that can run a 5K. 

That would be great, but ultimately, I am running a 1/2 marathon in April, so my couch to 5K is just a step in the process...sigh. 

Someone suggested I write during my training, so here I am...