A4bats

5.2.12

Wordless Weekend - Old School Edition

I had to look through basically every photo I've ever taken for some photos of my grandma (for a 90th birthday party) and found some other gems. Enjoy!

1.2.12

Wordless Wednesday - Running Music edition

I've had a couple good runs and workouts this week and some great music along the way. Usually I like music with words so I can sing along, or at least distract myself with the lyrics. I have had a few great songs that were entirely instrumental (that means "no words") over the years. Here's some of the best:

Above - Blue Man Group. I remember running around the track at the YWCA to this one, back when I was all emotionally prepared to do such things.
Rodes and Cones - Blue Man Group. Once you go blue...
The Medallion Calls - Pirates of the Caribbean Soundtrack. I always feel like a bad ass when I run to this song.
He's a Pirate - Pirates of the Caribbean Soundtrack. Even more of a bad ass.
300 Violin Orchestra - Jorge Quintero and thanks to Nike for popularizing the heck out of this song.

31.1.12

Sunday Long Run - Running in the snow edition

As with last weekend, I totally meant to work out yesterday and slept all day instead. Although yesterday there was a sinus headache that wanted to be a migraine so sleep was the only option.

Today I woke up feeling much better. So great that I had pasta for breakfast! (The thing about living alone is I can do stuff like that.) I kept checking the weather and ultimately decided to man up for an outside run. (I just am not emotionally prepared for the gym right now.)

Around 1pm I headed out for a 'long run' which was more like an 'equipment test run' which had some WINS and FAILS. I did a little out and back with my iPod on the interval timer program and took the Camelbak along for the first time. Here's the route:

FAILS:

It's hard to take pictures with the iPod while it's all hooked up to my ear buds. Judge for yourself below.
Nutrition strategy: waiting until I feel so tired and hopeless I want to cry before taking nutrition is too long. Perhaps I could time my eating better to avoid the pit of despair feeling altogether.
Clothing: I need to wear my neck gator I think. The wind sucked. I also wish I had the gloves that I can keep on and still operate touchscreen devices. Otherwise I was fine.
Nutrition strategy part 2: Chomps go in a pocket or glove next to the body, not in the pack. In the pack they turn into chomps ice cubes that will surely break a tooth.
If I'd had my phone I probably would've done Fort Snelling but with the snow on the ground, I was a little iffy on the footing and what to expect on the hills back there.

WINS:

Camelbak: It was touch and go because I kept imagining it was leaking on me (not so) but I think it's basically more pleasant than wearing a hydration belt around my waist.
Interval timing program on my iPod - basic win. Towards the end of the run I figured out how to make the program turn down the music so I could hear the timer bells clearly. It has to do with the order of turning on the program and then music I think?
Clothing: I wore two pairs of socks (feet: never cold); two pairs of pants (legs: cold at one point when the wind was coming full on, otherwise fine); two shirts and a jacket (could've had a windproof jacket but it was dirty); hat (I love UnderArmour).
This whole "interval" thing, also known as the Galloway method is pretty fun and is providing a nice way of breaking up longer runs into manageable chunks. I move faster when I run and can focus on form more. Also, I never would've done a 9 miler today without the run/walk option so yeah for getting out there!

MUSIC from the run - some of my favorites from today's playlist include:

Queen - Under Pressure. I always think of the first episode of Studio 60 when I hear this song. Aaron Sorkin - I miss you and I wish you'd come back to television.
Eminem - Not Afriad this came at the end of the run when I particularly needed a song that would get me moving.
YeaSayer - ONE - one of the few bands Qat Lady and I can agree on.
Santana Feat Joss Stone and Pittbull - Cry Baby Cry, apparently I still want to be in Miami.

PHOTOS from the run - enjoy!

Looking out at Lake Hiawatha, one of my first "walk" intervals

Hello shadow!

Crazy shadows made my the fencing on the trail!

Looking out at the Mississippi River; over half way done.

This is how we do beaches in Minnesota. Go here to see what this looked like a few weeks ago.

At the end of the run.

29.1.12

Wordless weekends - running in an inch of snow

Not technically from the weekend: fun with phones at work!

Brrr: Boredom while waiting for my car to warm up.

In a Christmas Card; a friend drew this. I thought it was part of the card.

Testing out the Camelbak on a 'long' run.

Mississippi River: finally frozen over

At Lake Hiawatha

Ice for beginners: This is a baseball field they flood every winter. No worries about falling through the ice.

One last shot before the frostbite sets in!

27.1.12

Friday FUN RUN

Fridays since I don't work (WIN for me!) I usually meet Beth for a "late" run at 7:15.

Today both of us had a serious case of the blargs. That "I don't want to get up", "I don't feel like running", "Why can't I just stay in bed?" feeling. Thank goodness for mutual accountability because we both showed up and it turned out to be a gorgeous run. We couldn't figure out which route to take and ultimately Beth showed me a run I'd never done before but hope we do again all the time.

Part of the run is in a city park along the river. The path was covered in packed snow and the sun was shining off the river. Gorgeous! It was the only time all day that the sun was shining. Theme song for the run: Many the Miles - Sara Bareilles because it was playing on Pandora as I drove home.

I had a quite productive day today, including the run. I got my oil changed, got my hair cut (favorite thing ever), had a steak sandwich for lunch (still full at 9pm) and made chili which will last me for many lunches. Chili is basically this recipe minus the boca crumbles. And I put most of the beans and all of the tomatoes in a food processor before cooking so it's a much smoother chili than the one pictured. Yum.

23.1.12

Runner-sicle with a hint of frozen eyebrows

I totally meant to go for a run or a have an otherwise killer workout yesterday. I took four naps instead.

Today I woke up, ate breakfast and had my first (so far my only) nap of the day. Around noon I woke up in earnest and checked the weather. Everything said "freezing rain" except the radar was bare. And it was in the 20's.

See how it shows rain in those pictures? Now look at the radar below. There's no rain there. Who's right? Radar apparently is not capable of showing air so humid it's basically liquid.

Inside my head I thought:

I could go inside to the gym and do some sprints and then maybe get on a bike or row. But it's the gym. In January. It doesn't matter what time it is; it will be hell.
I could go outside and see Lake Harriet. It's cold and supposedly wet and I'll be out for a while so there's always the risk of frost bite. There will be no bathrooms and no water.

This is the worse game of "Would You Rather" ever.

Obviously I chose running outside because even hypothermia sounds better than braving the gym.

The whole "freezing rain" thing was mildly true. I think they really meant "it's so damn humid if you move you'll get condensation on you and then it will freeze" which turned out to be more true. I also failed to look at the direction of the wind and so ran around the cold side of the lake last. (When do we ever get wind from the east?)

It was a "long" run in the sense of "I'm running, it's cold and I'm out of shape" but basically a good time. I try not to look at my time when I run in the snow or on crap like this because I think it's discouraging and somewhat inaccurate. I had a couple of stops for street lights, pictures, and to get emotionally prepared to run up that last damn hill.

Lake Harriet - the wind blew the snow around so much I had a good view of the ice underneath. It was finally frozen solid and some people were walking on it but I didn't stop to play.

My Lake Harriet route along the other Greenway. (Everyone knows the first Minneapolis Greenway but no one has heard of the Greenway along 40th street. That's fine; more room for me.)

I have no idea why Nike+ thinks I ran 9.5 miles. Optimism. It was actually 7.4 miles or so. I've never bothered to calibrate the sensor but maybe I should try it some time.

When I got home much of me was frozen. The rain on my coat had actually frozen and formed a protective barrier against the wind. Awesome. The ice that condensed on my eyebrows was another story. (Totally need to pluck...)

Best songs from the run:

OneRepublic - Everybody Loves Me. I know; it's a theme song of sorts.
Fergie - Labels or Love I have no shame.
NeedToBreathe - Lay 'Em Down. This is a great song for longer runs with a controlled pace.
Tears For Fears - Break It Down Again. I have never not loved this song. As a kid I totally saved up for the Tears For Fears Cassette Tape of Elemental because of this song.