Good, Better, Best

I've heard myself spew a lot of negatives lately and I'd like to change that. "I can" will be replacing "maybe," "we'll see," "if I'm ready,"...on and on. Enough of that..

And in the spirit of accountability, I'm instituting a weekly Wednesday update much like Bolder's "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" but with this positive twist I'm trying to embrace...rather than dwell on the bad and the ugly, we'll just call the ugly the good, the bad:better, and the good:best. That way there are no negatives...only degrees of good...and there will be warm feelings all around by ending with the best...here goes:

The Good
On Monday I waited patiently at the computer for 9AM EST to roll around so that I wouldn't miss registration for the 15th Annual Covered Bridges Half Marathon next June. At 9:01 I logged into Active.com and registered, no problem - this race filled in a few hours last year...so now I've got to start my run training for real since the race is officially on the calendar. I've planned out all my running from now until the race and it's doable..slow increases with every 4th week being a back off week and lots of swimming and cross training mixed in. No problem...

Well, I missed the Monday 2 mi. run because...well...just because...so I was determined to not miss today's run. But my new job has made it so that lunchtime workouts aren't possible (yet) and I was pretty sure I wouldn't do it if I waited until after work...so the only option was 5:30 am. In. The. Dark. UGH! Not only dark but 5 degrees BELOW zero. I pulled a rookie move and didn't dress well - you'd think after 10 winters I'd have an idea but you should know this is my VERY FIRST early morning run in the winter, EVER. Forgot the neck warmer and couldn't feel my face for the first 15 mintues. Lesson learned. And I felt a little like I'd never run before in my life. Things can only get better...

Better
Now that we've moved down into town from off the mountain, I realized this morning that the route I run on is totally lighted the whole way with street lights! And the brightest ones are at good intervals so I can check my time and HR as I go by. Cool. There was no wind and NO ONE out on the road so it was peaceful and quiet. I was perfectly layered on top and had a warm head, hands and feet. BUT, aside from my face, my legs were FREEZING!! I'm pretty sure the folks at Title 9 Sports owe me a cup of cocoa as their Wisconsin Winter Training Pant certainly needs another layer under it when it's 5 below. After the first 15 mintues, my face thawed and I found a groove. The second 15 mintues was much more pleasant and 2+ miles were completed without much fanfare. YAY!

Best
My first morning winter run in the dark is behind me!! AND: IT. WAS. AMAZING!! The stars were beautiful, I could see the outlines of the mountains and it was so quiet and peaceful. It wasn't anywhere near as unpleasant as I expected and I felt like a rockstar for being the only one out there brave enough to be out there. I'm tempted to go again on Friday but it's not in the plan and I want to savor it a bit...make it a treat to go every Wednesday morning and keep myself looking forward to it. It was such a positive experience that I want to keep it special for awhile. It's great to look forward to a workout. And I've finally caught up on my sleep so when the alarm went off at 5:30, I was ready to go. And I had time for a hot, healthy breakfast that will hopefully start me on my way to Skinnypantsville. It's nice to not rush thru the morning. And now, as I sit at my cozy little desk with the sun streaming thru my window, I can relax guilt free because day one of the half marathon plan is behind me. YEEEEEHAAWWW!! Thank the goddess..

OK, so what do you cold weather runners wear? I'm especially interested in the lower body clothing (tights? polypro? somthing with low bulk..) as well as socks and mittens/gloves. My hands were warm today in my polar fleece mittens but they were pretty soggy by the end of the half hour. Once I work up to 1 hr. plus, soggy hands aren't going to fly. And does anyone have any good suggestions for face covering? It's a fine balance between warm and dry and sweating (which ususally equals soaking...) Trimama, Shelley, Julie Berg and Phil...I'm counting on you guys for some good advice!!

Later...