running gear | Running the Windy City

Happy Friday guys! I hope it’s warm and sunny wherever you are today, we’re experiencing rain and chilly weather in Chicago

When I woke up this morning and had no pain in my heel, I was ecstatic. Yeah my heel felt a little tender but the dull pain was gone. I got dressed for the gym, grabbed my iPod, and left the apartment in a great mood. Maybe my injury wasn’t an injury after all? Unfortunately, I started to notice my heel within the first mile. It didn’t really hurt yet but I could feel it, and then the pain started during the last mile of my 4 mile run. Again, nothing sharp or excruciating, just a dull pain, almost like a bruise.

Boo, I guess my heel pain isn’t gone yet (obviously patience is not one of my virtues ).

Not wanting to wrap up working out quite yet, I finished by biking on the recline bike (my butt hurts too bad from being on the upright one yesterday). I set the level to 8 and peddled away for 15 minutes and I have to admit I broke a nice sweat.

Anyway, I am glad that I’ve seen some progress with my heel, but that fact that it hurt more during/after running is a red flag. I’ve decided to take tomorrow completely off from running and cap my running on Sunday to 3 miles (I’ll put a new workout schedule at the bottom of this post). I’m hoping that not running tomorrow, drastically cutting back on Sunday, and taking Monday off will help. In the meanwhile, I’ve switched over to wearing comfy shoes all the time (tennis shoes, toms). I even brought a pair of toms with me today to change into at school/work because it was too wet out to wear them during my commute.

I’ve also decided that some running retail therapy is quite necessary, not only to boost my spirits but because honestly guys, I haven’t bought new running gear in years. My shorts are starting to fray, everything looks really overworn, and the apartment clothes dryers are shrinking all of my tanktops! I’m looking into buying a nice pair of shorts and at tanktop. I love this top but am clueless about lululemon shorts, any suggestions?

Breakfast
After my workout this morning, I enjoyed a big bowl of cereal.

I had about 1/2 cup Multi-grain O’s, 1/2 cup Toasted Oatmeal Flakes, 1/2 a banana, walnuts, chia seeds, unsweetened almond milk, and sunflower seed butter.

It was amazing. I make a mean bowl of cereal

Lunch
I had class this morning and then went to work right after, so lunch was eaten at my desk. I had one of my favorite salads: spinach, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted potatoes, and half of a soy sausage topped with tahini and bbq sauce.

And some of these “chips”.

The beet chips are just okay. The first time I had them I really didn’t like them but today they didn’t seem too bad. I think I should have bought the carrot kind instead…

I also packed the last breakfast cookie for a mid-afternoon snack.

I’m so sad to see them go!

And here’s my new workout plan:

Second Revised Workout Plan
Saturday- swim + yoga
Sunday- swim+ cycling class + mini-run (tentative)
Monday- off

What are your weekend plans?

Good morning! I just got back from a tough 10 mile training run. My mind and my body were not in sync. Does this ever happen to you? I still pushed my pace (finished in 1:16 averaging a 7:40 min/mile) but my head was just not in it.

I realized this morning just how much longer it takes to get ready to run outside in the winter as compared to the summer. I’m a grab-and-go runner so when it’s warm outside, I can wake up, get changed, grab a snack, and be out the door in 5-10 minutes. In the winter it takes more like 15-20 minutes. I thought it would be interesting to post all of my “must-have” winter running gear to see what you think.

First, my shoe pouch. It holds my keys and also sometimes my CTA pass (public transit, in case something happens and I can’t run home). This is really an all-weather thing.

Second, my Garmin (duh )

Third, warm pants. When it’s really cold or windy I wear fleece lined pants like these (Brooks brand).

Fourth, sweat-wicking base-layer. If it’s super cold out I’ll even through underarmor under this layer.

Fifth, ear and hand protection. My gloves actually have “wind shields” that transform the gloves into mittens when it’s frigid outside. When it’s not as cold, they can be stored in a little pouch on the top of the glove. Pretty fancy right?

Six, a running jacket. Mine is wind resistant and warm but it is also light weight (important for running longer distances). It usually does the trick on its own but I’ve been known to throw another sweatshirt on top of it when running in 20 degree or below weather.

Seven, my ipod.

See, it is a lot of stuff! Especially when you’re trying to gauge just how cold it is outside. Short-sleeve sweat-wicking shirt vs. long-sleeves? Lined pants vs. tights? It can be very time consuming!

What are your winter running essentials? Did I forget anything?

On the food front, I gave myself a break from homework last night to do a little baking. Unfortunately, one of my projects quickly took a turn for the worse and turned into more of a headache than a stress-reliever.