fitness: I'm Gonna Put on my Workout Clothes

This is what I told myself this morning to make sure that I would workout in some way.  

"I'm gonna put on my workout clothes and see what happens."  Sometimes I need a little push with fitness (sometimes it is a gigantic push).  I've been out of my normal routine, with my trip to New York for a wedding, my best friend braving the cold Chicago temperatures to come visit me right after, and all the while having a huge life decision to make.  All are wonderful things, but they don't help my exercise routine.  There is also the looming forecast of freaking cold temps arriving tomorrow and Thursday.  "Freaking cold" isn't yet used by the National Weather Service, but I think it might catch on.  

I dressed for running, apologized to my dog for leaving him behind, and stepped out into the ever-changing and perpetually cold day.  Early this morning it was cloudy, then snowing, the snow stopped, gloriously the sun came out, crap it's cloudy again.  By this point it was hovering between cloudy and sunny, and all throughout were the letters C-O-L-D.  It was one of those days where running is possible, but breathing is a labor.  It was 18 degrees, windchill 5 degrees.  Ouch.  But as I kept reminding myself, it is going to be worse tomorrow, so you have to go.  I did a warm-up walk, ran my 2 miles, cooled down walking and finally made Gabriel's afternoon by talking him for his walk, complete with doggy coat and doggy boots.  

I made a workout treat (post coming tomorrow!) after I stretched and surprise, surprise: I felt so much better.  Bodily, mentally, I was inspired for the day and the week.  All to do with a little jog.

After my workout, I was inspired to post about winter workout clothing, since this outfit was literally my motivation to run today.  In psychology, there is something called "state dependent" learning, meaning that one remembers information based on the state of how it was learned.  If you study in a quiet environment drinking lemonade, you will best recall the information in a quiet environment drinking lemonade.  So I thought that wearing my workout outfit would help me recall the glory that is running in winter.  Ha, but humor aside, knowing the right gear to wear can really help with self motivation.

I have been focusing on layering and wearing adaptable clothing and accessories.

This translates into running or yoga pants over fleece-lined leggings or base layer pants on bottom.  For the top, I start with a tank and hoodie (or just long-sleeved shirt) and a zippered soft shell with a hood and high neck.  The ability to unzip and vent as you go is key.  I usually wear the hood before I start, then I will shed the hood and sometimes also the high neck as I need, but I wear a beanie the whole time.  I wear running shoes (I love Asics) and if I am worried about getting snow on my pant legs, I will occasionally add leg warmers.  They are more than just accessories.  My hands are always cold, so I start with running gloves.  If I need to take them off, I can stash them in the, ahem, zippered pockets of the soft shell.  I haven't honestly found much of a difference between wearing wool socks and just normal ones, so you are on your own with that one.

If I were going on a long walk, this outfit would not suffice.  Dressing as if it were 20-30 degrees warmer is important, because too much layering and you have sweat that will quickly chill you to the bone.  

Now, do I sporadically see people in capris or shorts?  Yes.  And I shudder at the damage they are doing to their skin.  

fitness: The Early Adventures of Winter Running

I love to run.  Do you?  Well, I do.

This little phrase was how I would always start my first grade writing entries.  Do you like pizza?  Well, I do.  Early on, I had quite a polar way of thinking about the aspects of my life, my likes and dislikes, thinking they would never change.  Some have not changed: I still like pizza.  I LOVE pizza.  I've been thinking constantly about the fact that my husband and I will be having pizza for date night tonight (slightly pathetic, I know).  Though what I didn't know in first grade was how my interests would open up as I matured and some things that I detested would no longer be repulsive, but delightful.

All throughout school, I absolutely hated to run.  When we would have to do laps on the race track in junior high, I would dread going to P.E.  In high school, when we were required to do physical testing in all exercise classes, which horribly included dance, it would seem like the worst two weeks ever.  I wasn't fast, I didn't have the oxygen capacity since I never tried to work on it, so the exercise was as unpleasant as it could possibly be.

However, I made a decision some time during college that I wanted to start running.  I think maybe I thought that running would be a more intense workout that I needed (so true!), but I can't truly pinpoint the reason, especially since it was a form of exercise that I had avoided for so long and just assumed I would never, ever enjoy doing.  Such caustic thinking building obstacles in my way!

It was not easy to start running, believe me on that one, and it is still difficult when I go back to it after taking breaks for whatever reason.  I am also not training for the Olympics: I basically run two to three miles, at an even pace, and that's it.  But, it continues to be one of the most invigorating and rewarding types of working out that I have yet experienced.  It is so freeing to be able to be your own medium of transportation, flying through your surroundings, eating up the pavement.  It is also one of the best totally free activities in life, perfect for a Culture Thrift!

But under fifty degrees?!  Under forty?  Under twenty and in snow?!?

Knowing I was moving to Chicagoland, I pretty instantly wrote off running in the winter.  My husband was already planning to bike all through the winter wonderland... and I was planning on how I could reasonably hibernate and how much extra blubber to add under my fur coat.  Starting to bike also helped and encouraged me, but after a chilly run in the fifties, I had had enough of running and I quit in October.  Again, my "Do you like running in winter? Well, I don't" was taking over.  I was quickly starting to suffer from lack of movement however, which is something I know to my core that I need, therefore I started thinking about running again.  A couple weeks in to January and my husband and I had separately imagined the idea of trying out running for date night and brought it up to each other.  We went and we made it!  After twenty minutes deciding what to wear before the run, many slippery close-calls and slowing down to a walk at times, we did our victory high five and considered it a victory.  This win being that we challenged ourselves and accomplished a workout, not that we were amazing winter athletes.

Since our date night run, I have gone for two others, learning little things from each exertion, even dreaming up some ideas and inspirations for writing.  I plan on creating a post for tips for winter running, including how to dress, how to move, and a positive mindset to have while starting.  I would love to hear any stories or comments you have about continuing exercise in the winter elements!

I know there will be days that running is absolutely impossible, either because there are two feet of snow on the sidewalk or because there are two feel of snow in my soul, but I am thankful to have running in my life.