Runnin' like Michael Jackson

Over the past few days, I've experienced the whole gamut of emotions. Getting ready for the Jingle Bell Run on Saturday, I foolishly tucked one of my gloves under my arm so that I could set up my phone to record the run. These gloves were a Christmas gift from my brother and I absolutely love them. I always used to have ice cube hands when I ran in the morning, fall or winter. Since these gloves and I have become running partners, frosty fingers have not been a problem.

Before starting a run, I usually place one glove safely in the pocket of my jacket while I press the tiny phone buttons, but before this one, I was talking to another runner and wasn't paying much attention to what I was doing. After the run got started, I reached into the pocket looking for the glove, and it wasn't there! I had dropped it as soon as I started to stride into the run. I assumed that one of the other runners or more likely one of the walkers would pick it up and turn it in at the finish (no one wants a single glove), so I didn't go back for it and continued the race with one glove and one frigid hand.

After everyone had finished the race and we'd done a little raffle, the guy running everything asked if anyone had found a glove. No one said that they had, but one guy said that he had seen one right at the beginning of the race. I must have looked for my wayward glove in the biting wind and snow for thirty minutes to no avail. It had completely deserted me.

While I was in the gym, the race organizer called me and left a voice mail that he had found a glove after I had left. Some good Samaritan had left it on the crank to his trailer and he noticed it there when he hooked it to his truck. When I got the message, I was ecstatic. My glove would be recovered. I gratefully picked up a stray glove from his house later that day.

After work today, I came home and got all suited up for a short run, excited to run with my lost-and-found glove. It was very cold and there was about two inches of fluffy, white snow on the ground. I took special care to put my reclaimed glove in my pocket so that I could start the phone recording without fear of losing it again. I started running and reached into the pocket to get the glove and put it over my already freezing hand. It wouldn't go on my right hand; it was a left-handed glove! The glove I had picked up, thinking it was my own, is a nearly identical women's Manzella Windstopper glove. A woman had also lost a glove at the beginning of the race and it just happened to be the same brand and model as mine. Since there were only about 20-25 runners/walkers, this coincidence is almost too much to believe. I'm going to have to call the race organizer back and see if he can assist in reuniting two wayward gloves with their cold-fingered owners.

A Day Off

I've been lifting pretty regularly and heavily for the last several weeks. I'm seeing a lot of the muscle mass that I lost in the last three years come back pretty quickly, although it's hard to both run and lift and keep up with all the other stuff I like or have to do. A coworker told me about the Jingle Bell Run on Thursday this week. I decided to go ahead and run it on Saturday. I felt slow and heavy for the last two miles and finished a lot slower than I think I should have. I don't know if that's because of all the lifting or because it was snowy, windy and cold out or what. It was still fun to get out and run with other people. We all had to wear bells on our shoes and they had hot chocolate at the aid stations.

I went to the gym right after running and further wore myself out. Thus, I figured that doing nothing was in order for today, and it was wonderful. Next week is the third week of the hypertrophy phase, which is supposed to be a very intense week. I don't know if I can do more than I did last week, but I'll give it a go. The following week is an easy week, so I'll have plenty of time to recover.

I hate it when a plan doesn't come together

I made it to the gym again on Thursday morning for another hypertrophy workout. I saw another co-worker there. This time it was a guy who had pneumonia about two weeks ago and is also near the age of 50. It's a real sign of the benefits of keeping in shape that he was able to be back in the gym so soon. I hope I'll be in that kind of condition in twenty years.

Friday was my day off. When I say day off, I mean it. I spent pretty much the whole day in bed and playing video games. Sometimes being lazy just feels too good.

I had kind of a gut ache all morning today, so I couldn't get to the gym early like I had intended. Somehow I got into my head that my club was open till 7 pm on Saturdays, so I did some things around the house and then went to the grocery store. I got to the gym at 4:30, all excited for a couple hours of working out. Just as I was putting my stuff in a locker, they made an announcement that the club would be closing in thirty minutes. Sometimes I can be a real bonehead. I really miss the 24-hour Fitness I used to work out at in Spokane.

So, instead of the weights, I hit the road. Not the best weather for it, unfortunately, but I'd better get used to that. The wind-proof clothes I spent all that money kick some major butt! I don't know what I ever did without them. Oh yeah, I took most of the cold weather months off.