I Work Out!

Yesterday was the first day of the running club and I had all kinds of nervous energy about it. I hadn't run outdoors in the winter since who-knows-when and I recall it always feeling like daggers when I inhaled the cold air and little bits of snow would sneak attack my eyeballs. Not only have I not run in the winter but I haven't been running in quite some time. Some may recall this incident...

We were wearing the costumes and we stopped for water every chance we got, and we finished in 45 minutes, 45! Couldn't say I was too down on myself though, we had a great time and I barely trained for it (and by barely I mean not at all).

So last night I met up with Running Buddy, a great friend that I ran cross country and track with in high school, who also moved to Chicago just before I did. We decided that there was no better time to start than on the most freezing day of January so we introduced ourselves to the heads of the group and made sure they knew that this was our first time in a long time. Although I'm sure I didn't have to tell them, there were a few clues.

The first of which is that I don't have running shoes. I left my only pair in Ohio and so I had to choose from my butt toning shoes with the rip in the bottom or my polka dotted lunar shoes from working at the zoo. I chose the butt tone shoes in hopes of a better work out.

Clue number 2 was my lack of high tech running gear. If you want to run around the city in the middle of winter, you have to be a little bit crazy. But to combat that notion of crazy you have to invest in some pretty tip top running gear involving compression leggings, dry fit thermals, and reflective jackets to keep you safe and help you feel like you're in Tron when you're blazing down the path way. I would have all of these things were I employed, but since I'm not I wore old navy leggings with target cotton shorts over top, an old running t-shirt, my college sweatshirt and my ear flap hat sent to me by the zoo. My logic was that running was supposed to be a cheap sport. I feel that trainers in magazines say "don't get a gym membership! Just put your tennis shoes on and go for a run!"  

After the run I felt very fulfilled, just as I had imagined, and my nervousness was quelled. We were by no means the best runners there, but I felt a sense of accomplishment and drive to keep going and train for 5ks and half marathons. Today we're going to take a break (I need to rest my tired glutes, thank you shoes!) But we'll be back for some more winter craziness...maybe tomorrow.

Anyone else in the Chicago area want to come run with us?