Chilly little run recap and all the holiday nasties!

   In an effort to get back into a "normal" running and cross-training routine now that the holidays have ended, I have now run or done a gym workout five days in a row.
   Getting back into that routine had its difficulties---we are in the middle of a cold snap, making the running part of it problematic and I realized once I had gotten back into the gym, just how much I'd forgotten!
   The machines at Goodlife Fitness all seemed pretty alien (though I'd been on them a couple of times before) and I found myself needing to take a quick peek at the instructions they post with each machine to remind myself just how to use it. I've been there twice this week, though, and thankfully I think I've got things figured out. There was one machine I was actually in the middle of climbing onto when I realized I was getting on to it backwards! Thank god no-one was looking (I hope....).
   In spite of doing my darnedest to get back in the saddle, I still have not dropped even a pound from what I put on over the holidays. Back at the beginning of December I was weighing in at 209. This morning I weighed in at 223! In one month! I think, though, that the weight will likely start to fall off quickly once I get back to work. I do front line work with people with developmental challenges and it's just not the kind of job where you can be sedentary for great stretches. The last two weeks I have actually been on holidays and have probably spent a little too much time sitting in a comfy chair with a laptop (and a snack...).


One of THESE dinners
was followed by...

...one of THESE kinds of dinners!

   Here are some of the culprits involved in my drastic weight gain this holiday season.
   And along the way there were (and still ARE) lots of bowls of THESE little culprits.
   And more bowls of THESE nasty little things.
  





All washed down by lots of THIS nasty stuff!



  
  
  
   This winter, the weather is much nastier than last. Huge amounts of snow and, lately, bone-chilling cold. I ran today and the temp was -15C, but felt like -25C. For you people in the States, this is 5F and -13F, respectively. And, as bad as that is, it's nowhere near some of the temps in the middle of the continent, regardless of nationality.
   A couple of days ago, I ran and the wind was so biting that less than a kilometer into the run I suddenly had tears streaming down my cheeks. Fortunately I was able to change direction and then decided to amend the route I'd chosen so that most of the wind would be at my back.
   Today was another run day and I managed to find some sort of balaclava thing I'd never seen before and this helped immensely. We'd had another couple of inches of snow overnight but the sidewalk had been plowed on our street (bonus) and on the other streets I simply avoided the sidewalks, waving cheerfully (and thankfully) to all the drivers who allowed me a little extra space on their roadway.
   About halfway through the run, though, I suddenly developed this pain in the back of my right knee which seemed to radiate around to the front. At this point I stopped and walked for slightly less than a kilometer and then, as suddenly as the pain arrived, it was gone again and I ran the last half K. It occurred to me that I have been hitting the gym on non-run days and doing a fair bit of legwork at the same time and may have just strained something. But, as I said, all was good at the end of today's run--no aches or pains and no frostbite! Off to the gym tomorrow!