Running Chick

I haven't yapped about running lately because there's not really anything to yap about.

It's been nasty cold so I've been doing my miles at the gym (except for today...see below) and there's nothing exciting about running on the dreadmill.  Thank goodness for podcasts and audio books because they're the only things that keep me sane when I'm running on that awful machine.

I'm currently listening to The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan, although it's a bit dry for the dreadmill.  I typically like something fast-paced and upbeat, which is why my other favorite is "Ask the Answer Bitch".  30-ish minutes of bitchy answers to many questions on hollywood gossip and rumors.  It's pure brain popcorn, but it makes the time go by faster than my audio book.

It was not sub-zero today, so I got to do my last run of the week outside. Well, I guess it was nice until the freezing rain started. That was unpleasant. I also miscalculated my route and my run ended a bit farther from my house than I expected, so I ended up running an additional half-mile to get me closer to home and out of the rain sooner. When I got home I did an hour of weights and yoga.

Which is good because I still have a lot of birthday cake to polish off.

Have I mentioned that I hate running on the treadmill?  That's what I've been doing this week while Mother Nature tries to remember that we're not Antarctica.  Since Tuesday, high temperatures have been anywhere between 0 and 5, while the lows have been, well, low.

 Here's what thermometer on my car said last night around 7pm

It did say -11 at one point, but I didn't think to take a picture.

So, Tuesday and Wednesday I logged my boring and dull miles on the dreadmill at the local fitness center.  My runs were uneventful, except when I accidentally snagged the cord for my headphones with my hand, which sent my iPhone flying through the air to come down with a very loud bang on the mental front of the treadmill and caused everybody in the gym to stop what they were doing and look at me. Whoopsie!

Thursday morning I rolled out bed, took my first steps and immediately felt like I stepped on a sharp stone with my left heel.  Throughout the day, the pain got progressively worse until I could barely put weight on my left foot.  I was really concerned that it was plantar fasciitis, and I guess I'm unconvinced that it's not, but it seems to be getting a lot better as time goes on.  Yesterday it was about 50% better.  Today it's about 80% better and I'm walking without a limp.  There's still some pain there, but it's not the piercing pain that it was on Thursday.  I was supposed to run 3 miles today, but I decided to skip that.  I'm hoping to do some snowshoeing in Eagle Harbor tomorrow and test out the new gaiters I bought.  As long as my heel is agreeable.

I'm contemplating buying a new digital camera.  The one I have now is about 7 years old and it's pretty beat up.  I dropped it in my driveway a couple of years ago and the display got all distorted and fuzzy and sometimes that trickles into the photos.  It's also big and bulky when compared with today's cameras.  I'd really like to get something that's small enough to easily slip into my pocket or purse so I can take it with me all the time.  I've got my eye on the Olympus FE-330.  It's very light and compact and has all sorts of neat functions like digital image stabalization which is cool because I can't seem to take a picture that's not blurry.  It also gets Josh's stamp of approval in the resolution and optical zoom department.  I don't really know beans about that stuff, so it's always good when Josh approves.