Winter Blues

It's happened, again.  Old fart winter (yes there is some disdain...keep reading) has reared his ugly head with ample snow, frigid temperatures, and oh-so wonderful driving conditions to/from work.  As a result, the winter training blues have grabbed hold and are doing their best to thwart my training efforts by enticing me with a warm bed, a comfy recliner, and re-runs of Family Guy.  As difficult as the training process is, it is further complicated (especially for me) by the fact that the first 2 months of the new year (for the most part) force training indoors.  Something you'll learn about me - I can't stand indoor training.  The rack (treadmill), and the torture wheel (trainer) have never been kind.  Even the fancy ones at the gym with a TV (where I can watch Family Guy) make me seasick to the point that I'd rather run into the nothingness with only my thoughts (OK thought). 

These facts give that little devil on my shoulder a little more pull than usual.  Come on - take the day off, sleep in, you've earned it, is that a cupcake??.  Alas, it seems every time 5am seems a little too early, my bike seat looks a little too hard, or I realize the treadmill hasn't magically been "misplaced" yet - I get that little e-mail notification that another kind soul has donated their hard earned $ to this cause.  I'm continually humbled by the generosity of others, and it keeps driving me on.  Thank you again to all who have donated thus far - I'm a little over 30% of my goal, and the season hasn't even "officially" kicked-off yet!!!

My training plan at this point is week-to-week, but nonetheless I haven't missed a session.  I'm now about 8lb down (which includes all of my holiday weight), I can finish P90x plyometrics without seeing spots, and I'm noticeably less winded during the workout warm-ups.

I did decide on Saturday that I (and more importantly Truman) had endured enough treadmill and deserved a break (no...not that stray cupcake).  We ventured outside to run the snow covered streets Rocky IV style.  Da-da dana-da-dana-da-dana-da...I was hoping to get chased by a Russian in a Mercedes (though I did almost get hit by an explorer - the driver looked French).  I threw on my hoodie, 2 pairs of socks, and shoes that have NO business being used as running shoes and hit the "mean" streets of Wildwood West.  Truman certainly shares my sentiment about indoor training, because he was smiling at me almost the entire time, I wish I had a camera.  Running in the snow is hard and probably a little dangerous, but sometimes unorthodox measures are the best means.  We got in about 4 miles that included a dead sprint up the steepest hill in the land to get a baseline of my maximum heart rate - 200bpm (Truman's pant rate got to 187 ppm...I still maintain I'm in better shape, but he has 4-wheel drive).

On another positive note - Jen has completed her last chemotherapy session, and survived both the "this SUCKS" phase and "no immune system" phase.  She's feeling better, and energy levels are continually rising.  She  had her follow up scans and we should get the results this week - expecting to hear no more cancer, and the radiation is just to "ZAP" any last traces.

It's week 4, which will serve as a bit of a recovery week.  I still feel pretty fresh, so I'm not planning to tone it back much, however I am looking forward to a shake-up of my routines.  I also am facing the first challenge of travelling for work - I'll be in Chicago for 2 days, and need to improvise to get my workouts in while avoiding fried food when eating out.  Wish me luck!