Lake Effect Run

Today was my first run outside since the Turkey Trot, and wow, it was like night and day. The Lake Effect Run Club is a group for Central NY Runners, and they have weekly runs in different parts of the area. I've been wanting to run with them for a while, but the runs are usually on Tuesday nights, which is hard to finangle with the kids and Mike's schedule.

But they have Saturday morning runs as well, and I was able to join them today. This run was up in the Tipperary Hill neighborhood, the four mile loop which makes up the Shamrock Run in March. This area is hilly, and I've never run that race, so I wasn't sure what to think.

I got right up at 6:30, it's amazing how I sleep for exactly seven hours when I'm not dealing with insomnia, it is the perfect amount for me, and once I get it, I up and ready to go. It was 28 degrees out, but no snow flurries like I had expected. I had plenty of time to stretch and get to the coffee shop where everyone was meeting by 8:30. There was a group of 21 runners, including Jeannine and Bill.

We took off and it was a really great run. The cold didn't bother me at all, and it was fun to have a new route to run. There was one long hill in the beginning, which I was told is normally at the end of the Shamrock Run, but since we tackled it early on today, it wasn't a problem. There were inclines, but they were quick, and at times it was steep going downhill. I had my ipod, but didn't really use it, I was busy looking around, and chatting with Jeannine. We finished the four mile loop, but decided to continue on, so we ended up doing around six. Towards the end I pushed my pace, and it felt really good. It was nice to be outside early in the day, and breaking a nice sweat. We grabbed coffee in the shop afterwards, but I didn't stay too long as I had Christmas Tree shopping on the agenda. I'm so glad I went today, runners in general are a friendly bunch, as was everyone I met today, so I'll definitely join in again.

This week, I received two things from some blog friends, first, an "I Love Your Blog" award from Susan's Family Formula Blog, she's always got something good to share from her life as a Mother and Teacher.

Then I won a Yoga DVD from Nicole at Mom's Home Run! It's called Pulse Yoga, for toning and balance, and I can use both. I've been trying to get into yoga all year, but haven't been very successful at it. I did find a great Yoga for Runners show on the Sportskool channel, but they got rid of it, so my yoga devotion was short lived. Hopefully this new DVD will give me the push I need, thanks Nicole!