Happy New Year!

Photo of me dressed for the cold today.

I felt lousy (fatigued) this morning but decided 10K might make me feel better. It did, sort of, for a little. Now I'm just really tired and need a nap :(. I'm not sorry I went, but it definitely took a lot out of me. My muscles are sore, and I'm very fatigued now. From the first km I knew I'd be slow, as my muscles just felt wrong. I can't explain it any better, but they have felt this way for many of my recent workouts - just slow, like the fast-twitch fibers are not working at all, like I'm racewalking in mud. Oh, and I haven't mentioned this up until now, but my left foot has been bothering me a bit for the last 10 days or so :(. It's just a little achy, and I've been watching my technique to keep the left hip back and push all the way off my left toe, but that doesn't seem to be the problem. It's not bothering me a lot, so I hope that it will just go away. Wishful thinking maybe.

It was really cold out there this morning, even for me, and I'm used to working out in the cold. It was 5.5F (-14.7C) at my parents' house (we stayed over here for New Year's Eve). The good things about this morning? I was glad to be out there, slow or not. I was thinking about how it was great that I could be out there walking, despite everything. About 3-4km into the workout a car with an elderly couple drove by me, and both gave me thumbs up :). You know it's cold when even the locals think you're brave or crazy for being out there. But I think the cold was a non-factor in the workout; I felt warmly dressed enough. My legs were a little chilled on the surface but I really didn't feel cold. I was just tired. Another positive? My splits, while slow, were at least consistent, and I was able to maintain my speed for the whole workout. It took me 1:09:41 for the 10K, or 6:58/km. That's 30 seconds slower than what I usually can do at that same or lower HR of 151.

I think I've been pushing too hard and need to back off, get more sleep, and not do so much at home. If the house is dirty, so be it. I don't have work on Monday (holiday) and I was originally planning on going in anyway, but I am not going to do that. My one New Year's resolution that I think will affect everything else positively is to get more sleep :).

Garmin connect data here.