Don't want to do your run? Trick that brain of yours.

So it's been a few days since I've tortured everyone with a blog post and I know you're dying to know what fitnessy stuff I've been doing.  Well, here it is:

Some running in a minor polar vortex (the real one is getting here tomorrow)....

SO EXCITED to run in 3 degree weather + snow
freezing to my eyebrows as I ran. So.  Excited.

Pit stop after the first 3.5 = a run in two parts.

Did I mention the 3 degrees thing?!?

Some spin and lifting heavy things and taking bad post-workout selfies...

The black sparkle paint is the best part of the pic.

...and some treadmill speed work to the tune of 8 miles total, 4 of those being one mile repeats @ 8:34 pace.

I must confess that I didn't want to do either of those two running workouts because...well I think the obvious reasons are "too freaking cold outside" and "mile freaking repeats."  But part of my determination to lose 20 pounds by this summer is to complete the running workouts as listed in my trusty My Run Plan app, no matter how cringe-worthy or shriek-inducing (mile repeat workouts do this to me every time).  So away I went on those two runs, doing them anyway even though my brain was all NOPE NOPE NOPE PLEASE NO WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOPE the whole time. 

Now, I haven't always been able to get past my brain NOPE-ing away workouts, especially if I lie to myself and say I'll do them after work (NOPE).  But lately I've been using some tips and tricks to ignore the NOPE and get the run done, which are helpfully enumerated for you below:

1) For cold winter runs, have the right gear.  If you have the right gear, you can run in the cold with confidence.  For my winter runs I make sure I have some pretty awesomely printed fleece-lined tights and a lot of sass to make it to the end of the run:

So much sass.  And awesome tights.

On top of all that (or underneath, as it were), I also have a thin base-layer tight to keep that warm air right next to my skin, a nice thick running turtleneck under a quilted running jacket, a buff, a balaclava, and a neat-o Ragnar hat to top off the ensemble.  When I run in super cold weather that's pretty much my running uniform, only with different obnoxiously colored tights and hats.  Gotta be sure to mix that up, you know, so the people in the cars passing you don't get bored of looking at your same old tired running outfit.

2) Also for cold winter runs, always know that it's never as bad as you think it will be.  The weather forecasts for those days always put my NOPE brain on overdrive, but once I get out there and start running it's usually never as cold or as miserable as I think it will be.  Unless I forget that water freezes at 32 degrees Celsius and don't have it in an insulated bottle and have no liquid water for for 15 miles of a 20-mile run...then it *is* as bad as it seems.  Especially when you're eating snow from the side of the road and spitting out gravel as you truck on down the road...then it's pretty freaking miserable and you're only running because if you stop moving you'll freeze on the spot and die.

But that's still not as miserable as doing all those miles on the treadmill.

3) Speaking of treadmills, those little running equivalencies I blogged about earlier sure do come in handy.  This is especially true for the longer more torturous repeats, such as the 4 x 1 mile repeats I did this morning.  My mind likes to break down those little mile repeats into more little four quarters, and then celebrate when I reach the halfway point and the "ONE MORE LOOP TO GO" point.  After which I walk for a minute and a half and then do it all over again, making my brain conveniently forget the mile I just did. (Brain: Hey, didn't we just do one of these?  Me: WE DID NOTHING NOW RUN)

4) When you don't want to do your treadmill run, get on the treadmill anyway--but have a backup plan. When I got on the 'mill this morning I went in with a backup plan - if I felt I was going to die running an 8:34 pace, then I would alternate quarters during each mile, running an 8:34 and then an 8:40.  That way I could have a little bit of slower running to look forward to, even if it wasn't much of a plan.  (By the way, my backup plan to the backup plan was just to sit on the treadmill and sob in my smelly basement.)

Welcome to my smelly basement, where
I run next to a set of doors and a pile of lumber.

5) Fun socks are a must for hard treadmill runs. They lessen the torture, especially when they say ROAR on them.

And now let's roar our way to some learnings because this post is over now:

• I mean seriously-how fun are those socks?
• Superfun, that's how much fun.
• Loud shorts and pants are also motivational in getting your run done, but everyone knows that already.
• I need to write a running book called "Overcoming the NOPE: How to trick your brain into running every single day."

Upcoming workouts:  Many more treadmill miles because the real polar vortex is coming in the next two days...