Just a Run in the Park

Yesterday I went for a run in the park.  This was my first run this winter that was not on the treadmill (other than the tri in Jan).  It was harder than the treadmill of course.  The park has those pesky hills that I hate.  I actually changed my route so I wouldnt have to run up the worst one.  It was a beautiful day for a run though! The sun was out and it was around 50 degrees.

The park has a pond in the middle of it where there are about 20-30 resident ducks and geese.  They made it a little tricky to run due to dodging duck and goose poo on the paved path. 

 The black/brown spots are the duck/goose poo. It wasn't as bad in the area as it was on the other end of the pond. 

I used my Garmin footpod (another running related Christmas present) for the first time yesterday while at the park.  I haven't used it yet bc I thought it had to be calibrated outside first before I could use it on the treadmill. Since I hadn't run outside this winter it hasn't been used.  Apparently you could calibrate it outside but it didnt have to be done. Whoops. 2 months of not using it bc I misread DC Rainmaker's directions!
:( But now I am ready to go either way and can use the footpod inside on the treadmill to see exactly how much that sucker is off by.

Going off today's outside run though, it's not off as much as i would have thought. :(  I really struggled the first mile and a half to catch my breath.  Not used to the cold air, wind, hills I guess. I was huffing and puffing. I did focus on my breathing trying to get it under control.  It helped some.  Finally I settled in and my breathing seemed to ease.  Unfortunately at this point I only had less than 5 minutes of my run left to do!  Not a PR run by any stretch of the means but it did make me realize I need to get OUTSIDE and run when I can rather than running on the tmill.