And I Ran, I Ran...Not Real Far Away, Actually

In some sort of over-compensation, my brane kept waking me up throughout the early morning, so at 5:25 I said "oh fuck it" and got up. 5 min. of brisk walking on the elliptical, 10 min. of stretching, 5 min. of cursing and digging out a hat and jacket because it is POURING RAIN, 20 min. of sixty seconds of running alternating with ninety seconds of walking.

Observations:
1) I really need a watch chronograph with a LIGHT. Because it is TOO DARK TO SEE IT.
2) I'm doing my running around the park behind our house, which has cement walks, which AIUI is the worst thing to run on. I was trying to land as lightly as I could, but I still have a little bit of what feels like jarring ouch in my right shin. I am not sure there's any other option at this time, because though running on the grass may be an option in warmer weather, when it's frozen and uneven (or muddy, like right now) it is even less of a win than cement.
3) Because it was raining, and therefore both warmer and more humid than it has been of late, I didn't have the icy-air-in-my-lungs issue to contend with. I'm sure I will before long. (It occurs to me, whether the saline nasal gel they recommend for Burning Man might not help?)

I have also made a deal with myself, that as long as I keep to my workout schedule, I can eat according to Phase 2 of South Beach (that is, some amount of whole grain bread and some fruit). If I schluff off, it's back to Strict Horrible Time until the next time I run.

Side Benefits

In spite of waking up at fuck-off early for the morning's exertions, I find I'm actually more awake and less dozy than I usually am at this point of the morning (coffee or no). I've heard it said before that taking morning exercise is salubrious in this fashion, but one finds it sort of hard to believe without some hard evidence.