January Running

It's been a rough month for running.  If I get in half of my usual weekly mileage now I feel fortunate.

Oh, it's not the cold temperatures, at least not directly.  And I don't think it's the considerable amount of snowfall, again at least not directly.

With the first wave of cold temps and the 15-16 inches of snow a couple of weeks ago, I didn't run for 72 hours.  I don't remember the last time I took that much time off.  I usually take at least one day off a week, to rest, by design.  I'm not a streaker and build in rest days to my training.  But three days??????

Again, it's not the cold.  I was out there last week at 10 degrees below zero and at 8 below a couple of days ago.  I dress properly--several long-sleeved shirts, a Gore-Tex windbreaker, and ski mask--and am never cold.  In fact, I am my usual "schweaty" self at the finish, the long-sleeved shirts drenched.  If anything gets close to being cold, it's my hands.  But they are never cold enough to be uncomfortable.  I wear a pair of fleece "glubs," with Turtle Gloves on top.  The Turtles are terrific--light, but quite warm.  Karen concurs with their warmth, but doesn't like their style.  Carrie really likes them, "light and warm," she said--commandeering the second pair for herself (with my blessings).  No, I never get cold.  That's not the problem.

I do get tired running somewhat shorter distances.  I wonder......  Is the extra clothing a factor?  Does running in the cold weather tax the body to a greater degree?  I'm convinced the answers are affirmative.

The snow and cold also play havoc with footing.  Deep snow isn't a problem, by itself.  Traffic that has packed it down is.  Sometimes it's ice under loose snow or, as was the case this AM, the snow having melted to solid ice, some roads becoming ice rinks, literally.  Often the ice can be seen (not black ice), but sometimes it's buried under loose snow, making it even more treacherous.  Sometimes it just the cars making the snow, when it refreezes, difficult to negotiate.  It's more uneven than the trails I run most of the year.  Feet and ankles turn on the frozen-over ruts, some pretty deep.  The shoulders of the roads, although plowed, are not very wide, not as wide as normal.  And, the potholes...?  Besides being more numerous, they are often hard to see under the snow.  More difficult than the temperatures is the wind.  I don't care for running in the wind, strong winds, regardless of the season.  This is esp tough in the winter, not necessarily due to the so-called "wind chill factor."  Wind is tough to run against.  It chills the "schweat" from the heavier clothes.  And it blows thin veneers of snow across the roads, making them slippery, more so when covering icy patches.

I often wonder if it's better to just fall when I slip on the ice.  Usually, as I start to tumble, I struggle to keep from falling.  Does the jerking of my body--granted my older body!--first from the possible fall, then from the attempts to avoid falling, hurt me more than a fall would?  Shoulders, back, and even arms sometimes later feel the effects of the jerking, esp the attempts to avoid falling.  Hmmm......

That said, there's something cool about running out there in these less-than-favorable elements.  It's almost a badge of honor for people to think or even say, "You're crazy."  Yep, and I'm not a wimp/whimp.  Two AMs ago, I was thinking along that line.  "What a bad motor scooter and mean go-getter," I chuckled to myself, out on a snow-covered street, with a bit of wind, at 5:30 AM.  (OK,"bad motor scooter and mean go-getter" dates me pretty badly, doesn't it?).  Then, all that came crashing down.  I noticed other footprints in the snow!  Maybe I wasn't so "bad" or "mean," at least not compared to someone else already out there, earlier than I.  Yet, although I didn't see my compatriot, I did feel a sense of companionship.

I was disturbed, though, yesterday on my drive up to class.  Just north of Holly, on the shoulder of North Holly Road, was a guy on his bicycle!  Yep, he was peddling on the side of the road, moving to the shoulder when traffic came.  No, the shoulder hadn't been plowed, covered with an inch or two of snow.  I didn't like what I saw.

Out to complete my running log for today......