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January 22, 2005
In the Nick of Time
The snow has started. Although waking up very early for Saturday morning runs, it can have benefits. In the summer we avoid the heat. In the winter, we usually end up finishing before the snow starts. Sometimes it helps us to avoid heavy winds and sometimes the heavy rains, but those are not definites. Today we managed to outrun the snow.
It was cold when I woke up at 6:10 this morning. The first thing I was doing was trying to see out the window (with no glasses or contacts) to see if the snow had started yet. When you're blind, this is not that effective of a way to check the weather. I turned on the TV and the time and temperature at the bottom of the screen said 7 degrees. Brrr.... So it took about twenty minutes to get dressed. Two pairs of lined tights, a turtleneck, another long sleeved shirt, a Gore-Tex pullover. Then I packed up my bag to head over to the gym if it wasn't too bad out. Dry clothes to work out in and dry clothes to wear home. Then I grabbed the rest of what I would wear to run, another long sleeved shirt and my heavy running jacket. I put on my hat and decided that my head would not be warm enough with just one hat, so I put a thin hat on under my heavier hat. I put on my ski parka to drive over to the high school and grabbed my gloves. Once I got there, I put on two pairs of gloves and socks over the gloves to act like mittens. Hey, I'd much rather have to take something off than be freezing my buns off. I felt like a big marshmallow when we started to run, it was really hard to move. I think that I had on close to ten pounds worth of clothing, an incentive to not gain weight...it's harder to run!
We took the "back roads" this morning. My plan had been to run about 90 minutes. The course we ran has some monstrous hills on it. Running up was hard, but running down was even harder. Early on it felt like toes would shatter from the extra force of landing. The idea had been to run easy, but apparently we were running pretty fast. I could not really tell because I was so cold and it was so hard to breathe. My voice is raspy now, probably from all of the cold air that I was breathing. M charges up every single hill, which was pretty annoying since this course was so hilly. A and I would catch up to him after he surged and then maintain the pace so it would get really fast. Anyhow, we finished the course in just under 82 minutes and all of us decided that was enough for the day considering the weather and the course. I have to find my log book from 2003 since that is the last time that I ran the course we did this morning.
The toe thing started to act up a little bit around 55 minutes. It was tolerable for a while, but in the last mile or so it was worse. We think that it sounds like a nerve issue. I know that work shoes irritate it, but that should not be much of a problem since I have on Merrells now and won't wear dress shoes tomorrow either. Right now it looks like there will be no dress shoes for quite some time.
It wasn't snowing when we got back. The weather was on the radio as I was leaving and they said that it was 10 degrees. I made sure that I dried my hair when I got to the gym. It was absolutely packed, all of the machines were occupied. I got on a bike and read the June or July issue of Runner's World since there weren't any trashy gossip magazines floating around. I rode for an hour. At about 35 minutes it did start to snow. Even though I lifted yesterday, I did some different exercises and lighter weights. My arms are going to be sore tomorrow. By the end of my routine they were getting sore, like the way they did when I swam in college.
Driving home was an adventure. I had to clean off my car. By the time I finished that and got in it could have been cleared off again. It took about four times as long as usual to get home. I stayed in second gear most of the drive home because the roads were so messy. The snow is coming down really hard and fast now. They said that it is going to be snowing at a rate of 1 to 2 inches an hour all day long. I don't think that there will be any running outdoors for me tomorrow. I may have to suck it up on the treadmill in the basement. At least that will limit how long I run, I can't take it for much more than 30 minutes.
When we were kids we used to always bake bread when it snowed. It was the only time when we would have enough time to let it rise. I wish I could today, but none of the breads that I've improvised with wheat flour have turned out really well. If any of you have good recipes for homemade bread using whole wheat flour, please pass them on!!
I hope that everyone else who is getting slammed with weather today is safe.
Posted by Blondie at January 22, 2005 01:38 PM
Comments
hi! i figured you would be the perfect person for my question on cold toes. what is the best way to keep them warm on a run? all i have tried is two pairs of regular cotton socks and they still got cold. i had to come back after 35 minutes b/c i was worried about frostbite. (about 10 degrees here but "feels like -11"). any suggestions? thanks!!! have fun in the snow!!!
Posted by: Audrey at January 23, 2005 01:30 PM
Audrey...I haven't figured out how to deal with cold toes yet. I don't particularly like to wear two pairs of socks since my feet are prone to bad blisters. Some things that others have suggested are plastic bags over either feet or socks or wearing some of the Gore-Tex coated type socks. I think that some of the wicking socks tend to work better because the moisture doesn't sit on your feet. If anyone else knows more, like those who live in NE, we'd like to hear more suggestions!
Blondie
Posted by: Blondie at January 23, 2005 02:39 PM