Running Cold: Week of 12/15

[Urlea]

Decided to try the tues-thurs-saturday routine for the next few weeks & see how I like it.

Great 5miler today in -5 degrees & 14mph winds. Couldn't feel either. I'm sure the five layers on top,two layers on the bottom & gloves under mittens account for a lot of that.

I've concluded that you can run in almost anything given the right technical gear. Oh & the powder skirt on snowboarding jackets works great at keeping the cold air from hitting your stomach. Also, the ipod doesn't freeze when you put it in your sports bra.

Found a cell phone in a drift along the path. Brought it home, thawed it out and got it back to it's rightful owner.

Kacie- Again jealous of your 20miler. It felt like trail running today with hopping over and through all the snow drifts, but not quite. When is this race you are tapering for?

[kacie tri-ing]

Nice save with the cell phone!

I am doing the Disney Marathon January 11th....last big week of running :-)

The trail running is great, and I certainly would not trade it for snow..... I am from Georgia

Ok--going to do 6 miles right now!

[OakLeaf]

Well, while the rest of you are freezing your tuches off, I'm doing my best to adapt to stifling humidity. At the same time I'm trying to re-constitute my training, which got pretty disrupted over the summer and fall.

Today was what passed for my "long run," a whopping 4.6 miles soaking in sweat and remembering that I really cannot breathe in this humidity, and that it's no coincidence that two of the three times in my life I've experienced "runner's high" it's been in California, above the fog line.

Careful of frostbite, you all - it's no fun!

[Deborajen]

Well, after several weeks of very little running, I did a good steady 3-mile run/walk on Sunday. Out of nowhere, I had some seizures at the end of October and have been diagnosed with epilepsy. Long story short, I've had lots of tests done and have been on seizure-control meds for a month now. For the first week of meds, the whole world spun all over the place whenever I moved my head, but I've gotten used to them. I get really tired off and on, but exercise makes me feel a lot better - I'm so glad for that!

Now looking FORWARD - I've been reading about an epileptic who competes in IM's, an epileptic who continues to run 30 miles per week, and lots of other encouraging stories. Plus my doctor has said I can do pretty much whatever I'm comfortable doing (with some reasonable precautions --) except 1. No driving for 6 months (that one bites!) and 2. Recommend no baths, just showers, unless there is someone in the house close by who can hear me should I have a seizure and slip under water.

I've done a few 2-mile run/walks since then - to adjust and learn how this disease and med is going to affect me. I've discovered how nice it can be to just run laps around the park in the grass - much easier on the joints! And the run on Sunday was actually a .75 mile warm-up walk and .75 mi. cool-down (in the bitter, windy cold) to and from the gym with the 3-miler on the treadmill. I hadn't tried walking to the gym before. I don't know why - the walk to and from was really good for a warm-up and cool-down.

Feels kind of like I'm starting all over again.-- I can't tell you all how helpful it is to read your posts about just keeping at it. It could be easy to forget how much fun the running was and how good it felt to finish a long run. This forum has been a good source of support through some of my biggest training milestones, and it's good to read now, too. Keep up the great running, everyone!

Deb

[eclectic]

Wow Deborajen! you have had a plate full lately. And WOW on the positive attitude - definately "can do" not "can't do"

And all of you who run miles and miles and miles WOW to you too!

Urlea you are a much stronger (or crazier person than I. It warmed up to -8 F today but I didn't even consider going outside.

I did go to the Y and complete my 3 slow miler on the track then did some leg weights - Uff da, as they say up here in NoDak country, my legs are tired (I swam a mile this morning - I still think I am in my 20's

This weekend the running club is having their annual 5k get together . Everyone who wants to run can and they have someone run w/ us slowpokes.

I wonder when and if I will ever call myself a runner and not a runner wannabe

[Urlea]

Glad to see you ladies are still getting out there.

Living in different parts of the country/globe definitely leads to quite the variety of conditions. Kudos to all of you braving the elements, whatever they may be!


Oak- Humidity can be brutal. I logged about six runs when I was in Tallahassee in September and it really got to me. I'm sure it's something you can acclimate to just like we in the North can to the cold, but you have my sympathies.

Deb- I appreciate your passion. You will be back to those long runs in no time. Sorry to hear of the seizures. That sounds scary.

& Eclectic I fall under class B. Just Crazier. I can admit that.

As my hubby peered over my shoulder to see what I was reading he commented "if that woman can swim a mile this morning, she can do the 1/2". I'd have to agree with that.

You are a runner. The question has been posed on TE before. And you definitely fit the qualifications. So none of this "runner wannabe" nonsense.

Keep at it!

[jesvetmed]

WOW all.
OAK: I'd rather be out in -25 f than in humidity! I don't know how anyone even moves in that kind of weather. Just walking to my car makes me too tired there.

URLEA: OM gosh... you ARE a crazy woman! But you are right -- the right gear can make up for a lot. When I lived on the East side of our state, the weather was much colder than here. I remember running and my eyelashes would be frozen, and snot frozen on my nose (tmi... sorry). But it still felt great. I really miss running on the back roads there in the fresh snow. Nothing like that here usually. Good on ya!

DEB: I can only imagine what it feels like to be on those meds... I dispense them to pets and see the changes they go through and the stories the owners tell about how it changes them. I'm amazed you are out and running -- very good for you!!!!! Be careful, take it slow and see how it all feels. I'm so impressed. That certainly is "can do".... Hang in there.

ECLECTIC: You are a runner! You are a swimmer... what else?!

Got out and did 4.25 miles today -- some intervals of "tempo" running. Tried to do multiple 4 minute intervals, with 2 minutes in between, but couldn't keep the pace up that long. Ended up dividing many of them into two 2-minutes, with 30 sec in between... oh well, whatever I did it was a good workout for me! 6 on the table tomorrow. Hopefully we'll have fresh powder by morning!

[colby]

It was somewhere between 2 and 5 degrees this morning but there wasn't any serious wind, so I took the dog out for a quick few miles. I generally have good cold tolerance, but it was a "keep moving" kind of morning (I think my doggie agreed!).

My only real failure was on my feet. My toes took a lot longer than my fingers to warm up, which isn't a good thing - need more exposure protection on those feetsies. After a couple of minutes, everything was fine, but I stayed close to home in general in case fingers, toes, or ears were giving me the "enough" sign. If I had to go out for longer, I'd put on another layer everywhere.

[katluvr]

I can't say the cold is keeping me in. We are having a "warm blast" even for Florida. Since my 1/2 marathon in Novemeber and now all the holiday stuff, I have been way off my TP. But I DID go home after work and go a 4 miler last night. I was so tired from work, but I decided I MUST do a run. It felt pretty good. I am doing "no gadget" runs. No watch, no Garmin. Just trying to get back into the groove. I have signed up for a 5K this Saturday, but my TP states 6 miles, so looks like I'll be tacking some mileage on. But hey, at am back at running!