Running in December - 12/01 to 12/15

[skhill]

Friday was my long run-- well, not really all that long, just 9 mile. It was "freezing fog" at the time, and while the footing on the sidewalks was pretty solid, the streets were very slick. Every time I got to an intersection, I had to way slow down and step carefully. Exhausting...

Today, I wasn't planning on running. But my dog insisted at 5 am that we really, really had to get up right then. Since I was up, I ended up running anyway. We'd gotten less than an inch of snow overnight, but sidewalks and street were clear, and it was absolutely beautiful. Ran a relaxed 5 miles, and enjoyed the christmas lights downtown. But right after I got home, it started snowing again, and when I took the Pokey dog out for his walk an hour later, everything was covered-- streets, sidewalks, and all. First real snow of the year-- hooray!

[kacie tri-ing]

So I did my last long run. 20 miles on the trails saturday. I felt fantastic. Seriously, I felt amazing. I am off to get massage, chiro, a few workouts, obsessively watching the weather, and tweaking my diet this week for the 50K on saturday!

[Susan Otcenas]

Limewave - Sub-8:00!! Awesome! I'd like to be you when I grow up. I think my fastest mile yet has been 8:30-ish. I *might* be able to run a sub-8 if I wasn't planning on running a second mile afterwards...

Kacie - Best of luck on the upcoming 50k! Sounds like you are well prepared. I'd like to be you too when I grow up.

After a VERY VERY windy and VERY cold 6.5hr bike ride on Saturday (and a night on the town afterwards), I totally bagged my Sunday trail run and slept in. And ate brunch. And was just generally lazy. In penance, I dragged my butt out for a 4.4 mile run in the rain at 6am this morning, but it wasn't pretty.

[Susan Otcenas]

Susan I want to be like you when i grow up... sounds like a perfect Sunday!
....It's coooooold, and I'm in the market for a good base layer, plus another pair of warm pants. suggestions are welcome!

Truth be told, Sunday is usually my rest day, but I've been wanting to turn it into a trail run day. I've beeen doing that with mixed success. I do alot of big rides on Saturdays, and on those weekends, I usually end up not doing much on Sunday.

I'm mostly wearing Smartwool baselayers this time of year. Both running and riding. Yes, you can sweat out a wool based layer just like you can a synthetic one, but I feel so much less clammy and cold in a wool base layer!

I tend to wear Sugoi MidZero tights and knickers for most of my runs in the wet and cold. Warm, very soft against the skin (good, because I chafe easily at the waist if I'm not careful) and available with lots of reflective bits on them. They wear like iron too. I've had several pairs in rotation for 3-5 years now. The reflectivity is flaking off at this point, but I can't seem to kill the tights!

Susan

[skhill]

BRRRRRR

My cats are way smarter than me-- this morning, they got up with me, had their breakfast, and immediately returned to bed. I'm not so smart-- I started out for my usual morning run, despite 18 F temps and a brisk wind and icy sidewalks. Stuck it out for 2 miles, and that was enough...

Our average low for this date here in KY is 31 F, about 12 degrees warmer than today's high. Crazy.

[GLC1968]

skhill - that IS cold. Brrr!

Kacie - best of luck this weekend!!

I did my first ever lunch time run today. 4.1 miles from my office. It should have been closer to a 4.25 mile run but I had to walk the first ~0.15 while I waited for my Garmin to pick up the satellites!

What I'm super pleased about is that an 'easy, I could run forever' pace for me is now an 11 min/mile as opposed to a 12 min/mile back in September. I think that my run description has now officially graduated from a 'plod' to a 'shuffle'. Someday, I'll be a 'jog' like the real runners!

[solobiker]

I got in about 6 miles after work today. My legs were a little tired from the first day of skat skiing that I did yesterday with DH. If my legs didn't get so darn tight I could run a lot longer. Sigh...oh well, I am just glad I can still go out and run.