Leaping through Feb - 29 days of Running!

[katluvr]

What is too cold?

Well I am doing an 1/2 marathon on this Sunday. As a reminder I am a Florida gal.
The lows that AM are supposed to be mid to high 30's and highs low 50s.
So the 50s and sunny for a 1/2 marathon are OK. But the cold start AND the fact you have to be out there in the environment for 1 or 1.5 hours (at a minimum) before...brrrr. My feet/toes are ALWAYS numb before I start. AND I have learned to wear layers and "check gear". But that temp for a race start is too cold for this Florida chic!! I would prefer a 40-50 start and 60 for a high!!!

K

[Bike Chick]

A 40-50 start with a warm up to 60 degrees would be heaven. The weather man has thrown 20 mph nnw winds into the mix and the forecast is for a wind chill of 10degrees. It should make for an interesting day to say the least. I don't think it will be a day for PR's and will more likely be a day for finishing. I will give you all a full report afterward.

I guess I've been bitten by the marathon bug. It's such an awesome feeling to cross the finish line and I want to experience it again. I've signed up for the Chicago marathon! Can't wait.

[limewave]

7.5 miles for me yesterday. It was just too sunny to not run. And I even took the day off because I had to do a training session for my other job that I was supposedly done with . . . Anywho, it left me with 2 extra hours or so in the afternoon. I probably should have done laundry or something. Oh well!

[skhill]

How cold is too cold... If it's dry, I'm ok down to about 25F; that's as low as I can take it in my VFFs and I really don't like running in anything else these days. For racing, 35F is as low as I care to go-- the issue is the wait at the start line.

Today was a very nice 6.25 miles. Not that I'm any kind of expert on good running form, but I passed a 20ish young woman with the most awful form. Overstriding, bad heel-striking, hunched-over upper body. Part of me wanted to say something to her about it, but of course I didn't.

I'm trying to psych myself up for tomorrow's long run. If the weather forecast plays out, there's no way I'm doing 10 miles outside (low 20s, with an inch or so of slushy accumulation overnight). But 10 miles on the treadmill, yuck. I'm going to have to find a way to move my long run to a weekday, this string of bad weather on Saturday is nuts...

[yellow]

limewave, you can do laundry when it's dark or stormy or something. I'd have chosen a run in the sun, too!

Frustrating week of running for me. Trails are in really bad shape right now (mud fest/ice skating rinks) because it has been warm enough to melt the snow a little bit, just enough to create mud bogs, but not warm enough to dry things out. So I'm having to run on pavement most of the time and my body doesn't like that. I'm going out to the island (Antelope Island, in the Great Salt Lake) to do my long run this weekend since the trails are sandier and better drained. And I really like running out there. It's very peaceful, although I got bluff-charged by some bison last time I was out there.

[limewave]

7--thanks for sharing your analysis. That's cool!

[emily_in_nc]

It was quite warm and sunny this morning by 7 am, so I just did a 5K beach run. Better than nuthin'!

7rider, I enjoyed your gait analysis photos too. I would love to get that done one day, but it's kinda unlikely living in Belize.

[7rider]

What is too cold?

I've run in 18 F (-7.7C), but I have to say...I didn't enjoy it. Now that I have a treadmill, I'm much less apt to run in the cold. No need for hero points here. If it's dry and light, 30 F (0 C) - maybe down to 25 if I have a partner to nag me. Errrr...encourage me. I suppose I'd race in anything short of crazy stuff.

I finally got the final follow-up results of my gait analysis. Had it done in October (while I was recuperating from a bad back spasm). Got a whole bunch of exercises to do - which I did religiously...for a little while. Now...not so much, but I still do them. Had a follow-up in January and got a DVD with videos. Here are a few screen grabs. Sorry if their a little hard to see.

On the left is me in October, wearing motion control shoes. On the right is me in January, wearing stability shoes. Also, the January session is post-ChiRunning clinic, so I'm trying to remember to incorporate a lot of the ChiRunning form into my efforts.

Landing mid-foot, as opposed to heel-first:


Bouncing on the left with significant hip drop. Not so bad in January.

But, we can't be sure if the hip drop caused the back pain, or if I was dropping my hip to protect my back ... sort of after the injury.

Sort of the sum-up:

Better lean, better stride.

Now, to continue with my strength work and flexibility work and continue working on cadence and form. So much to think about!

Did a nice 4 yesterday. Tomorrow's supposed to be 7 according to my training plan. It may have to be late Sunday, if the weather turns snotty (see that "if it's dry" comment above!). Seven on the treadmill might be too much to bear.