First Day of Winter
It was cold out there this morning, with temps in the high teens and a wind. It felt like the party was over. Despite it being cold I felt we've been fortunate in having had the warmer weather for so long.
My usual rule of thumb is that if the temps are in the double digits than its warm enough for shorts. I try to focus more on keeping my core warm, as if I can do that usually my extremities will feel warm as well. My favorite way to do this, when temps get below 30, is to run in an oversized hooded sweatshirt. There will be a layer of air between me and the hoodie that stays warm and which I find cozy. I like a hoodie with long sleeves that I can tuck my hands into and where they can gradually emerge, like a turtle, as they become accustomed to the cold. I also like the hood to put over my head if my ears get cold, but its gotta get pretty cold for this to happen.
So that is my approach to dressing for cold weather running. I didn't follow this today, however, and wore some old knit gloves and a tuquey thing with a USATF patch on it. I did it because I honestly didn't remember how the cold felt and there was something comforting about the hat and gloves. I managed to stay, well, I won't say warm but rather comfortable except for one certain extremity which I'll pay more attention to keeping warm next time (which would be tomorrow).
Deirdre came by this morning and had to be back in Center City by 7:15. To accommodate this we ran the Acme loop (via Upland hill) backwards before hanging a left and crossing the Girard Avenue bridge to go back across Lemon Hill and the Schuylkill Bike Path. If the weather threw me a bit, running a very familiar loop backwards threw me doubly. The traffic volume, the direction of the hills, the degrees dark and light all get inverted when the course goes backwards to the extent that its like an entirely new course. The only constant was the sun rising out by Overbrook high, but even there we ran down Upland and towards the Center City skyline, which let us enjoy the view more than we would have had we gone the usual direction.
11 miles in 84:21. Calves still feel sore, like there is muscle development going on to catch up to level of effort required. This is strange as my mileage hasn't been exceedingly high, maybe its because, under the influences of folks like Ian, Deirdre and Kevin, I've been hitting my training runs faster. But something is indeed going on.
Also now committing to my first target races of the Spring. The Lehigh Valley Half Marathon, formerly known as the Runner's World Half Marathon, on April 29. Should be a nice little road trip. I'm also shooting to do the Adrenaline 5k on March 17 as my attempt at a sub 16 time. I'll write more on all this as they get closer.
My usual rule of thumb is that if the temps are in the double digits than its warm enough for shorts. I try to focus more on keeping my core warm, as if I can do that usually my extremities will feel warm as well. My favorite way to do this, when temps get below 30, is to run in an oversized hooded sweatshirt. There will be a layer of air between me and the hoodie that stays warm and which I find cozy. I like a hoodie with long sleeves that I can tuck my hands into and where they can gradually emerge, like a turtle, as they become accustomed to the cold. I also like the hood to put over my head if my ears get cold, but its gotta get pretty cold for this to happen.
So that is my approach to dressing for cold weather running. I didn't follow this today, however, and wore some old knit gloves and a tuquey thing with a USATF patch on it. I did it because I honestly didn't remember how the cold felt and there was something comforting about the hat and gloves. I managed to stay, well, I won't say warm but rather comfortable except for one certain extremity which I'll pay more attention to keeping warm next time (which would be tomorrow).
Deirdre came by this morning and had to be back in Center City by 7:15. To accommodate this we ran the Acme loop (via Upland hill) backwards before hanging a left and crossing the Girard Avenue bridge to go back across Lemon Hill and the Schuylkill Bike Path. If the weather threw me a bit, running a very familiar loop backwards threw me doubly. The traffic volume, the direction of the hills, the degrees dark and light all get inverted when the course goes backwards to the extent that its like an entirely new course. The only constant was the sun rising out by Overbrook high, but even there we ran down Upland and towards the Center City skyline, which let us enjoy the view more than we would have had we gone the usual direction.
11 miles in 84:21. Calves still feel sore, like there is muscle development going on to catch up to level of effort required. This is strange as my mileage hasn't been exceedingly high, maybe its because, under the influences of folks like Ian, Deirdre and Kevin, I've been hitting my training runs faster. But something is indeed going on.
Also now committing to my first target races of the Spring. The Lehigh Valley Half Marathon, formerly known as the Runner's World Half Marathon, on April 29. Should be a nice little road trip. I'm also shooting to do the Adrenaline 5k on March 17 as my attempt at a sub 16 time. I'll write more on all this as they get closer.
posted by seebo | 11:45 AM
1 Comments:
How any running buddy of mine can ever freeze his most prized extremity when I am the inventor of the greatest garment in the history of running is beyond me.
Send $12 to my paypal account and I'll send you one, or just thread a shoestring through the mouth of a wool sock yourself to make your very own Package Package.
I don't leave home without it.
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