I went out for a run this morning with Jan, my running partner. She arrived for our scheduled 6 mile run this morning and it was c.o.l.d on Cape Cod. Perhaps not as cold as say, International Falls Minnesota, but cold for Cape Cod, as in 20 degrees F. But as I often tell her, "runners run", so off we went for our Sunday morning long run.
Jan and I thought we were dressed appropriately. I piled on my Nike fleece-lined tight fitting top and matching pants, merino socks, Asics jacket, hat & matching gloves, and a fleece scarf. Jan did likewise. And we were freezing. Really freezing.
Running in the cold weather is daunting. The cold attacks you, the wind pummels you. Muscles take longer to warm up. What normally takes 2 miles to feel warmed-up and ready to kick into high gear, takes 3-4 miles on a January run here. Running along the canal now isn't feasible either. The wind blows off the water creating a wind chill factor that prohibits any more than a 3 or 4 mile run. We tried that a few weeks ago; the wind chill was brutal, cutting our run short although we did attempt it. The porta-pottys on the canal road are closed for the off-season as well, so the last thing we want to do is get 7 miles down the canal and realize we have to run 7 miles back and then drive home in order to do our thing. Then there's the ice. The roads around here have been icy for most of January; some roads get plowed & sanded, some do not. There's also something called "black ice" here on Cape Cod that's basically frozen dew that can't be seen until you are in the process of slipping and falling on it.
So we run in my neighborhood. It's loaded with hills, regular & black ice, snow, dogs (whose owners think it's cute to let them run without their leash because who'd be out at this hour anyway?), and of course other hearty Cape Cod runners. But we never really warmed up this morning. Our times were unprintable. It took a lot of hot coffee, a hot shower & a couple hours sitting in front of a fire in my fireplace to finally increase my body temperature back to normal.
So I went shopping for warmer running clothes. UnderArmour? Nike? Tight-fitting or loose? Polyester? Silk? Fleece-lined? Tights? This should not be this hard. All I wanted was a pair of tights to go under my fleece-lined running pants. I finally found what I was looking for: Nike tight-fitting running pants to wear under loose-fitting Nike running pants.
The weather for the coming week is forecast to be stormy & altogether miserable so I don't know how much running we will do. But my new running pants should hopefully help my leg muscles warm up and stay warm while we try to regain our times from last summer. We thought running in 90 degree F heat was difficult, but I'd rather run in shorts with Mister Fan than in this bitter cold.
But runners run, so we did.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
2010 Running Goals
I've been thinking since New Year's Day about my first blog entry of the new year and the new decade. It's hard to believe it's 2010. Twenty-ten. Life has changed enormously for me in the past decade. So much so that I hardly recognize the person I was 10 years ago.
I have a picture taken of me on New Year's Eve 1999 in front of the TV when the Times Square ball had just come down. When the clock turned 12 midnight & the millennium began in the year 2000, I was overweight & stressed to the max in a job that produced enormous anxiety and insomnia, ruining many nights' sleep. I was trying to complete my doctoral research, my dissertation nowhere near started. I was eating badly, eating too much, eating in front of the computer, and eating for many of the wrong reasons. I was yo-yo dieting, going from the South Beach Diet to Weight Watchers to whatever diet was on the cover of the latest women's magazine. And I got absolutely no exercise. My cholesterol climbed to almost 300. My youngest son had moved out of state with our 5 year old granddaughter and I missed them very very much. By 2008 I knew I had to change my behavioral patterns or they'd change me. I went back to Weight Watchers, followed the program and lost 17 lbs. I was doing better handling my life, but I couldn't handle stress well at all.
By the end of the decade, I'd completed my dissertation & graduated, left the killer job, opened & closed a business (a great experience but 'way too much work for the long term), and was offered & accepted the job of my dreams. On the plus side, our oldest son's two daughters were born, my youngest son & granddaughter moved closer to home and he married the love of his life - our wonderful marathoner daughter-in-law. The New England Patriots won 3 Super Bowls and the Boston Red Sox won 2 World Series, I got a new kitchen & bath, and, oh yes, best of all - I got married. I guess the decade wasn't all bad :D
But other family dramas and the passing of my parents sapped me of a happy outlook on life and grief was frequently my daily companion.
Then late in 2008 I started running. Since those first few days on my treadmill running with a tentative plan in mind to try to become a runner, I've run and completed a half-marathon plus many other 5Ks & 10Ks. I became a vegetarian & my cholesterol is below 200. I now know how to handle stress in healthy appropriate ways (I blog & I run!). I'm down 2 sizes and my energy levels are off the charts. I love my iPod Nano and my Nike+ chip. Terms I had never heard of or never noticed on December 31, 1999 are now part of my lexicon: "wicking fabric", "orthotics" "over-pronation" "iTunes store", "Killer-manjaro" "runner gal-pal" and of course the Falmouth Road Race.
How times have changed. Fast forward ten years to New Year's Day 2010. Old eating habits are a thing of the past. I finally learned to eat to nourish my body and to be able to run. Yes I do still love sweets but I now eat them in moderation; one does not need dessert after every meal. Yes I gained weight over the holidays - a whopping 2 lbs. I do yoga now to center myself and to stretch & strengthen my core muscles. And I run. I'm not fast but I'm faster than when I started. My form isn't pretty but it's better than at the beginning. But I run & I finish.
And I have gratitude, true & immense gratitude, to my wonderful wife, family and friends who entered and/or remained in my life and gave me their unconditional love.
So here are my running goals for 2010:
1. Continue to run!
2. Increase my monthly mileage. My best month was 98.5 miles. Can I do 100? I'm going to try!
3. Run intelligently - don't take chances but challenge myself to run better and longer.
4. Avoid injury (note to self: don't even think of bowling!)
5. Run a few more 5K & 10Ks
6. Train for and run another half marathon in May.
7. Join the gym at the college where I work (it's too inexpensive to pass up) and strengthen my core.
8. Train for my first marathon. I don't have to run it this year, but I think I'll at least train for one.
9. Put my name in the lottery for the 2010 Falmouth Road Race and cross all fingers & toes that I get in again.
10. Have fun - I'm going to be a grandmother again!
11. Oh yes - one more thing......run Boston in 2011!
I have a picture taken of me on New Year's Eve 1999 in front of the TV when the Times Square ball had just come down. When the clock turned 12 midnight & the millennium began in the year 2000, I was overweight & stressed to the max in a job that produced enormous anxiety and insomnia, ruining many nights' sleep. I was trying to complete my doctoral research, my dissertation nowhere near started. I was eating badly, eating too much, eating in front of the computer, and eating for many of the wrong reasons. I was yo-yo dieting, going from the South Beach Diet to Weight Watchers to whatever diet was on the cover of the latest women's magazine. And I got absolutely no exercise. My cholesterol climbed to almost 300. My youngest son had moved out of state with our 5 year old granddaughter and I missed them very very much. By 2008 I knew I had to change my behavioral patterns or they'd change me. I went back to Weight Watchers, followed the program and lost 17 lbs. I was doing better handling my life, but I couldn't handle stress well at all.
By the end of the decade, I'd completed my dissertation & graduated, left the killer job, opened & closed a business (a great experience but 'way too much work for the long term), and was offered & accepted the job of my dreams. On the plus side, our oldest son's two daughters were born, my youngest son & granddaughter moved closer to home and he married the love of his life - our wonderful marathoner daughter-in-law. The New England Patriots won 3 Super Bowls and the Boston Red Sox won 2 World Series, I got a new kitchen & bath, and, oh yes, best of all - I got married. I guess the decade wasn't all bad :D
But other family dramas and the passing of my parents sapped me of a happy outlook on life and grief was frequently my daily companion.
Then late in 2008 I started running. Since those first few days on my treadmill running with a tentative plan in mind to try to become a runner, I've run and completed a half-marathon plus many other 5Ks & 10Ks. I became a vegetarian & my cholesterol is below 200. I now know how to handle stress in healthy appropriate ways (I blog & I run!). I'm down 2 sizes and my energy levels are off the charts. I love my iPod Nano and my Nike+ chip. Terms I had never heard of or never noticed on December 31, 1999 are now part of my lexicon: "wicking fabric", "orthotics" "over-pronation" "iTunes store", "Killer-manjaro" "runner gal-pal" and of course the Falmouth Road Race.
How times have changed. Fast forward ten years to New Year's Day 2010. Old eating habits are a thing of the past. I finally learned to eat to nourish my body and to be able to run. Yes I do still love sweets but I now eat them in moderation; one does not need dessert after every meal. Yes I gained weight over the holidays - a whopping 2 lbs. I do yoga now to center myself and to stretch & strengthen my core muscles. And I run. I'm not fast but I'm faster than when I started. My form isn't pretty but it's better than at the beginning. But I run & I finish.
And I have gratitude, true & immense gratitude, to my wonderful wife, family and friends who entered and/or remained in my life and gave me their unconditional love.
So here are my running goals for 2010:
1. Continue to run!
2. Increase my monthly mileage. My best month was 98.5 miles. Can I do 100? I'm going to try!
3. Run intelligently - don't take chances but challenge myself to run better and longer.
4. Avoid injury (note to self: don't even think of bowling!)
5. Run a few more 5K & 10Ks
6. Train for and run another half marathon in May.
7. Join the gym at the college where I work (it's too inexpensive to pass up) and strengthen my core.
8. Train for my first marathon. I don't have to run it this year, but I think I'll at least train for one.
9. Put my name in the lottery for the 2010 Falmouth Road Race and cross all fingers & toes that I get in again.
10. Have fun - I'm going to be a grandmother again!
11. Oh yes - one more thing......run Boston in 2011!
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