Wow how things can change here in a couple of days. Last week I was revelling in the somewhat warm temperatures. Then last night the snow started to fall. When I woke up it was -12C (10F). Brrr. At least the sun came out today resulting in a fantastic run through -5C (23F) weather over lunch. Sometimes I wonder about this whole "training for a marathon in January while living in Calgary" thing. I think it gives new meaning to the term "endurance running" because not only do you endure long distance training runs but you endure cold and crazy weather. In an effort to put a bright spin on things I thought of all the things I love about winter running while I was out today:
- Cold weather makes you run faster. You want to hurry up, run, and get back indoors.
- Cold weather running mitigates the need for an ice bath after your long run. Indulging in an ice bath seems like an invitation for hypothermia around here if you ask me.
- Running over snowy pathways helps you pay special attention to your balance as you try not to slip and fall, and gives you something else to think about besides how far you are running. I think it also helps to promote a better gait as I concentrate more on shorter strides and faster turnover on slippery surfaces.
- I love the crunching sound I hear as my sneakers impact the snow.
- You can ogle all of the men out running the pathways clad in liberal amounts of spandex. Although maybe this isn't always a good thing.
- The fluid in your water bottle stays cold.
- You get to see what everyone else wears to stay warm. Today I saw a woman in this crazy coloured ski outfit, complete with hood with furry trim, wearing a dust mask.
I was aiming for 3 miles, but I finished up with 3.63 miles today and it felt great the entire way.
4 comments:
wow it's a good thing you live in canada. I generally dislike the cold...but you have made some good points. except for the snow, I have images of my slipping and sliding and falling...yes I have a lack of balance
Gol-ly, you sure are optimistic! I guess you would need to be with the training you're doing. My legs just go numb and heavy in the cold. I heard about this one woman a couple of years ago who ran the Olympic marathon for the US. She was from Alaska and had done all of her training on a treadmill in her basement. I bet you're having more fun training than she was! Then again, if she were Canadian maybe she would have sucked it up, run outside, and then won.
I cannot even imagine! Although water staying cold would be nice!
I think I would take the cold over the humidity any day.
I like the water staying cold. I had warm powerade once I stuck in a snowbank, when I came back by it 5 miles later it was nice and cold, just the way I like it. Oh, and I always indulge in a cup of Ghirdelli Hot Chocolate after...it makes it worth the run!
Post a Comment