Slogging

Yesterday, I got a bee in my bonnet to go outside and run.  I know, one of the coldest days of the year, giant snow piles covering everything, and I was thinking that might be a fine idea.  No, I'm not that hard core.  But days and days of being inside have taken their toll, and cabin fever can sometimes be a powerful motivator.  I mentioned it to a couple of people before I went out to attempt it, and they both thought I was insane.  Well, one thought I was insane, and the other was my mom, who was quite sure it was too dangerous.  Yes, the temperature was registering as 5 degrees on theweatherchannel desktop, but I figured once I got going it wouldn't be so bad. 

I actually did a little research on how to dress for running in these frigit temps.  You always want to dress as if it's 20 degrees warmer than it actually is, so I was looking at a whopping 25 rather than 5.   Whew, heat wave.  In my reading, I learned that your legs actually won't be as cold as the rest of you  (I assume because they're working harder) so I went with one layer of tight dri-fit running pants with a pair of workout pants over them.  Dug out my ski socks, thinking they would do well to wick the moisture away and keep my feet fairly dry.  On my top half, I layered a fleece over my long-sleeved technical tee and covered it all with a wind-proof fleece zip-up jacket.  I went with a tight fitting stocking cap with a fleece cap over it, and put a neck gaiter on just in case I needed something to breathe through. 

Finally, it was time for the shoes. I haven't run in my old trail running shoes for years, and I had to dig them out of the back of the closet.  It didn't take me long to figure out why they were there, when I noticed the inside is all torn up and ratty.  I think I actually converted them to paint shoes at one time, because there were a couple of drops of butter yellow on the toes.  But I threw my insoles in and off I went.

I started off slow, and was immediately disheartened by how much harder it is to run outside when you've been running mostly on the treadmill for a month.  I knew I'd have to run in the street, so I did the safe thing and ran against what little traffic there was just here around the neighborhood.  There were several spots when I thought it might be safe to be on the cleared sidewalks, but my joy was short-lived after passing a house or two and realizing the rest of the block was going to be like hiking through Alaska in running shoes. 

I was glad I had the extra traction of the trail runners, because if I had been wearing my regular running shoes it would have been a sad story.  I somehow managed not to fall, but maintaining balance was still hard in some spots just because of the way the snow was packed.  Several people drove by, looking at me and shaking their heads while all toasty in their warm cars. They were very helpful...

As for the temps, I was dressed fairly well for that, although I hadn't anticipated the air blowing up the bottom of my shirt/fleece/jacket.  Next time, I'll go for something a little more form-fitting, or at least something that has a drawstring at the bottom. 

I coined a new term during my time outside yesterday.  Decided it wasn't a run, so much as it was a slog.  It was a slush-jog.  Then I realized that most days, I could call what I do to cover the miles a slog--slow jog.  Either way, it works as a brand new descriptive term. 

I was so sure I had covered my three miles, but later when I checked my USATF map, it turned out to be 2.68.  It certainly felt like ten, with all that slogging.  But I had been outside!  I had gotten my vitamin D fix! I had left my house to run in 5 degree weather and arctic conditions!  And that has to be worth something...