"I don't know if you'd believe me, but I could run like the wind blows."
Ohio received the tail end of Hurricane Sandy yesterday and today, mixed with the snow storm that was coming from... somewhere in the United States, I'm not quite sure. It wasn't nearly as bad as what people were expecting, all of our stores have been sold out of generators and peanut butter since Sunday, but after everyone got it so hard with the wind storm this summer (luckily my house kept it's power on!) I guess it's better to be safe then sorry. We got rain, sleet, SNOW and wind. A lot of wind, but nothing too serious. All of our plastic patio chairs and empty trashcans blew over, but I have yet to see a single tree down. I think all the weak ones got picked off this summer so what is currently standing is strong enough to take some wind.
But man did the temperatures drop! Less then a week ago Ohio was topping out at just over 80 degrees, which was close to a record high. As of yesterday our temps have been in the mid to low 30s, and wind chills in the 20s. It has been raining since yesterday and overnight the rain turned to snow and left a covering on the ground, which had melted by lunch. Last year I think we got one light snow the entire winter and we have officially had snowfall before Halloween this year! That's Ohio for ya!
Running in this weather is never appealing. But I think it LOOKS much less appealing then it really is. I think that is where the real difference between someone who runs and a runner. Or maybe just the difference between a runner and a crazy runner. I like to think of myself as the latter of either. So many people will debate on whether or not to brace the weather, but a real runner never questions whether to run, just HOW to get it done. There are 2 main factors when running through poor weather.
Timing. The weather sucks all day today, but I think it's important to check the weather report and get a good look at when it is going to suck the least. If it is sleeting in the morning, try to hit the roads in the evening. If the wind is going to pick up after 6pm, then maybe a morning run is in store for the day. It may not be ideal for you to change for running schedule, but it may help make your run suck less.
Clothing. Clothing can be so important when it comes to running and weather. When the weather is normal, I couldn't care less what I run in (and many of my outfits reflect that), but when the weather is harsh, I have specific clothes I wear. Freezing and windy calls for TIGHT clothing. I wear tight "active wear" tights and a tight "active wear" long sleeve top. And a headband of course. There is something about cold and wind that gets completely blocked out when you are wearing form fitting clothing during your run, but because your still only wearing one layer, you don't over heat. If there is precipitation, I'll wear another layer over top so that my skin tight layer doesn't get wet, cause then it would get cold. If its real cold I'll throw on gloves.
The hardest part of running is the first step out the door, and when the weather is as bad as this it makes it that much harder. Just put on your shoes, and walk outside. First step-done.
Showing posts with label running in the wind. Show all posts
Showing posts with label running in the wind. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Blinded by the light, running against the wind
Today I had a 3 mile run. I wanted to write a little bit about it cause it was kind of harsh, despite the fact that it was only a 3 mile run! I rested yesterday, cause frankly I just ran out of time to run, so I felt fresh and ready to go. My plan was to end my run at Panera Bread cause they were giving away free lunch to Military people, sweet! When I walked outside it was close to 60 degrees, and yes it is 4 days before Christmas, and I was really excited to see how fast I could get to Panera since I knew at least 2/3 of my run would be flat or down hill, which never happens where I live.
So I looped my street once and headed out to high st to run the 1.7 miles south to Panera. I felt ok and was trucking along pretty well until I turned. The ground was wet. Not just wet, but saturated. (The news actually said that today's weather was going to be "saturating rain". They were right.) Despite the fact that it had stopped raining and the sun was shining, everything in sight was completely covered in water. The sun was shining so brightly in the Southern sky by this point in the day (noon) that it I had to look down to the ground in order to run. But when I looked down, the reflection was so bad from the saturated earth, that I couldnt look down either. I literally had no where to look, which is hard when you are running on a crappy sidewalk next to a busy street.
Besides the sun, there was the wind. It was WINDY out today. It was so strong from the south, which of course is where I was heading, that it felt like every time I picked up my feet, they didn't go too much further from where they started. I felt instantly defeated in my attempts to make a great time on this run. I pushed aside the feeling of being bummed and tried to think of just making it at this point. I couldn't see and I was barely moving. What the heck!
Every time I have to run in the wind I want to quit. It is really hard to run in the wind! Bad weather, you can deal cause that is just being uncomfortable, but when you are pushing against the wind, things become kind of ridiculous because you tend to not move anywhere, which is the point of running. There is a movie I watch once called The Spirit of the Marathon, which is a really good movie to get you motivate. I lied in my bed relaxing as much as I could the night before I ran my first marathon, trying to channel excitement for the next day . But there is a scene of this lady, I forget her name, but she is a world famous long distance runner, and there in this scene she goes out and runs like 20 miles next to an open road in Montana. When she is done she talks about how intense the wind was, but how it was important to train in it. Every time I have to run against the wind I think about that scene and how much harder it must have been for her, and where I wanted to be as a runner one day, and then I push through it.
I cranked out my last 1/2 mile with what felt like a 10 min mile time. I was disappointed and glad to be done. The moment I stopped running my lungs and neck started burning. Burning like I hadnt done any cardiovascular activity in years. I dont know if the pain was cause I was getting stronger, or getting weaker. I guess ill find out later. It was a horrible pain, but it subsided after a minute or so of deep breaths.
As I was pacing around trying to catch my breath I looked down at my phone to see my time. 25:18. Honestly I was blown away. Not only was that one of my fastest times, I felt like I did horribly, which means that if the weather would have been right I could have gone so much faster. I decided that I should try not to beat myself up when running and just try my best.
So I looped my street once and headed out to high st to run the 1.7 miles south to Panera. I felt ok and was trucking along pretty well until I turned. The ground was wet. Not just wet, but saturated. (The news actually said that today's weather was going to be "saturating rain". They were right.) Despite the fact that it had stopped raining and the sun was shining, everything in sight was completely covered in water. The sun was shining so brightly in the Southern sky by this point in the day (noon) that it I had to look down to the ground in order to run. But when I looked down, the reflection was so bad from the saturated earth, that I couldnt look down either. I literally had no where to look, which is hard when you are running on a crappy sidewalk next to a busy street.
Besides the sun, there was the wind. It was WINDY out today. It was so strong from the south, which of course is where I was heading, that it felt like every time I picked up my feet, they didn't go too much further from where they started. I felt instantly defeated in my attempts to make a great time on this run. I pushed aside the feeling of being bummed and tried to think of just making it at this point. I couldn't see and I was barely moving. What the heck!
Every time I have to run in the wind I want to quit. It is really hard to run in the wind! Bad weather, you can deal cause that is just being uncomfortable, but when you are pushing against the wind, things become kind of ridiculous because you tend to not move anywhere, which is the point of running. There is a movie I watch once called The Spirit of the Marathon, which is a really good movie to get you motivate. I lied in my bed relaxing as much as I could the night before I ran my first marathon, trying to channel excitement for the next day . But there is a scene of this lady, I forget her name, but she is a world famous long distance runner, and there in this scene she goes out and runs like 20 miles next to an open road in Montana. When she is done she talks about how intense the wind was, but how it was important to train in it. Every time I have to run against the wind I think about that scene and how much harder it must have been for her, and where I wanted to be as a runner one day, and then I push through it.
I cranked out my last 1/2 mile with what felt like a 10 min mile time. I was disappointed and glad to be done. The moment I stopped running my lungs and neck started burning. Burning like I hadnt done any cardiovascular activity in years. I dont know if the pain was cause I was getting stronger, or getting weaker. I guess ill find out later. It was a horrible pain, but it subsided after a minute or so of deep breaths.
As I was pacing around trying to catch my breath I looked down at my phone to see my time. 25:18. Honestly I was blown away. Not only was that one of my fastest times, I felt like I did horribly, which means that if the weather would have been right I could have gone so much faster. I decided that I should try not to beat myself up when running and just try my best.
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