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Vortex Schmortex

Last 6 Runs

5 miles, 7:15 pace | 4 miles, 7:30 pace | 4 miles, 7:30 pace | 5.5 miles, 7:00 pace | 7 miles, 7:00 pace | 6 miles, 6:50 pace

We have officially run the gamut of ridiculous Ohio weather multiple times over in January and into February. Schools were closed in Columbus due to wind chills dropping below -20 in the middle of last week and so I was relegated to my old enemy the treadmill for a couple days. Can you guess which runs those were?

But then the polar vortex passed and three days later it was nearly 60 degrees and sunny. The temperature has moved from to 0 to 50 to 0 to 50 in the span of two weeks. Ohio is weird, and climate change is coming for us all. In other news, I’m officially an old man whose life revolves around the weather forecast. Honestly, I spend inordinate amounts of time on my weather app preparing for the hours when I might be spending time outside within the next week.

On the positive side of that global warming thing, you do get some pretty spectacular days to enjoy during what would normally be miserable winter. On Super Bowl Sunday I waited until about 2 p.m. when it was about 58 degrees and went for my longest run of 2019. With people preparing for the game, the bike path was emptier than it would normally be on such a perfect day for exercise, and I had an awesome run. Cruising along at 7 minute miles felt easy, and getting a little Vitamin D back in the system wasn’t too shabby either.

These types of runs are necessary for me. After a couple days straight on a treadmill, and a few runs where it was cold and grey and hard to convince myself to get outside, it’s so refreshing to reset with a run where you want to get out and get after it. It’s so encouraging to be running fast, and long, and feeling totally fine doing it. Running is not always like that.

The only way I could follow that up was with a ridiculous rain run the following day. It was still in the low 50s, but temps were going to drop significantly overnight, and I just couldn’t pass that up. So I through on the Patagonia water gear and my Boston Marathon hat (to let anyone else on the bike path know that I was better than them, of course) and headed on to the path again.

It was another great run, and I moved quickly because the rain and wind just have a way of keeping you especially active, but it also had a memorable detour. I was running on the sidewalk between sections of bike path when I car came by and hammered a puddle next to me. I have no idea if it was intentional, but it felt like the low moment in a movie when everything is going wrong for a guy and then a car comes and covers him in water, and I was pissed. I shouted and took off at a near-sprint, trying to catch the car and, I don’t know, knock on their window and shout more obscenities?

Alas, the driver was able to execute a right turn at the red light I was trying to catch up to him at and escape. I’d like to think that person was a little bit shook the rest of the way home, though. I’m an intimidating dude.

I ran 95 miles in January, a pretty solid number. I would have broken 100 if not for that cold/flu I got in the middle of the month. Still, I’m feeling really good about my running, and with only a month and a half of dodging cold weather to go, it’s exciting to feel like I’m in good shape with lots of time to improve. The base is pretty close to being there, and the speed comes next!

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The Cold and A Cold

Last 4 Runs

6 miles, 7:00 pace | 3.5 miles, 7:30 pace | 5 miles, 7:00 pace | 6.5 miles, 7:15 pace

Let’s get this out of the way right off the bat. From my last post:

Mostly 5-7 mile runs where I’m executing a 6:30-7:15 pace…

I know. I have one excuse, and it’s not a great one, but here goes: treadmill.

It dropped to negative temperatures in Columbus Sunday and MOnday, and that’s just too damn cold for me to get outside. So I lowered myself to running indoors on a treadmill, which is probably my least favorite thing on earth to do.

For one thing, it’s impossibly boring. You just stare ahead the only scenery changing being the people walking past you in the gym or outside the windows, and try to keep trudging along in place. But the bigger issue is the discouraging feeling of treadmill running being so difficult. The technology to measure how fast you’re running on a treadmill is not something extraordinary; it doesn’t require math skills beyond division. Which I bring up to say that I guess the miles per hour numbers a treadmill is spitting out is a number we should trust. It’s discouraging then, that running at 7.5 miles per hour (or an 8-minute mile pace) is tiring for me when I’m doing it on a treadmill. That is a slow jog when I’m outside. So what’s going on here? Am I taxing myself that much mentally when I have to run inside?

Either way, I had to hop on a treadmill for the first time in 10-11 months and after I felt like I had been running for three and a half hours I looked down to learn that it had only been 2 minutes and 45 seconds. I stayed the course for long enough to make it feel like I’d done an actual workout, then happily hopped off the infernal machine to do some core work. It’s going to be cold enough again to force me indoors on runs, and I’ll work on sticking it out for longer.

Also from my last post:

I’ve run 9 of the last 12 days, and 5 of the last 6…

Yeaaaaahhhhh. Followed that up with only 4 runs in 8 days. Not great! I got sick and had to take it a little easier this past week. But to be honest, it hasn’t been all bad. I ran in a 40 degree rainstorm (to call it pouring would be hyperbole, but you’d have wanted an umbrella to walk outside). I’ve always thought running in the rain can be pretty fun once you get going; I have some of my best distance runs as I’m more focused on keeping my vision clear and avoiding puddles than my pace. You get weird looks from people and get to do your thing.

Anyway, about 1.5 miles into that run I stepped onto the grass to avoid a large puddle and hit a slick of mud that sent my feet flying out from under me. Imagine that, after it had been raining all day! I’m honestly not sure how, but my right foot got back onto the ground and I was able to right myself before hitting the ground from what I can only assume was a Djokovic-esque contortion. I’ve still got it.

My longest run of 2019 (low bar) was a good way to start a new week off right. More rainy 40s and near-zero temperatures are in the weather prediction for this week, so it should be another terrific time.