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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.

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Grey Ohio Winter Misery

Last Five Runs

6 miles | 5 miles | 5 miles | 5.5 miles | 5 miles  all at similar pace (~6:45-7)

A quick note about these Last Several Runs that will accompany the top of each post: The distances will be rounded to the nearest half mile to keep things simple. For example, that 6 mile run was a 10k. On certain key training runs, I may keep the exact distance.

And so we’re a couple weeks into 2019. Winter is an interesting time of year for me in terms of running, because it sucks, but it’s usually pretty important for hitting my goals in a given year. The desire to get outside, run hard and be productive vs. the dread of having cold hands or being outside in general is a battle I go through mentally almost every year. Last year it was the need to start pouring in miles for an early spring marathon; this year, it’s about finding a way to stay relatively fast and in great shape for when daylight savings time is done and real running can begin.

Because let’s make no mistake about it–running in the winter is awful. The weather in Ohio ranges from unpleasant to frigid (although in fairness we did have a warm December this year), and that is only made worse by the nearly-permanent dim grey color the sky settles into through February. Seriously, when the sun is actually shining you get some of your best runs during the midwest winter, because it feels like you have something worth living for.

And none of that includes the most underrated awful part of winter running: you have to do laundry at least twice as often. To deal with the cold, you have to slap on multiple layers of long-sleeved clothing and pants, which then get sweaty and fill up a washing machine much faster than normal clothes. Add to this reality the fact that normal people don’t own as many pairs of running pants or tights and pullovers as they do shorts and shirts, and you have to do laundry more often than normal just to maintain clean clothing. Yes, running in the winter time is the worst.

Anyway, let’s get to the running. It’s likely that there won’t be much variance on the Last Several Runs at the top of these posts until the weather warms up slightly and the sun stays out for longer. Mostly 5-7 mile runs where I’m executing a 6:30 – 7:15 pace over the course of them. I try to add surges here and there for a couple minutes to keep speed on my mind, but it’s nothing really focused yet.

I’ve run 9 of the last 12 days, and 5 of the last 6, which means it was time for nice evening off. The increased workload had my legs tired yesterday while running. That’s a good sign, because it means I’m running enough to gain some fitness. But it also means I’ve got some work to do. 5 out of 6 days running should become the norm, with speed work and higher mileage mixed in by the time spring gets here.

Solid start, but a long way to go, especially with some colder, snowier weather coming to make running outside more challenging. Keep pushing!