26.2 Quest: cold

Showing posts with label cold. Show all posts

Rainy And 39 Degrees - Isn't That Cold?

When I woke up this morning at 5:00 am to rain and 39 degrees it would have been very easy to crawl right back into bed. However, knowing that I skipped my run yesterday for more sleep since I had stayed up so late the night before got me up and got me going with very little effort for my 4 mile run this morning.

The steady rain was gone by the time I made it out the door but I was still left with sprinkles throughout the run and lots of puddles left from the last day of raining. I have run this route many times before so I know right where the water puddles up so I was able to avoid stepping into anything unpleasant.

Tomorrow morning is the Run the Reagan road race. They feature a 1 mile fun run, a 5k, a 10k, and a half marathon. If you have been reading long you will remember this race two times in my history. Two years ago I Ran the Reagan as my first half marathon, and last year I Ran the Reagan 5k as I was just getting back to running following my broken collar bone.

This year I was planning on running the Reagan with all three of my kids. I was actually thinking of doing a three race day and was going to run the 1 mile with my son, the 5k with my daughter Ashlee, and the 10k with my daughter Payton. Looking at the race starting times I was actually going to be able to work this out too. We ended up changing our minds this past Sunday when we looked at what it was going to cost us and all the other costs we have had to incur recently.

Since I decided to not Run the Reagan I decided I would volunteer instead. I really didn't want to let go being a part of the race. So tomorrow morning I will be showing up at ~~7:00 am~~ 9:00 am and helping with the race day. Last year I volunteered and ran the race.

And this is where it gets interesting......

Today, we just got more snow than I can remember ever getting since we moved to Atlanta 10 years ago. I am not sure what the official count is, but I would say it was in the 3-5" range..... sure that is nothing for up north, but quite a bit for down here. To add insult to injury it is supposed to be in the mid 20's at race time tomorrow morning so there is no chance of anything melting off. This will be a snow and ice filled race.

The e-mail came just a few hours ago, and the website was updated. The race was still on however everything would be delayed by 2 hours off of the original schedule. There is still a possibility that more could change by morning, but I hope we awake to find that the Reagan is clear enough to run on.

All things do tend to work out in a way for some reason. Shortly after deciding not to run this race this past Sunday I went out for a 10 miler. 6 miles into the run my right calf started to tighten up. By the time I went to bed that evening I was in a lot of pain. It is feeling much better now, but with it the way it is there is no way I would have been able to run even one of these races...... let alone all 3 like I was thinking.

There will be more races to come, however I am looking forward to volunteering in tomorrows snowy Run the Reagan, A Run The Reagan Like No Other.

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow blog - virtual4now

How Do You Describe Your Runs?

I know the grammar isn't complete, but isn't that what Twitter has made us do?

"Just finished an invigorating and lung busting 4.4 mile rainy cold hilly run"

If I was given much more space on Twitter who knows how many more adjectives I could have come up with? :)

The run was just as I said it: Invigorating, lung busting, rainy, cold, and hilly. I was very pleased with it, but it (mostly the hills) kicked my butt..... and I loved it!

I was running a new route. My daughter was running 4 miles with a friend and needed a ride to her house. I figured I would take her there and run my 4+ mile run from there as well. I figured we would get back close to the same time and all would be good. It was a good run, but with a bit more hills then I had hoped to run. When I got back my phone rang and she asked..... are you back yet? She was inside eating some soup. We drove what she "said" was 4 miles...... She is outside in our neighborhood right now running two more miles to bring her day to 5 miles...... you do the math :)

How do you describe your runs?

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow blog - virtual4now

Cold - Rain - Run

Cool weather, but not too bad - but COLD rain the entire 4.55 mile run.

My daughter Payton and I went out to run 4 miles and I asked her if she was OK with us mixing it up a bit and taking a different route. I mentioned there were a couple hills, but shouldn't be too bad. Half way up the second hill she said she doesn't like to "mix it up" because it is too hard. I mentioned she could never count on an easy run with me because the easy runs don't make you great!

After her shower she says she is feeling much better, I don't think the cold rain helped things out at all.

Cold run in the rain on a Saturday morning - Check!
Being lazy and laying around the house the rest of the day watching movies - Still to do!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow blog - virtual4now

It Sure Has Been Cold Running Weather!

This past couple weeks has been the longest cold stretch I can remember since we moved to Georgia 10 years ago. This past week I am not sure it got much over freezing during the day, if at all.

This hasn't stopped me (us) from running although it has been more difficult to get up and out the door, I am just very happy my wife bought me a long sleeve under-armor (type) shirt for Christmas..... it was the best gift :)

Monday morning was the coldest run that I have had this week, and one of my coldest ever. It was 18 degrees with a wind chill of 6 degrees.

Tuesday was still cold but I waited till after work to go running with my daughters when it warmed up to 29 degrees. We ran 2.5 miles all together - Ashlee, my new runner is up to 2.5 miles now! :) We dropped her off at home and Payton and I continued to make it a 4.1 mile run.

Wednesday I just didn't have it in me to get up and out the door after a less than perfect nights sleep, and by the time I got home dinner was ready and I just couldn't do it. There will be days like this...... so I am told :)

Thursday I started the morning with much more self discipline, plus it wasn't quite as cold as it had been the last three mornings :). It was a nice warm 26 degrees, especially since the wind wasn't blowing. It was comfortable, and after the first couple miles turned into a really good 4 mile run.

Today was just plain cold! We got our blizzard here in Georgia last night. It could be compared to a light dusting in most northern states, but for us it is downright treacherous. The schools were all closed and many businesses were either closed or had a delayed opening. I chose not to get up and run this morning because it would be too difficult and dangerous to run and avoid the icy patches all over the roads without any daylight to help me.

Our office closed at 4:00 so everyone could make it home before dark and it was a good thing because there is still a lot of icy patches all over, many of which you wouldn't see in the dark. This also gave me an opportunity to go for a run with my daughter Payton while we could still see those icy spots on the roads and sidewalks.

It was a really cold 3.1 mile run - especially for it being 5 in the afternoon. It was also tough to watch for and avoid all the icy spots in the road and sidewalks, but much better than if it had been dark. It is currently 23 and really windy with a wind chill of 9 degrees.

They are telling us it is going to remain cold over the weekend and then start to warm up a bit. I like running in the cold..... but I have had almost enough........ I never said I was hard core like you northerners are :)

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow blog - virtual4now

Time For Some Cold Running

Over the past couple weeks the colder running weather has arrived.

We spent Thanksgiving in Indiana and had our first cold weather run of the season. Thanksgiving morning Payton and I got up and headed out for a run in the windy, cold weather with a few sprinkles. It was 38 degrees outside and Payton came walking up to me dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. I just had to laugh at her and shake my head. I asked her where her warmer clothes were and she said she didn't bring any. She ended up borrowing warmer clothes from her sister so we could go running. The 5 mile run was cold, especially with the wind and few sprinkles, but overall was a nice run through the country roads of a very small town in Central Indiana.

This past week that cold weather arrived here in Georgia as well. Tuesday morning's run was a 34 degree run. The colder weather made it hard for me to get motivated to get out the door. It will take a couple cold runs and it will not be as difficult, but right now I still have to get to the point where I trust my clothing. It was a gorgeous morning with the crisp air, full moon, and a lot of fog. I really need to get some better cold weather running gear..... maybe one of these days! :)

I think the cold weather is here to stay..... at least for now.

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow this blog - twitter-virtual4now

Rain Glorious Rain

Down here in Georgia where the bread and soup lines are getting ready to turn into drinking water lines, it is a wonderful morning when you wake up to the pitter patter of a good rainfall on the skylight.

A good rainfall is a welcome commodity, but couple that with 37 degrees and I am overjoyed..... overjoyed that this morning is not a running morning!

There still was a smile on my face as I dressed for success (shorts and a t-shirt) and headed out the door to go to the gym for a good workout. It was amazing to see the added bodies occupying the treadmills as it looks like others were happy to see the rain.... just not on their running morning. :)

36 degrees, rain/sleet/snow - 8 miles

Well, I knew what the forecast was, but I still wanted to get my long run in.

The run started with 36 degrees and it was raining. I was taking off on a new course which was a 8 mile circle. (as a side note, you can see if you look at linked map of my running route, I passed by the Ronald Reagan Parkway - this is where my First Half Marathon will be run in less than a month) After mile two I started seeing and feeling sleet mixed in with the rain. By the time I got to mile 3 snow was starting to make it's appearance. I stopped at a gas station to get some gatoraide just about mile 4 and then continued on in the snow. As the run progressed, so did the snow. By the time I got to mile 7 it was starting to stick.

The picture to the left was as I was walking back up to the house following my run. You can see I actually even have some snow on the front of my shirt just like cars have from driving into the snow. Wow! I must run fast! :) OK, maybe not.

The forcast changed a couple times, but they are still saying we will get between 1 and 2 inches, which is a lot for here in Atlanta. I think I was turning a lot of heads this morning as people passed me by on the roads. I didn't see any other runners and only a couple people walking their dogs.

I almost gave in

If you live in the north, then you will probably laugh at me, but here in Atlanta we don't get this very often. Last night we got some snow, which shortly later turned to a sleet/rain mix. The kids were all excited, both for the snow and the possibility of no school today.

This morning being a running morning I had every intention of getting up and running, regardless of the weather, but when I got up this morning and it was still going with a sleet/rain mix I started coming up with excuses. I figured I could go to the gym and run the dreadmill, but easily convinced myself that if it was too bad outside to run, it was also too bad to drive to the gym.

Here is where the "almost" comes in. At 4:50, I put all rationalization aside and started getting dressed to run in this weather. By 5:05 I was out the door and it was nowhere near as bad as I expected it to be. The 33 degrees kept the road from freezing so I had nothing to worry about as far as ice went. My run went really good with only occasional rain enough for me to even notice. It did start raining more during mile 6, but all in all it was a very pleasant 10k.

Next time I need to not be so quick with the excuses.