9 miler

My longest distance yet. Boy, it felt every bit of 9 miles. It is 9 miles according to the route I drew over at http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/.

After church and after eating Genoa dropped me off at the entrance to the Sportsplex about 2:20pm. I had intended to run at the track @ 6am but the rain was just too much for me to give it a try.

I got to the covered foot bridge. I knew we had a lot of rain during the night but I didn't know just how much. Where the path crosses under Hwy 251 was covered with about a foot of water. I've never seen that before. So I had to turn around, run out of the Sportsplex and south down Hwy 31. Not the safest place to be running but it was the only way I could get back on my planned route.

I had eaten lunch about 30 minutes earlier. That wasn't enough time for everything to settle. I wasn't sick feeling it was just uncomfortable. After about 45 minutes I started feeling better. Those first 45 were tough.

For me it was a tough run. About 7 miles in I really started feeling some strain in some muscles and my feet were feeling terrible. Between 7 and 8 miles I got some energy from some place. I didn't feel quite as tired the last 2 miles.

Woohoo! I made it. It took me 78 minutes. I wasn't going for time (but I always like to know). I just wanted to finish.

WARM January day

Well two weeks ago I was writing about running in the snow. Just last week the streams behind Athens High School were still frozen. Today I run in 67 degrees. We do have some freaky weather in these parts.

Last week I had to miss a couple of days on my schedule so I decided to do that week over. Not much going on with the schedule. Just trying to keep on keeping on. Even during the really cold I was still out and about. There was only about one time during that cold snap that I was really uncomfortable. Today was a very welcome day. Made for a more sweaty run but I'll take that any time.

Unfortunately this warm weather spun up a tornado in North East Huntsville. Early reports have just a few minor injuries. Check out this picture I found online:

Run and Snow

Kind of an interesting experience running in the snow today. Quite often I would have flakes get caught in my eye lashes or go straight into my mouth. Kind of fun.

What I have figured out about running in the cold:

1. Two layers is about all my body can stand. I have went out a couple of times with two shirts and then a thin pullover wind breaker. I quickly get hot in that setup. Two shirts, gloves and a hat is what I start with. About 20 minutes into the run I have to come out of the gloves. Just carrying them wrapped in my hands keeps my hands warm. I can come out of the hat but the wind running over my sweaty head is a bit too much cold.
2. Running in the cold can be done. It's all about your attitude. If you let the cold determine what you are going to do, the cold will win. I haven't tried rain and cold. Now that might be the thing that stops me from running.
3. Long pants are necessary. Before it got really cold, starting a couple weeks back, I could still run comfortably in my shorts. Now, no sir, not at all. There has been one day when I had on long legged base layer and then long pants. That is too much heat retention for me.
4. When the sun is out it feels so much better. During the summer when the sun is out it is a real downer and can be dangerous. During the winter and especially when the sun hasn't shown in a while it's AWESOME. Surprisingly it quickly raises my body temperature when the sun is shining brightly. Go Sun!
5. Dogs sure are cranky during the winter. During the summer you will barely see a dog. Right now I can't make it past any house without the dog going nuts. I'm not a dog fan at all. They are certainly not a fan of runners. Back when I walked all the time I never noticed the dogs barking at me. Now that I'm running I get some very vicious barks and growls. I've had a few loose ones follow right on my heels down the road.

Winter can be beautiful but this one has sure started out to be a rough one.