When I chose to do a Spring marathon, I knew I would be training in the cold. Luckily I didn’t know it would be this stinking cold, or I may have rethought the whole plan. During our first week of training, the temperatures began their plummet. Most runs have been in numbingly cold temperatures (usually less than 20 degrees).
Running in this polar vortex is the intersection between dedication and sanity. Some days, I’m not sure which side of that intersection we’re on. But it’s not all crazy frozen hair; there are a few good things about running in the cold:
5. Your Joints Feel Awesome
Your knee is sore? It will take it about 3 hours to thaw out from your run. No need to tote around an annoying ice pack.
4. Toss the Razor
Not that we’re super good at shaving in the winter, but this year we can definitely justify an extra layer of fur: we need that insulation.
3. Gatorade Slushies
No need to worry about your drinks getting warm on your run, actually the opposite has happened: our drinks freeze sometimes. When our chocolate ‘goo’ freezes we just pretend it’s a fudgesicle.
2. Butt Fleece Pants
I get to wear my fleece lined Lulu pants, and they are super cozy even in this obnoxious weather. They have an extra panel of fleece on the backside to keep your glutes extra warm.
1. 30 Feels Like a Heat Wave
When we actually do run in temperatures above 20, it feels so amazing.
This Week’s Long Run:
We are following Hal Higdon’s Novice 2 plan, and this week we ran 12 miles. We started in downtown Franklin and did an out and back on Del Rio. Wooden fenced hay fields, country bridges and gorgeous homesteads made this a beautiful quintessential Williamson county run. It was 20 degrees, which was tolerable after we were warmed up. That last mile, my legs felt heavy, like I had a toddler clinging each of them. But when we rounded the corner and saw downtown, I felt like a horse headed back to the barn. After our run, we drove 2 blocks to Frothy Monkey for lattes to warm up. Walking a step further than our Garmins told us we had to seemed ridiculous.
Next week our long run is 14 miles. This will be the longest I’ve ever ran. I’m a little nervous. I feel like our training is about to “get real.”
Dr. Heather Rupe 