Have You Seen Me Lately?
I feel like this blog has become like the old serial matinees, as most posts need to start with "when we last saw our heroes...."- not that I think I'm any kind of hero, it's just how I think those matinees were. I've been dealing with a little soreness here and there, so leading up to Thanksgiving I took about 2 weeks off from running. To be honest it was 2 weeks off from nearly all forms of exercise.
On Thanksgiving day, the whole family laced up and participated in our local Drumstick Dash. The weather presented a nice change this year; instead of 30 F, it was 55 F, but with the addition of rain. Personally, that is some of my favorite running weather. Since Anna is in the midst of high school swim season, she didn't want to do the long course, but requested that Jil join her for the 2.3 mile non-timed option. Will was all about doing the full 4.5 miles and running. We arrived in plenty of time to get a good parking space, but due to the rain, didn't venture to the start until about 10 mins before the start. I thought that we would line up together and stay together until the courses split, at which point Will and I would stay together. My assumptions started and finished correctly, but the middle was all wrong. At the gun, Will and I took off with the crowd and lost the girls almost immediately. Since we had planned to split eventually, I figured it was okay, and we just went with it. Will and I ran smoothly, with each mile being faster than the previous one. I concentrated on staying comfortable and focusing on his effort so I didn't blow him up early. Will started to labor a little in the third mile, but hung in there and took over the pacing for the last 1/2 mile. At the line we grabbed hands and crossed the line together. I assumed we had tied, but he was adamant that he be me. I found out later he had ensured his chip foot crossed the start mat and finish mat before mine, giving him the victory by .4 seconds! He doesn't realize that regardless of the time, I still won because I got to spend a morning running with my son.
So the Drumstick Dash marked my return to running. I'm currently in a base/maintenance mode. I'm running 3 or 4 times a week for 4-5 miles. I'm not worried about pace, just running easy and mixing up my routes by taking different turns every time out. The most fun I've had is heading out for lunch time runs in 15 F conditions. I enjoy running in the cold as long as the roads aren't icy, but it seems that others don't share my enthusiasm. I had a lot of fun with unbelievers in the locker room and just admiring the odd looks I received on the roads. I would encourage everyone to give winter running a try. Put on a couple of layers and head out. It's really no different than when we used to go out and sled when we were kids. It's a little cool for the first few minutes, but after that you start to warm-up, you get lost in the run, and you forget completely about the cold.
Artist for Song in Title: Counting Crows
On Thanksgiving day, the whole family laced up and participated in our local Drumstick Dash. The weather presented a nice change this year; instead of 30 F, it was 55 F, but with the addition of rain. Personally, that is some of my favorite running weather. Since Anna is in the midst of high school swim season, she didn't want to do the long course, but requested that Jil join her for the 2.3 mile non-timed option. Will was all about doing the full 4.5 miles and running. We arrived in plenty of time to get a good parking space, but due to the rain, didn't venture to the start until about 10 mins before the start. I thought that we would line up together and stay together until the courses split, at which point Will and I would stay together. My assumptions started and finished correctly, but the middle was all wrong. At the gun, Will and I took off with the crowd and lost the girls almost immediately. Since we had planned to split eventually, I figured it was okay, and we just went with it. Will and I ran smoothly, with each mile being faster than the previous one. I concentrated on staying comfortable and focusing on his effort so I didn't blow him up early. Will started to labor a little in the third mile, but hung in there and took over the pacing for the last 1/2 mile. At the line we grabbed hands and crossed the line together. I assumed we had tied, but he was adamant that he be me. I found out later he had ensured his chip foot crossed the start mat and finish mat before mine, giving him the victory by .4 seconds! He doesn't realize that regardless of the time, I still won because I got to spend a morning running with my son.
So the Drumstick Dash marked my return to running. I'm currently in a base/maintenance mode. I'm running 3 or 4 times a week for 4-5 miles. I'm not worried about pace, just running easy and mixing up my routes by taking different turns every time out. The most fun I've had is heading out for lunch time runs in 15 F conditions. I enjoy running in the cold as long as the roads aren't icy, but it seems that others don't share my enthusiasm. I had a lot of fun with unbelievers in the locker room and just admiring the odd looks I received on the roads. I would encourage everyone to give winter running a try. Put on a couple of layers and head out. It's really no different than when we used to go out and sled when we were kids. It's a little cool for the first few minutes, but after that you start to warm-up, you get lost in the run, and you forget completely about the cold.
Artist for Song in Title: Counting Crows
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