When I lived in Cheyenne, my seasons ended nicely in the fall, just as my work was firing up. And when I was ready to resume working out, I had mid-winter trips to San Diego, Las Vegas, Fort Worth, Albuquerque, etc. for motivation and warmth. In 2005 I even did a marathon on Mother's Day, which necessitated a January start for training. Though I can't remember putting in big miles while on the road for work, I also don't remember the meat of the winter being as rough as this one, so I had no problem getting the required miles in.
Furthermore, I'm finding out my wardrobe is not up to the task of a Laramie winter. My running tights, purchased at a running store in Northampton, Mass., in 1991 while on a college visit, have just a few lycra fibers remaining and offer little protection from any weather. On Saturday I plodded through what was supposed to be a 5-mile pace run with my nether regions numb from the cold. I ran the last quarter mile with my hand covering myself like a soccer player bracing for the impact of a free kick. So that means I wear my bulky wind pants until the temperature rises above 40 during my runs, probably around Easter. And all this is to say nothing of the snow flying straight into my eyes.
Now, I wake up at 6:30 a.m. each day, earlier if the stinkin' furnace kicks on to keep the mid-teen chill out of my living room. One morning I actually stepped out in the cold in my running clothes, intending to put in some speed work. When the goose bumps formed on my arms and legs, I uttered an expletive and headed back inside, poured a bowl of cereal and turned on Morning Edition. The toughest workouts to do when it's cold are speed workouts, because I learned the hard way back in high school there's no such thing as too much warming up when you're facing down sets of 400s and 800s on the track; pulled muscles can lay you up for weeks.
And why not wait until the (relative) warmth of the afternoon? Because the wind kicks up late in the morning and doesn't let off until well after sunset. Nothing like trying to keep your heart rate reasonable when fighting the wind, either heading into it at a snail's pace or trying not to get blown into traffic with the wind at your side. Wind is my least-favorite weather condition and I've lived in three of the windiest places on earth (Lubbock, Cheyenne and Laramie).
As previously documented, I try to keep the treadmill at a minimum — once a week, if possible. That's the four-mile recovery run that's moved from Monday to Tuesday as I've blown off the chilly pre-dawn speed work. I consider it a reward to pound away on the treadmill with my loud, angry music turning my eardrums to mush and the coeds contorting themselves on the exercise spheres in front of me.
Sigh... Guess I'm looking forward to spring more than I'll admit. Tonight I went 2 hours, 15 minutes on the indoor trainer in front of three 2006 Ironmans (my year off). The noise:
"ThunderKiss 65," White Zombie
"Battle Flag," Lo-Fidelity All-Stars
"Beef Jerky," House of Pain
"Eat the Rich," Aerosmith
"Twice as Hard," Black Crowes
"Seether," Veruca Salt
"Two Tickets to Paradise," Eddie Money
"Get On the Good Foot," Parts 1 and 2, James Brown
"Baião destemporado," Barbatoques
"Ready to Go," Republica
"I'm Alright," Kenny Loggins
"A Little Less conversation (JXL Mix)," Elvis Presley
"You're an Original," Sheryl Crow
"Riding," Buckcherry
"Will It Go Round in Circles," Billy Preston
"Slow Ride," Foghat
"Cut the Cake," Average White Band
"Return of the Tres," Delinquent Habits
"Beautiful Goal," Oakenfold
"Get on the Bus," Q-Ball
"Peaches," The Presidents of the United States of America
"Free," Yo! Flaco
"Reeling in the Years," Steely Dan
"Never Coming Down (Part II)," Spacehog
"Slither," Velvet Revolver
"Oh Yeah," Yello
"Pinhead," The Ramones
"One Too Many," The Loft
"Sleep," Downside
"Fine Again," Seether
"Just Because," Jane's Addiction
1 comment:
Pull the sand out of your twat and maybe buy some new tights. Just kidding. My shit talk can't be taken very seriously considering I a big fat pregnant person whose last decent race was in 2007 and I haven't trained anywhere near as hard as you since 2006 or was it 2005??
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