Cold Days 2018

A cold day to run! Welcome to 2018. Wow!  My goodness we’ve had some cold days. One of my 5:00 a.m. runs this week started out at 2 degrees. Today was 5 degrees with a windchill that went cruising below zero. That was at 8:00 a.m. this morning. It was cold out there.

If you’ve run with us before you know the drill. If this is your first run with us – WELCOME – I do my best to send an e-mail to all registered runners beginning the 1st of the year up until race day. I train with you and use the runs as blog fodder. Hopefully they remind you of some things to pay attention to as you train, along with some cautions and inspirations. This year I thought I’d attempt to add short video clips, see the link at the bottom of the blog.

Cold or No – U Wanna Get Out There

The great thing about having a race on your calendar is that you know you got’a get out there because if you don’t it’ll cost you on race day. I’ll be training for a half with you this year. I had some crazy thing going on behind my right knee last fall so as of October 14 I simply stopped running. I picked back up again 2 weeks ago at Christmas. I started with several 1 mile runs then a 2 mile long run. This past week I did 2 mile runs and a 3 mile long run today.  My training routine usually involves 3 consecutive runs Tue, Wed, & Thur. and a long weekend run.

At 60 I’m not out to set any records and I’ve injured myself enough so that I’ve almost learned to follow a very gradual training plan. I still over do it once in a while and pay for it. I add miles 1 to 2 at a time, usually 1 and slow that added distance at least 1 minute per mile slower than marathon pace and in some cases when distance is north of 15 miles, 90 seconds slower than marathon pace.

Endurance and Miles

It was a cold day but it feels great to be back on the trail cranking out miles. Right now when it’s cold in the northeast or if you’re in a hot climate somewhere, the main thing is to brave the weather, put miles on you legs and build endurance. This morning’s gear included 5 core layers: thin base, moderate and heavy shirts covered by a cotton sweatshirt (I only wear cotton if I’m headed out for 3 or less. I love the warm comfy of cotton) and a wind breaker. A scull cap, running hat and hood. A face mask. 

Two layers below the waste, two pair of socks and mittens over gloves. Because I was running on frozen snow I wore a pair of old running shoes with DIY cleats. You’d think I was running in the arctic. With all those clothes a  mile into the run I was very toasty and had to zip down the jacket I was so warm.  It’s all about how you dress.

A Great Run

It was a cold day to run but It was a great run. Slow yet awesome. Great care was in order today because at places there were snow drifts over my ankles across the trail. Only a runner understands why stuff like this is so much fun. Most of the world thinks we should be committed but we know, once running gets in our blood that there’s nothing like it. Enjoy those runs!

Thanks for running with us this year. There are 511 runners registered so far. We’d love for you to invite your friends to come run with you. You’d be doing them a favor. This year’s our 10th so we’ll pull out a few extra stops this year.

I thought I’d add a short video clip upon occasion like This one from this mornings run. Get those mile in this weekend and next week.

I wrote a New Years Day blog but didn’t get to send it out before the festivities of the day ramped up. Here it is if you’re interested.

Run On!

Scott Miller, -rd
Garden Spot Village Marathon | Half Marathon | Kids Marathon.