The Humble Experience of Running in the Cold

2-2-13

Happy Groundhog Day!!

I'll be honest, I totally forgot today was Groundhog Day until I was watching the weekend edition of the Today show and they had a segment on the this adorable animal.  And while I am skeptical about a furry rodent predicting future weather patterns, I was ecstatic to hear that Mr. Punxsutawney Phil did not see his own shadow, predicting an early spring. 

Thank goodness! Now, let's hope this actually comes true...

I've spent too many of my workouts this week inside on a treadmill at school, so I decided to brave the cold and run outside with my friend Steph on Friday.  We took off at about 4:30pm and did a 5 mile loop through the center of town.  The route was somewhat flat and any hills we encountered were small and rolling.  Just shy of 2 miles I had to stop.  The cold weather kicked my butt.  We walked for a few minutes, then started back up and I finished the rest of the distance.  The same thing happened last weekend during the Hash run.  Why can't I push myself through these cold runs?  My conclusion: I just suck at running in the cold.  I am a warm-weather runner, plain and simple.  I like to sweat and not be chilly or not be able to feel my fingers, toes, face, etc.  With 2 races planned for next month, I need to find a way to get over this cold-weather-running-block in my head because the treadmill runs haven't been cutting it for me.  So, for those of you out there like me, here are some tips to help that I am going to try (especially #3).

As most of you can tell, I have kind of ditched my original plan of following a couch-to-5K plan.  I am in the process of finding another training schedule to follow so that I am ready for the 5Ks next month. 

Also, I've decided to add another race to my schedule (a big thank you to Steph for bringing this one to my attention): the Surftown Half Marathon in Rhode Island on Sept 15th.  This brings me to an even 6 races for the year: 2-5Ks, 2-10Ks, and 2-Half Marathons...holy crap!!

Here's to an early spring and less entries of me complaining about cold weather running!
Cheers!