Inclement Weather cont

“You hear a lot of comments about, “He makes it look easy,’ or ‘His face shows no effort…’ Come look at my face in January when I’m trail-running in Texas and I’m hurting like a dog. It’s an ugly face. But I’d rather have the face then and feel good here. It’s called sacrifice.”

Aside from my quote at the top of my blog, this is one of my favorite Lance Armstrong quotes. And this is one of those quotes that stick with you on difficult days. Last week I blogged about how much I hate riding in cold weather. Well the tri-gods were not friendly this weekend either. In fact, they were down right pissy with us.

Saturday turned to rain nearly all day. My morning 2.5 hours had to be rescheduled to 90 minutes on the trainer with 2x30' in z3. Sigh. No thanks. I was determined to make it happen. I made it through the warmup and I wasn't quite feeling it. Typically, I can get through the first 15-20 minutes of a trainer ride and my body is dialed in. Not today. But I knew I had to get through it. So I pushed up to z3 trying to hold the required wattage. As I pushed, my body began revolting a bit. I was sweating like a nun in a whore house.

I hopped off the bike and moved it to my screened in porch and turned on the patio fan. Better. But still not great. I am creating pools of sweat underneath me. At this point, I had gone through about 50 oz of fluid and I was still burning up. I stuck out the final few minutes of the first set and said screw the weather....I would just ride in the cold rain. So I bolted out the down and did 10 laps through the executive park near where I live. I nearly completed the entire workout. I wasn't happy but the workout was over.

Sunday provided an even different challenge. Really cold temps and snow...and lots of it. I have run in the snow before so I remained un-phased. Well the morning brought torential downpour and I never found a break in the weather. Around 11 am the rain turned to snow and white stuff littered the sky. I had an 11 mile run on the schedule and was determined to get through it...snow or not.

By the time I started, Atlanta had experienced at least 2 solid inches of snow. It was accumulating in must areas. However the roads and sidewalks were just slush. I knew that the run would be challenging and would require an acute level of awareness to ensure that I didn't eat concrete. I put on the my lightweight tights, running shorts, long sleeve under armor shirt and running gloves. Ok...I will pause there and explain to some of you that think my outfit was not enough. When you run, your body temp rises...in a big way. Couple that with most runners having a certain cold tolerance, then you might begin to understand why you always see runners in shorts. I opted for tights today only for additional protection from the wind.

What I failed to account for was exactly how wet the snow was. This wasn't light powdery snow that I am accustom to. This was big, wet flakes. 1.5 miles into the run and my shirt is soaked and my skin is wet too. Not a big deal. For whatever reason, I decided to run a really hilly route today. Needless to say the slushy conditions were draining. I was doing my best to keep my feet dry and quickly became alert when the cold water entered the shoes.

Five miles in and I was feeling REALLY good. I had a solid pace through the hills and I wasn't cold at all. Then I hit a wind tunnel. The wind brought sheets of snow from the trees and rooftops. I was being pelted. But worst of all, the flat land was full of slush ridden sidewalks. Quickly my feet were soaked. No worries, I am still pushing through. Well the route now became a mistake. Due to the flat terrain and copious side roads, I found myself continually stepping in ankle deep puddles by the curbs. I can deal with soaked feet until a point. I am still smiling.

I shake off a lot of things in training because you can't control all the elements. And this was one of those days. I am entering the Brookhaven area and there is a giant tree lying across Peachtree. So maybe I wasn't supposed to run this route. On my return, traffic is beginning to pick up as the snow recedes. The downside is that traffic and tons of water on the road only result in one thing....splashing water on the side walk. I do my best to avoid the tsunamis that are sent my way. I can only laugh at this point. There is nothing dry on my.

Still determined to have a good run, I start heading back to the house knowing that I can tack on a few extra miles if needed. At this point there isn't a dry spot on my body. My water bottle had turned to slush but I was still having fun. Around mile 7 I finally began to get cold. The moisture was seeping into my gloves. Once my hands go, I am all down. I was close to the house at this point and made the decision to call it a day...and seek dry, warm clothes.

I learned a lot on the run. Sacrifice. I wasn't going to let the weather deter me. I believe in running in inclement weather so long as you are safe. The downed tree, power lines, soaking wet clothes and unstable footing probably pushes the line of safe. Additionally, what I learned was the importance of water/wind resistant clothing. My attire was fine for 30 degrees. It wasn't meant for 30 degrees AND soaking conditions. Alas, I really don't want to invest in clothes for just 2-3 runs a year. But I learned my lesson.