Pretty nice run today - 19 km in the 4 C sunshine. As recently as yesterday the forecast was for winds of 30 km/hour, gusting to 50 km/hour, but for the most part the air was quite calm and that was a very pleasant surprise.
I actually wasn't sure whether I'd get out at all, given that I woke up feeling pretty crummy. Friday and yesterday my throat was sore, then this morning I was majorly congested and my sinuses had that awful "full" feeling, and until almost noon I really had no energy. I hated the thought of doing nothing, and was considering the gym, but once I started to feel better the pull of the outdoors was just too strong. We may not get another day this nice until March, or even later, and it just seemed "wrong" to miss it. Not to mention that after two days of the treadmill I was craving a "normal" run.
The actual running conditions were a little dicey at times. After the freezing rain on Wednesday night had me on the treadmill both Thursday and Friday, I was still a little leery about the sidewalks and the bike paths. DH and I had tried to clear the sidewalk in front of our house yesterday, but it was still frozen solid, and I knew that likely other people had the same issue. There are parts of the bicycle paths that get almost no shade (as I learned, over and over, this summer) so I figured they'd be good, but wasn't sure about other sections.
So I was right about the sidewalks. On less travelled and less sunny streets I moved to the road to avoid the worst of it. The bicycle paths were a real mish mash. Long stretches were bare and dry, or bare and wet, and that was great. Some stretches had just a trace of melting snow/slush, so they were a little mucky but okay. Some stretches had packed snow, which made my legs work harder, but that was fine. Unfortunately, there were a few patches that were pretty bad, with ice under thin snow, or just ice. That was where I either slowed down or ran in the snowy grass alongside. But overall there was more good than bad. And even when my feet got wet in the mucky spots, my lovely Transpor socks kept them from getting that cold, soaked feeling.
The worst part of all was a wooden bridge/walkway, which looked fine as I approached it - partly bare and partly covered with packed snow. Wrong! That snow was more slush than packed, and I slipped and almost fell. Fortunately I grabbed the wooden railing in time. Then had the joy of an unplanned rest break picking slivers out of my hand - they went in right through my gloves! Yuck!
The temperatures are supposed to be above freezing at least until Wednesday night, with only minor amounts of precipitation predicted for Tuesday and Wednesday, so it looks like the treadmill won't be required again right away. And freezing rain isn't super common here in the winter, so with luck our next blast of winter will leave a lot less ice behind.
Still feeling a little under the weather - not sick enough to be "sick", but not 100% - so no further words of wisdom from me tonight ;)
I actually wasn't sure whether I'd get out at all, given that I woke up feeling pretty crummy. Friday and yesterday my throat was sore, then this morning I was majorly congested and my sinuses had that awful "full" feeling, and until almost noon I really had no energy. I hated the thought of doing nothing, and was considering the gym, but once I started to feel better the pull of the outdoors was just too strong. We may not get another day this nice until March, or even later, and it just seemed "wrong" to miss it. Not to mention that after two days of the treadmill I was craving a "normal" run.
The actual running conditions were a little dicey at times. After the freezing rain on Wednesday night had me on the treadmill both Thursday and Friday, I was still a little leery about the sidewalks and the bike paths. DH and I had tried to clear the sidewalk in front of our house yesterday, but it was still frozen solid, and I knew that likely other people had the same issue. There are parts of the bicycle paths that get almost no shade (as I learned, over and over, this summer) so I figured they'd be good, but wasn't sure about other sections.
So I was right about the sidewalks. On less travelled and less sunny streets I moved to the road to avoid the worst of it. The bicycle paths were a real mish mash. Long stretches were bare and dry, or bare and wet, and that was great. Some stretches had just a trace of melting snow/slush, so they were a little mucky but okay. Some stretches had packed snow, which made my legs work harder, but that was fine. Unfortunately, there were a few patches that were pretty bad, with ice under thin snow, or just ice. That was where I either slowed down or ran in the snowy grass alongside. But overall there was more good than bad. And even when my feet got wet in the mucky spots, my lovely Transpor socks kept them from getting that cold, soaked feeling.
The worst part of all was a wooden bridge/walkway, which looked fine as I approached it - partly bare and partly covered with packed snow. Wrong! That snow was more slush than packed, and I slipped and almost fell. Fortunately I grabbed the wooden railing in time. Then had the joy of an unplanned rest break picking slivers out of my hand - they went in right through my gloves! Yuck!
The temperatures are supposed to be above freezing at least until Wednesday night, with only minor amounts of precipitation predicted for Tuesday and Wednesday, so it looks like the treadmill won't be required again right away. And freezing rain isn't super common here in the winter, so with luck our next blast of winter will leave a lot less ice behind.
Still feeling a little under the weather - not sick enough to be "sick", but not 100% - so no further words of wisdom from me tonight ;)
posted by Jogger Barbie | 6:50 PM
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