Messing With My Head

I think our weather has become slightly schizophrenic over the last week.  I look out the window and its sunny.  Five minutes later there is hail.  Then a monsoon, maybe some snow.  Oh, there is the sun again!  And don't forget the wind!  Normally I don't really mind...variety is the spice of life right?  However, when it comes to selecting what to wear for outdoor running in such conditions...I am TERRIBLE!!! 

Last Saturday I was scheduled to run 9 miles.  My longest run since the You Go Girl half marathon all the way back on September 26th!  It was cold that day.  Really really cold.  So I decided to do my run towards the afternoon down on the waterfront where I was hoping the sidewalks would be mostly clear from all the snow/ice last week.  For some reason I decided to wear SHORTS, compression socks, a thermal running shirt and my Nike running jacket.  I also started off with a fleece hat and gloves but ditched those at mile 2 (they don't really breathe well and were feeling yucky).  Yes, my legs froze the entire time.  It was kind of like I iced them for the entire length of my run!  Pants would have been a much smarter option, I don't know what I was thinking.  I think it was like 25 degrees out.  Sorry legs! 

The run felt really good though, I didn't even listen to music.  Just ran for about an hour and a half with two popsicles for legs.  I had to alter my course a bit because the sidewalks were NOT cleared the direction I was headed but thanks to my handy dandy Garmin I still knew how many miles I logged.  Running on compact snow/ice is scary!  We also had a soccer game that night at 7:10pm so I ended up playing goalie the entire game.  Which was fine, I probably could have convinced my legs to run around a bit but they were happier to get a bit of rest.  We lost 5-7 but it was a really fun game!

This morning I went to the gym and did a heavy bag boxing class- complete with a mini leg workout at the end.  Then I headed home, refueled myself and again assessed the weather for my running conditions.  It was windy and a little bit cold, with rain showers off and on.  Ok...what to wear this time???  I picked my long running pants, a tech tshirt and my Nike running jacket.  I was planning to run the Wright Park trail so I grabbed my Vibram Treksports and also my cute new sweatyband headband.  On my way to drop Niko off the sun was out and no rain.  Took him into class, came out of the building...and it was POURING! 

I stopped at my car to drop off my purse and decide if I was going to wimp out and head to my wonderful treadmill at home instead.  Nope, I decided I was not a fair weather runner.  I was not going to melt, so off I walked to the trail.  I am not kidding, 30 seconds later the rain stopped and the sun came out.  My entire run was sunny and windy.  I was HOT.  Good grief.  The second I sat in my car at the end of my run it started pouring buckets of rain again!!!  I got really lucky I suppose.  Our weather is certifiably CRAZY!!!  It is messing with my head.  I don't know what to wear.  Am I the only one??? 

I did get some new running shoes yesterday and I am very excited about them.  I also have some that I ordered and will hopefully arrive soon.  I have been doing my homework and have selected these shoes to compliment my minimalist/barefoot style of running.  My Nike Free 7.0's are now officially retired for running.  So yes, I will have 3 different shoes that I alternate between and they will all serve their own special purpose.  Stay tuned...I am taking one of them for a short test run tomorrow!

I have also signed up for the www.stpattyruntacoma.com 5K race coming up on March 12th.  I went back and forth with this one because I am scheduled to do 7 miles that day, but I am going to make it work.  I would be mad at myself if I didn't run it- it was my very first race EVER last year!  I am excited to run it again just to see how far I have come in one year.