Baby, It's Cold Outside!!

Today I ran on the Perkiomen Trail at Oaks. I was not the only one out there despite the frigid temperatures. Most, if not all, of the downside of running in the 20s was made better by the abundant sunshine.

This photo was taken after my run. I am not taking my camera on my runs so I can focus on my training and not be distracted by photo ops. Ok, I'm still distracted by them but without the camera I won't stop to take the photo.


It was beautiful today. If I had brought the camera with me I would have shared photos of:

• the shadows on along the trail. The bare trees make for long winding lines weaving in and out of sunshine on the path;
• the white, cracked ice that has formed where the water from days and days of rain collected along the sides of the trail;
• the fingers of ice trying to stretch away from the banks of the creek overflow. In the sunshine they sparkle; 
• the creek itself, defying the frozen air with it's rain swollen currents; and 
• the water falling over the dam

It was a gorgeous day for a run. I completed 4 miles using my 1 mile walk; run the rest of the mile strategy. Just south of where I parked along the trail is the 1 mile marker. I started and ended there. I went north to the 2 mile marker and back and then south to the 0 point and back. The zero mile marker is missing. It's been awhile since I ran here and it was missing the last time too. I chose this pattern to avoid the hill just after mile 2. I knew I wouldn't be up for it. I chose to go north first to avoid having to pass my car in the final mile. Hey, whatever gets it done!!

In addition to the views, I had lots of fun memories to keep me occupied during this run. It was here that I first met PhillyFit and began my training for the marathon. We ran 3 miles that day. It didn't kill me and no one was more surprised than I was. That was when I changed my plan from walking the marathon to trying to run it. In the 2 mile section that I ran today I recalled being there with different people at different times. I remember running that section at night one time with John T and Julius. Shadows forming in our headlamps. I remember trudging along this section one time with Maggi on a day not much warmer than today but with so much snow and ice we had no idea if we were even on the trail in some spots. Good times!!

And then there is that moment when you are about to enter Wawa on your way home for a much needed and well deserved coffee when you realize you are wearing your Dunkin Donuts cap that you got from being in the Thanksgiving Day Parade. Never mind that you are still wearing your running clothes. No one will even notice that. It's Wawa after all. People (present company included) have been known to go there in their PJs!! But the hat of the "OTHER" place? Hmmm.

It will surprise no one who knows me to learn that before I went in I turned the brim of the hat up to hide the front facing DD logo and turned the collar of my jacket up to hide the rear facing one. And yes, I know that didn't make it any less identifiable but it felt slightly less obnoxious. I also, worked on what I would say to anyone who might comment. I decided that I would apologize and then I would point out that at least I was AT the Wawa and not the other store and that if anyone wanted to give me a Wawa hat of similar warmth I would gladly wear it. No one said anything but I left my sunglasses on anyway. :)

I felt very good today. I think my pace was well managed. I never got the stitch in my side and I came into each walk break feeling like I could have kept going and had enough left at the end to sprint to the marker once it came into view. My hip flexor did niggle at me but not as much as before. Part of that could be the cold of course but I did work on it more this week so I'm giving myself some credit.

I brought a small water bottle today. One with a sleeve that wraps around your hand. I felt like I needed more water last week. I'm glad I had it. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when the miles get longer. One thing I didn't like about distance training before was the hydration belt. They always felt uncomfortable to me. I won't need more than the hand held during the race because of the water stops, but there are no water stops in training. Something to think about and plan for.

Keep Smiling Keep Moving
-Paula