safe running

so i finally have gotten back into the swing of things with my running. late december and january killed my desire to run. part of it was the weather (i didn’t have cold weather running gear) and part of it was a little fear. the fear came from a few bad experiences that had never before happened to me while running. first, the side walks around me were too clean for me to wear my yaktrax. running on straight concrete with with the yaktrax is not much fun. so i ran without them and that’s when i discovered that the side walks weren’t as clean as they looked. they still had spots of black ice on them. over a couple of runs i discovered that i had a great way of finding these spots … slipping on them. i busted it several times. this wasn’t too terrible because my body quickly came up with a manner of handling these falls. my body decided that it would be best for both of us when i was falling if i simply landed on the hard concrete with the side of my hip. it sounded like a good idea but didn’t feel very good.

so i came up with the great idea of using the yaktrax to run on the road where their is a little snow next to the snow berm on the side of the road. that’s when my other new fear was discovered. the problem within january in central wisconsin is that the sun sets at 4:15 p.m. this meant i was running at dusk or in the dark on the side of the road. did you know that not everyone recognizes it when there is a runner on the side of the road? one evening i came within a couple of inches of being hit by a driver who was talking on his cell phone. it was close enough that i actually would have been splattered if i hadn’t of dove head first into the berm. it wasn’t cool. so i stopped running for a little while.

that’s all changed now because 1)i’ve figured out the weather and ice thing, and 2)it doesn’t get dark until 6 p.m. i’m back to running on my sidewalks and i like it.

i’m no expert but i thought i would post the gear that is working for this southern boy as i run in 0º weather.

• base layer running shirt – technical shirts with wicking ability are the sure fire way to make sure you don’t freeze once you start sweating. thankfully most of the shirts i have received from races fit this category.
• second layer fleece – i can tell a difference in warmth between the microfleece and regular fleece & therefore would choose this based on the temp outside.
• 3rd layer wind breaker – the wind chill is the killer. i want to get a better wind breaker for next year. the one i have is bulky. something lite and flexible would be perfect.
• smartwool socks – my feet have frozen in the cotton socks i have worn.
• yaktrax pro – snow chains for your running shoes
• running tights – i have a thin pair and they do well but i think thicker tights would probably enable me to skip the wind pants.
• wind pants – the running tights i have do not block the wind very well
• balaclava or face mask – i wear this when the temp is below 10º.
• lined skull cap – one that covers your ears if possible.
• lined gloves – i ran with non-lined gloved a couple of times and my hands were ice after i was through with my run.
• road id – it’s an id wristband. (i just received an email with a coupon code for the road id stuff. if you buy anything from them over the next 30 days enter “ThanksRobert351868>” at the appropriate coupon code time and you’ll get a dollar off. the email said it could be used 20 times so anyone who wants the dollar off should be able to use it. unfortunately i get nothing for this advertising – but i do like the product.)
• firefly flasher – that’s my fix for autos seeing me.
• leg reflectors bands – once again to make sure they can see me.

my run for the day
distance – 7.0 miles
time – 1:09:02
pace – 9:52/mile
weather – 28º/perfect day