Monday, January 10, 2011

Trying to become a Winter Ninja

Most winters I fork over some doe and head to the gym a few evenings a week.  I would go after dark, and, to avoid crazy boredom, jump from machine to machine until I reached somewhere between 45 minutes to an hour of exercise.  If I felt real ambitious, I would throw in 15 minutes of weights to boot.  Winters for me have always been about watching the calorie intake and maintaining some small level of fitness until I could bust it out on the street again come March.  This winter, I changed all that--I signed up for a spring marathon.

On April 10, 2011, I will be running the GO! St. Louis full marathon.  Sure the weather should be nice by then (fingers crossed), but running a 26.2 mile race in April means training through January and February.  YUK! 

I know, I know--I am a baby.  Some of you have posted about wearing your Yak Traks and busting it out on ice or in five-plus inches of snow.  Here in KC, we are just now receiving our first measurable snowfall of the year (right outside my window at this very moment, actually).  And we are only supposed to get 4-6 inches.  Some of you have been living with at least nine since November. 

Say what you will about my thin-skinned exterior, but I am a cold-weather wuss--the early darkness each evening isn't helping either.  I think the challenge of this race is going to come long before race day; the challenge will be to force my warm-weather butt out into the frigid temps for training.

So far, NOT so good. I have missed at least one workout each week, but this weekend gave me some hope.  I made it out both mornings--in Saturday's brutal wind and Sunday's fierce cold.  I even bought myself a Saucony hood(slash ninja mask) to keep my lungs from burning two holes in my chest cavity as I breathe in the cold air.  As a bonus, I may scare people in the neighborhood--haha (these things look ridiculous). Nothing like making a good first impression!
 Will I be a Winter Ninja this year? 

 On Wednesday this week, the high is expected to only reach twelve and the weather man keeps talking about a fierce arctic wind.  I am already trying to pump myself up about it.  I sure do miss sweating.

If I make it to this marathon trained, I will celebrate that. 
Posted by at

6 comments:

  1. Even as a New Englander running in the cold is never fun! Just make sure you have the gear and are being safe with ice and conditions. I trained for Boston through many snow and ice storms. The worst was one morning it was so super icy that I ended up doing my long run on the treadmill in the gym. I had to restart it 3 times to get in my 19 miles!!! Talk about crazy! I kept roping people in to come and talk to me!! I managed through the week with just one outdoor easy run and my long run outdoors. The rest, especially speed work since I didn't want to go cruising on the ice, were inside on the treadmill. Just get creative and be safe!!

    ReplyDelete

  2. I highly recommend if possible doing some of your longer runs on a treadmill!!! It's miserable to run in such cold!!!

    ReplyDelete

  3. kudos to you!!! once i mentally decided i would run outside over the winter, i tried to embrace that it woudl be tough and thus i felt like a badass :)

    ReplyDelete

  4. I am the complete opposite (says the Green Girl from Southern California). I can't do heat - I melt into a green puddle like the Wicked Witch.

    ReplyDelete

  5. Brrrrrrr. The good thing is that at least while you are running you will heat your body up. just make sure that when you stop you are ready to come inside (if you linger outside even to stretch, you'll probably get very chilled)

    ReplyDelete

  6. I always run through the winter outside, but this winter has seemed harder than usual. I don't know if it's colder than normal or what. It's great that you're getting out - it makes you appreciate warmer days all the more! :)

    ReplyDelete

I love comments almost as much as I love running!

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)