Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Frozen Snot?

I bought a treadmill last year & I love it... I better, as it cost more then my first two cars combined!

But its time to get to training again for my THIRD Half marathon & its time to get some miles in everyday.  I enjoy my treadmill but have found that this is what causes a lot of the discomfort in my inner thigh.  I've since learned that that is common since the "pulling" motion of the belt makes your muscles react differently.  So while my treadmill is a great place to run, doing it everyday causes some issues for me.

So what do you do?  Take it to the streets... But its snowy & cold....

I've been talking to people who are running out in this & keep hearing its more enjoyable then you think - so I've given it a try this past Saturday... & I really did enjoy it! 

Last night, I hit the road again  & this time, it wasnt only cold, but it also rained on me... know what?  It didnt really bother me.  My cheeks were numb, but now I know what I need to wear if rain is a possibility. 

But here is what running outside looks like for me... & things I'm learning:

*Sit in a warm house & think, "am I really going to go out in that cold?"... & have a inner struggle for a good 30 minutes

*Put on less clothes then what I wear in my home.  Seriously - I wear a tank top, a long sleeve shirt & a fleece cover on my upper body while running.  On a cold night, in the house, I wear an additional sweat shirt & of course, a Snuggie....

*Pull out an old MP3 player because with gloves on, the iPod TOUCH gets no TOUCH action....

*Since I then dont have my playlist from the iPod, I find the biggest "hip hop" radio station to get a good beat

*Pull out the earphones when they mention the temperature on the radio... that only makes it feel colder when you hear its in the 30's

*Be thankful that I'm a knitter & have my choice of wool hats... only to put them on, covering my whole head to hear Ricky say, "You look like a boy"...(note to self - knit some felted flowers to put on my running wool hats)

*Walk outside & again have inner struggle about running in such cold temps

*Get to moving....Things warm up quick...surprisingly

*your breath starts to become visible when you're huffing & puffing in the cold

*you feel like you're a steam engine with all the huffing & puffing smoke from your mouth

*your nose will start running... but with gloves, its hard to grab kleenex... but keep it near anyways & at least try to do a dabbing motion. 

*Realize you're sweating... in freezing temperatures.  That defies all sense of logic...

*Feel thirsty from sweating & realize that God has put snow all around you - feel free to grab some fresh snow that has no foot prints around it & scoop up a handfull - nature's water...  steer clear of yellow snow!!!!!

*Know your eyes will water with the cold wind... & water & water.  Your face will look like you just watched "Titantic"... (I'll never let go Jack) ... sniff

*Wave to people driving by while smiling so they realize your not having a nervous breakdown with the previous mentioned watery eyes

*Finish the run & walk back into your home... that now feels like HELL HAS DESCENDED UPON!!!!  Its amazing how hot the house will feel....

*you'll then get chills in about 10 minutes when you realize you have sweat all over your body under the layers of clothes

*Just peel them off & head right into the hot shower

*Take one last check of your running face in the mirror & see that your mascara has ran from the watery eyes, your cheeks are as bright red as Rudolph's nose & though you tried to dab at your nose with Kleenex, you'll still have some frozen snot around your nose... its true...

*Wash the clothes, charge up the mp3 player & get prepared to do it all again the next day....

See?  Doesnt all this sound like fun? 

I have made up my mind that I actually do enjoy running in this cold WAY better then the humidity of summer... who knew?

17 comments:

  1. I am in awe.

    I hate running in the cold. And on a treadmill. Thus, not much running for me this month, unless it's on the track on the Y.

    I love this post! Frozen snot...yum. Reminds of "Dumb and Dumber"; didya ever see that one? Crude but funny.

    Good luck with your training! You're obviously going to ROCK this race!

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  2. I've said it before... and I'll say it again... "You are hard core RJ!" LOL

    And Heather is right... Dumb and Dumber is a hilarious movie.. but it does have it's parts.

    It's sort of like when my old pastor called Bruce Almighty the "Poop sandwich movie." We told him that there was some cursing in the beginning but after that it was a great movie! So he said "That would be like asking if your sandwich only had a little bit of poop on it, would you still eat it." Of course, I said yes.

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  3. RJ,
    You totally and completely crack.me.up. =)

    Frozen snot. Ummmmm.....yuck, and hahahahahahaha. Again you crack.me.up.

    I actually LOVED to run in the cold. It was my favorite time to run and I mean in the really cold, high of like 20 kind of cold. My sweet man thought I was C-R-A-Z-Y!!! But there is just something about it that made me feel really strong and fit. LOVED IT!!

    Sadly, now that the running days are over, sniff, I hope I enjoy walking in the cold just as much. So far the two times I've done it, it has been okay, but certainly different. You don't warm up NEAR as much as running, and hardly any snot. boo. =)

    Love you friend, have a Super Blessed day,
    Dawn

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  4. I have a friend who runs in Chicago in the winter and she swears by this

    http://www.pearlizumi.com/publish/content/pi_2010/us/en/index/products/men/run/apparel/p_r_o__outerwear.-productCode-12131004.html#3DE

    it's a bit pricey but she loves it. I've also heard that your gloves are your kleenex!!

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  5. Girl...you have my full admiration! I'm more of a treadmill kind of girl. Running outdoors wreaks havoc on my joints! I can't imagine running in the COLD...BRRRR!!! You go, girl!

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  6. "Wave to people driving by while smiling so they realize your not having a nervous breakdown" - This is hilarious! I must admit that I've wondered who in their right mind is running outside in these temps!

    I agree that your gloves are your kleenex! And did you know that they now make gloves with special finger tips so they work on a touch screen??

    I've always said that anything beats a treadmill, so maybe I'll give this a try. Maybe. :)

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  7. "Don't you eat no yellow snow...up there where the huskies go!" If you're running at night, are you sure you aren't grabbing any yellow? (Just to give you something to think about!)
    I think it's great that you smile and wave to the people passing by...I've yet to see a runner smiling!

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  8. Snotcicles anyone?! LOL

    You know what? I've always hated running. ALWAYS. But the last two days I've taken the kids for a walk in the neighborhood and we actually ran some last night. It felt freeing, and the cold wasn't as bad. Running in the hot weather would be SO MUCH WORSE. So I might try to run some while it's cold out. We'll see ;)

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  9. Loved hearing about your running. Well, all except the snot part, since I'm eating my lunch. haha

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  10. I can never, ever imagine myself running, much less in the cold!

    My hat is off to you,

    Hugs & Love,
    Mimi

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  11. You should post what songs you have on your playlist to work out to. I'm always looking for some good workout music!

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  12. Sadly, my inner struggle about whether to go or not tends to last until it's too dark to actually go.

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  13. FUNNY post, Rebecca!

    BTW, I wonder if my treadmill caused my foot problems last summer? Hmmm. It was either the machine or the fact that I put in seven miles in one day.

    Overachiever.

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  14. This does not sound fun to me at all! I don't like running just to run. If I run, it's usually to catch a bus, not just to torture my body. This really does sound crazy to me!

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  15. You always make me smile!!! Love this post....I am trying to hang on to running. Signed up for my first 5K but am struggling!! You are an inspiration!!

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  16. That's dedication, Lady!! Good for you :) I considered that for a minute today, but since it's currently 5 with a negative wind chill of -10, I'm going to wait a little bit longer for "outside" activity! It's a treadmill day for me!

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  17. That's the good thing about running outside in the cold - you don't overheat like you do in the summer! I played soccer in high school, and my favorite temperatures for playing were the forties/fifties - just shorts, long-sleeved UnderArmour, jersey, and the rest of my equipment and I was good to go!

    Kudos to you for keeping up with running so diligently - I have wanted to start running for a while for the sake of exercise, but I dislike it enough that I haven't yet!

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