Treadmill, oh how I loathe thee.

My sister has trained for whole marathons on a treadmill. I have no idea how.  4 minutes into a treadmill run and I’m looking for my escape. If there’s even a faint possibility of being able to run outside (reasonably safely) in the winter, I seize it.

Luckily, I’ve collected a solid assortment of New England Winter weather gear. Yesterday was mid-20s and quite windy.  Time for the Craft thermal base layer and the Gore Windstopper jacket. This is one of the coldest running outfits I use. After that I add the fleece lined wool hat, neck gator, & additional tank base layer.  After that it’s the treadmill.

The roads were not great. I fit in 7 miles into just over an hour & 5 minutes of running and completely disregarded the “surges”. About a mile of the route would have been safer with Yaktrax, but there were 3+ miles where pavement was exposed, so I felt OK having left them behind.  The wind was freezing on my exposed face, but my core was warm enough. I had waited until lunchtime to run – in order for the sun to be at its highest and strongest. This would provide the day’s maximum ice melting for the roads.  On a crisp fall day, I can cross paths with many runners at lunchtime.  Yesterday I crossed only one – the roads and the mush were ours alone.

December 16: Workout #2: Endurance Run w/ surges
Planned Duration: 1:10
Description:  20 min gradual warm-up Include a 30 sec surge every 15 minutes
Focus on good form with a strong core throughout

Post-activity comments: Decided not to “Focus on good form with a strong core throughout” – opted to focus on black ice, slush puddles, & foot placement. This I did successfully, I’m happy to report.