Winter has definitely arrived here in New England. As if a hurricane in August wasn't enough, we had a freak heavy snow storm on Oct. 30 that dropped some very heavy and wet snow on us. Normally it would be no big deal. But, our trees had not dropped their leaves. This combined with the heavy wet snow caused many large limbs to simply break off and snap power lines plunging us into darkness and cold. We lost power for 72 hours and we considered ourselves lucky. The storm made me wonder just what was lurking ahead this winter as I prepare to run the 2012 Boston Marathon as part of the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge team.
The early spring and fall here in New England is my favorite time to run. Unfortunately, this fall has not been very good. We had Hurricane Irene which threw off the tree's system and our leaves were not as colorful this year. In addition, we have not had very many of those beautiful cool crisp fall mornings to run in. Then the October storm that damaged many trees throughout our town and sent us into darkness for several days. I really missed out on one of my favorite periods of the year to run. But, I still went out there and ran because it is such a huge part of my life. And I run in all kinds of weather.
Because I don't know exactly what weather I am going to encounter when I head out in the early morning hours, I have to do a little more preparation the night before. When the weather starts to get a little unpredictable here in New England, I have several layers of running clothes that I lay out to allow me to be able to dress appropriately for the weather conditions I find when I wake up. Since I typically am out the door before 6:00 am, having the clothes already out allows me to not disrupt my wife's slumber looking for my running gear.
I have two different base layers. One is just compression shorts for warmer mornings and the other is Under Armor cold gear for when it is below 35 degrees. The next layer is a pair of shorts and a long sleeve tech shirt. If it is below 50 degrees, I will layer on a fleece vest and gloves. Once the weather is consistently below 35 degrees, I then layer on my North Face running jacket and pair of wind resistant running pants. Of course, I wear a hat when it is below 50 degrees. I find that I can mix and match the layers to the temperature and precipitation.
When I trained for the 2009 Boston Marathon, we had a mild winter of precipitation. I am heading into my training for the 2012 Boston Marathon with some trepidation. With the strange weather we have had early in the season, I am wondering if I will be face with huge snows and be forced to do a lot of my training indoors. In the end it doesn't matter. I will get my training in and be ready when I toe the line in Hopkinton in April. I have to be ready since I have a fellow runner counting on me to be with her every step of the way to her marathon P.R.
Oct. 24 – 6.20 miles (57:00, 9:11 pace)
Oct. 25 – 3.20 miles (25:09, 7:52 pace) – Speed WorkOct. 27 – 6.20 miles (49:32, 7:59 pace) – Tempo Run
Oct. 28 – 6.00 miles (55:06, 9:11 pace)
Oct. 29 – 9.10 miles (1:19:14, 8:42 pace)
Oct. 30 – 6.10 miles (55:43, 9:08 pace)
Nov. 1 – 6.20 miles (55:22, 8:56 pace)
Nov. 3 – 6.10 miles (54:27, 8:56 pace) – San Antonio, TX
Nov. 5 – 7.50 miles (1:03:41, 8:30 pace)
Nov. 6 – 10.30 miles (1:30:49, 8:49 pace)
Nov. 7 – 6.10 miles (56:11, 9:13 pace)
Nov. 8 – 3.20 miles (25:02, 7:49 pace) – Speed Work
Nov. 10 – 6.20 miles (50:27, 8:08 pace) – Tempo Run
Nov. 11 – 6.00 miles (56:06, 9:03 pace)
Nov. 12 – 10.30 miles (1:31:51, 8:55 pace)
Total Miles: 98.7 miles
2011 YTD Miles: 1,428.0 miles
1 comment:
Keep the readers of your blog up to date on your training as well as Helen's. we are interested in how she is doing. It will not be easy running with a partner for either of you. Will you ever get to run togehter before meeting in Hopkinton?
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