A miserable week (of exercise) in Texas

FitAgainBy55

Pre-rant note: I'm not discouraged just need to vent. I know this is temporary and has no long term impact on my goals.

I was really on a roll since I started my second journey of fat to fit over the last 10 years. I started Dec 20th and had ramped up my workouts slowly each week. I got up to 20 miles per week running and 50 minute kettlebell circuit training where I was consistently gaining strength. I've been losing an average of 1.5 lbs per week and have lots of energy from my workouts.

Then, roads iced over, limited electricity for 3 days (3 hours in a 36 hour stretch), then long outages afterwards of multiple hours -- it got down to 35 degrees INSIDE my house. I planned to switch from alternating running/lifting to upper/lower body splits with kettlebells but with limited power, water rationing etc... I've only managed one workout this week and have been drinking pretty much every night (which I was limiting to once during the week).

It's partly logistics but also partly just low energy (no pun intended) due to everything that's going on.

We now have power and the roads will start to melt and I should be able run outside again this weekend.

We are lucky so far -- we don't appear to have any busted pipes and all of my family is safe and healthy. While we are forced to boil water we at least still have running water -- many don't.

Overall, it's been a very miserable week in Texas.

corinasue1143

I feel ya’. Same problems, mini version in Oklahoma. I want out of this icy jail!
Just saw a moving car for the first time this week. Going about 3 miles/hour in front of my house. There’s hope!

FitAgainBy55

@corinasue1143 not much traffic out here yet either. I live in a rural area so I'm not sure how long it will take for the roads to clear without traffic so I can go for a run without fear of breaking a leg. Looks like this weekend should be clear, at least I hope.

LoveyChar

I just hit the submit button to this post in another thread:

Kid in a candy store, me too because I felt this way yesterday when I discovered running videos on YouTube. I'm an outdoor runner but Texas got hit with snow and I'm, in essence, stuck. I walked outside to the trash bin yesterday and slid, grateful I did not fall and crack my skull on the concrete. Anyway...

I prefer to run outdoors by myself but jogging in place is nice when you're watching someone else do it because then you don't really feel so goofy or alone in the process. I do know that I don't need a video to run in place but I do enjoy running in place with someone else, wherever they are. I am 100% excuseless because I do realize so many things I can do without being outdoors or having equipment. Got a pulse? I didn't even run in shoes yesterday and neither did the instructor.

Nice job on persisting without the unnecessary extras!!!

mpkpbk2015

Rant on I am in Plano - and I am hearing from all my relatives who live up North about how much warmer it is there than here. And I should move back home. Up until last week walked 3 miles a day in the subdivision which is now totally snowed in and I can't even get out of my sloped driveway.
Luckily the pipes haven't busted and my kids haven't gone totally nuts.
Starting to feel like the guy in the Shining but without the maze.
Good thing is we do have power and I can do workout videos online,
I have lived in Texas almost 40 years now and this is by in far been the worst winter, even worst than the year we had ice and the Super Bowl was in town at least then we didn't have to boil water and have rolling Blackouts.
ok guess I will stop ranting.
Boy that felt good. Thanks for this thread.

LoveyChar

Yes, it will begin melting today. I think you'll be able to get out and run tomorrow. I would imagine... I'm going...

LoveyChar

I'm in Central Texas, no rolling power outages in my neighborhood and no water loss either. We were fortunate.

Bigrod780

I live in Canada
So walking and cycling year round is normal avg temp -20 c
May I suggest a few strategies
1. Wear proper clothing include mittens instead of gloves and good footwear
2. Walk a route that keeps the wind at your back
3. Cycle on days above -10c
4. Integrate HIT traing with deep snow walking to really ramp up your workout
5. Use snow shoveling as your cardio session
6. 6 Stay positive the westher wont last forever
7. Lower calories on inside dsys
I hope these suggestions help
Good luck

NorthCascades

Sorry to hear it.

When I was a kid growing up in frigid New England our pipes burst during a storm, while we were on vacation. Thank god for insurance, we lived out of a hotel for a month while the house was rebuilt. I'm glad you didn't have to go through that.

This is the part where I offer some advice you didn't ask for. These polar vortex things are getting more common because the jet stream is destabilizing. Politicians and electric companies don't always learn from their mistakes. You should think about getting a camping stove, and in the summer think about getting a warm down jacket when they're on clearance.

FitAgainBy55

Bigrod780 wrote: »

I live in Canada
So walking and cycling year round is normal avg temp -20 c

@Bigrod780 Thanks, but it's not the temperature that is the problem, it's that our cities don't have proper equipment to clear roads. Instead of snow on roads and sidewalks we end up with ice because it melts during the day some and then freezes at night.

Overall, however, we can't complain about our winters -- so it's a temporary issue. You guys in Canada have to deal with brutal winters, in Texas we have to deal with 100 degree summers with 80% humidity.

Bigrod780

Ice is always a present danger and we have our share of that trust me
my point is to find a strategy that works and donnot become discouraged
I am sure that you all face the challenges of excercising in high temps and humidity with your heads held high do the same in winter
You improvise adapt and overcome

kshama2001

Sure, I wouldn't want to RUN on ice, but I've been walking in icy/deep snow conditions with boots similar to these for 19 years and haven't fallen once:

https://www.zappos.com/p/sorel-snowlion-xt-black/product/8353037/color/3



Probably not a great investment for a Texan, but for those who live where deep snow is a regular occurrence, I highly recommend them.

I do use them more for chores like shoveling and taking out the compost than walking, but before I got my snow shoes I used them to trudge around in deep snow for exercise.

DancingMoosie

Hubby filled these up from a friend's well water so we could wash up and flush toilets, etc.
We were without power off and on but water was the worst problem. It finally came on tonight. There still isn't enough pressure for me to take a shower. I did YouTube when I could, marched or jogged in place, found some old hiking boots and took my dogs out, used my treadmill to walk when we had power, etc. I actually got a lot of workouts in, but not the heavy lifting that I can do at the gym. I'm hoping to go back Monday.

AnnPT77

FitAgainBy55 wrote: »

Bigrod780 wrote: »

I live in Canada
So walking and cycling year round is normal avg temp -20 c

@Bigrod780 Thanks, but it's not the temperature that is the problem, it's that our cities don't have proper equipment to clear roads. Instead of snow on roads and sidewalks we end up with ice because it melts during the day some and then freezes at night.

Overall, however, we can't complain about our winters -- so it's a temporary issue. You guys in Canada have to deal with brutal winters, in Texas we have to deal with 100 degree summers with 80% humidity.

I'm not in Canada, I'm in Michigan pretty darned nearby, but most of our Summers are getting hotter on average, too. 80% humidity has always been pretty normal in summer, but it used to be cooler. We're getting a lot more 90s than we used to, occasional >100 which used to be unheard of, and I'm betting it'll keep going up year over year on average.

I do sympathize, really, with what you're facing in Texas, because it's obvious that this was a low-probability event (based on the past, who knows about future), and the infrastructure just was Not Prepared At All. I've had multi-day power outages with outdoor temps in the teens (F) in past years, lucky so far this year, but of course most of us have some fallback equipment or backup plans.

Single digit or sub-zero night temps lately, though, and some single-digit days, which is atypically cold, and there's high-typical amounts of snow for the last week or so. My river's been frozen for months, so rowing is out, but I know I need something different in Winter, so more prepared.

Our overall infrastructure handles the cold/snowy stuff better, we have more trouble with heat (more deaths of elderly isolated people, for example; more cases of heatstroke at many ages because people aren't acclimated or sufficiently aware).

I'm truly sorry y'all are going through this, but I'm thinking all of us would be smart to prepare for more-frequent extremes in the next few years.

NorthCascades

AnnPT77 wrote: »

FitAgainBy55 wrote: »

Bigrod780 wrote: »

I live in Canada
So walking and cycling year round is normal avg temp -20 c

@Bigrod780 Thanks, but it's not the temperature that is the problem, it's that our cities don't have proper equipment to clear roads. Instead of snow on roads and sidewalks we end up with ice because it melts during the day some and then freezes at night.

Overall, however, we can't complain about our winters -- so it's a temporary issue. You guys in Canada have to deal with brutal winters, in Texas we have to deal with 100 degree summers with 80% humidity.

I'm not in Canada, I'm in Michigan pretty darned nearby, but most of our Summers are getting hotter on average, too. 80% humidity has always been pretty normal in summer, but it used to be cooler. We're getting a lot more 90s than we used to, occasional >100 which used to be unheard of, and I'm betting it'll keep going up year over year on average.

Same thing here. I love skiing more than anything. The season has been getting shorter because more rain and less snow. Fewer days with good conditions. It used to be in the teens and twenties all day in mid winter and now it's fairly uncommon to get below 30 during the day. Cold snow is like a road bike on smooth pavement, warm snow is like a fat bike in the sand. Obviously there are more important reasons to be concerned about this, in just saying it's noticable.

tbilly20

Nothing is worse than getting a crap sandwich when you ordered a steak. I feel for the folks in TX. Like you said the cities and populace are just not prepared. I was in Austin for the US Cyclocross Nationals in 2015 when a Winter event froze the city and shut everything down. Conversely, I have been to training camps in Phoenix where it hit 90 in February of 2016! All politics and science aside, our Earth is a strange place. My workout on Thursday was carrying my 6y/o up a sledding hill for hours on her snow day.

girlwithcurls2

We had that storm right before you did in OR. I just want to offer hugs to everyone in TX and other states. We're thinking of you Your rant is well deserved.

AnnPT77

With apologies to OP (kinda), who I hope will forgive me, there are ways to train for Winter weather.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNOKLCuHQS0

I admit, some of this may make more sense (?) to the Northerners.

Since it's Saturday, and the news about TX as presented here in MI sounds a little more positive (but still Not Good), I hope things are looking better for you, OP.

It's balmy here today, compared to the last couple of weeks: Sunny, no snow falling, temp is all the way up to 28F. Our power's been fine, and water. Well, my power flickered several times over just a few seconds last evening, and it seems to have fried the electronics in the CPAP I need to deal with my sleep apnea 🙄, but that's how things go, sometimes.🤷‍♀️

vanmep

So sorry to hear of all the troubles in Texas. It sounds brutal. Of course our Canadian solutions are not going to help for your (hopefully) one-off situation. But we Canadians do have to find ways to exercise in spite of icy roads and snow piles and low temperatures. We can get snow tires for our bikes and chains for our boots and gloves with heat packs in them. I used to ride my bike year round until I fell on an icy street and decided that was enough. Anyways, just sympathizing with you. I appreciate your good attitude that it is a temporary setback. Good luck with everything!