January 2019 Monthly Running Challenge

Well, I’ve decided it’s time for a monthly recap as I will most likely not be running for the rest of January - in spite of the lovely sunshine outside, the projected high for today is -16 F (it’s -24 right now), and although tomorrow is projected for a balmy -3 high, it’s expected to be around -18 when I’m heading to and from the gym (i.e. peak running time). There is a slight chance the spirit of @7Lenny7 will strike later in the afternoon if it snows (cue Minnesotan reaction to snow: “Must have warmed up!”) but I’ll decide when the time comes.



My goals for this month changed a few times around the new year so I didn’t do my usual daily tracking here. I was curious to see what it would look like, and I’m actually pretty happy. Eleven running days averaging almost exactly 10 miles a week, eleven strength workouts, and not too many inactive days. I've gotten better about mobility work too, though there's still room for improvement. I ran a total of 40.7 miles in the month, which is exactly 40.7 miles more than I ran in January 2018. And I ran a road race in the snow with ambient temperature around 0F. Boom!

White there are parts of me that feel like I should be running more, I remind myself not only this is a big improvement in miles over last January, it’s a big improvement over last winter in general, when I only logged 18 miles from the beginning of December through the end of April. This is my first winter since running really clicked in Spring 2018, and with 54 miles in December and 40 in January I’d say I’m killing it so far.

And besides that, getting back into strength training is a big accomplishment! I think I’ve found a really good community at this gym, and am excited about the improvements that I’m making in lifting. Maybe I’ll find that I’ve bit off a bit more than I can chew come peak running season, but I can deal with that when the time comes.

1/1 House cleaning extravaganza
1/2 Fitness Blender strength workout
1/3 Ran 2.13 miles, gym trial
1/4 FB strength workout
1/5 Ran 9.1 miles
1/6
1/7 Ran 3.78 miles
1/8 Ran 1.56 miles, strength class
1/9 FB low impact cardio video
1/10 Strength class
1/11 Ran 4.55 miles
1/12
1/13
1/14 Ran 1.96 miles, strength class
1/15
1/16 Strength class
1/17 1 hour walk
1/18 Ran 1.69 miles, strength class
1/19 Ran 5.48 miles
1/20 sick
1/21 sick
1/22 sick
1/23 Ran 2.34 miles, strength class
1/24 FB low impact cardio video
1/25 Ran 1.77 miles, strength class
1/26 Ran 6.34 miles - Securian Winter Run 10K
1/27
1/28
1/29 Strength class
1/30 FB low impact cardio video
1/31 Strength class

January Running Total: 40.7 miles

Weekly Averages: 115 minutes running, 185 minutes low-impact cardio, 91 minutes strength training, 40 minutes mobility work.

I went out for a 4.5 mile run late last night and got a new PR. Not a time or distance PR, but a temperature PR.



For you metric folks, that's -33C air temp, -49C wind chill. This was my first run of the year without Kody. I was not about to subject him to this cold, though he seemed willing.

I didn't get out until 10:30pm because I had to wait until after I picked up my son from work. For the most part, I actually overdressed. Dealing with the cold all day going to work and back, and working out in the garage, I think I overestimated the cooling effect on me.

From bottom up I wore:

FEET:

• Thin Smartwool liner socks - so thin I could see my toes through them.
• DryMax Cold Weather Running Socks - These are amazing. My feet were never cold.
• Merrell All Out Charge trail shoes, tops and sides covered in duct tape to block the wind. I chose these not because they were trail shoes, but because they were my most wind resistant shoes. Unfortunately they were not big enough for the thicker sock I wore. I'll try something different tonight.

Bottom:

• Saucony wind briefs - The most important piece of clothing in cold, windy weather.
• Smartwool PhD tights - my top choice for cold weather runs
• Columbia snow pants - FAIL. They made my legs sweat profusely and didn't breath so my tights were drenched when I was done. But, even sweaty, I was never cold.

Top:

• Base layer shirt - thin marino wool from Costco
• Mid layer - mid-weight Fila shirt from Costco - picked because it was my longest shirt
• Mid layer - heavy-weight Brooks top
• Heavy fleece jacket - Too much. I took this off after half a block.
• Top Wind layer - Columbia parka shell, uninsulated, not meant for running.

Head:

• Polarwrap heat exchanger face mask - FAIL - This works great for walking, hiking or sitting around in the cold, but for running it was just too restrictive for breathing.
• UA Cold Gear balaclava - my workhorse head covering for cold weather.
• Buff - around my neck to start
• big fluffy stocking cap from the race I volunteered at a couple of weeks ago.
• Bolle ski goggles - FAIL
• Black Diamond Spot headlamp

Hands:

• Big chopper mitts with jersey glove liners and heat packs in the zippered compartment on the back of hte hands - worked well, but my hands got sweaty.

After getting half dressed I was getting too warm so I went to my garage to finish up. I made the mistake of putting my Garmin in an outer pocket of my parka and it died at some point on the run and not only lost this run, but every run stored on it.

I made it to the end of the block and could tell right away that I was getting too warm. A quick jog back home to shed the fleece jacket and back out again.

Initially it was nice to have the ski goggles. In conjunction with my PolarWrap, my face was completely covered. After going about a block though, the goggles were frosted over and I could barely see where I was going. I was also having a really hard time getting all the air I needed through the PolarWrap, which made me struggle with the run. I finally had enough and it was back home to get rid of those. I needed something to cover my nose and put on a neoprene face mask with a nose cover and several holes in the mouth area. This worked very well. I did have some exposed skin, but the heat coming off my body prevented frostbite.

The biggest challenge for the rest of my run was temperature regulation of my face. Going against the wind I had just the slightest of slits to look through and the buff over my facemask. This restricted my breathing a bit but it was a trade-off I had to make. Running with the wind at my back I could drop the buff and face mask down for easy breathing, though my eyelashes would then start freezing together. By the end of the run my facemask and buff were frozen stiff from the moisture of my breath and adjustment was difficult. There was no ice beard to be found because I kept it covered the entire time.

After a 2 mile loop I stopped by the house to tell my wife I was fine and the temperature was fine and I was going to stay out for another hour. She protested because she wanted to go to bed but wouldn't be able to fall asleep until she knew I was home safe, so I I went back out for a 1 mile loop and a 1.5 mile loop.

I clearly had enough on for a successful run in this weather. For many parts I had too much on.

Head - too warm. My headgear was soaked in sweat when I got home, but for this short run it didn't bother me. For a longer run in this cold it could have been bad.
Face - This was the big challenge. I'd like to find a heat exchanger mask which had a mouth piece inside so all my breathing could go through the heat exchanger and not up towards my ski goggles, rendering useless. My biggest concern for frostbite was my nose. Next time I may try some K-tape over my nose. I've heard of using vasoline over exposed skin as a temperature barrier so perhaps I'll try that tonight.
Hands - too warm, but not dangerously so.
Chest and arms - too warm, but not dangerously so. The shell didn't breath and my sweat actually turned to frost INSIDE my the shell.
Legs - way to warm. My tights were drenched at the end. I don't think any of my tights are windproof, nor are my brooks pants. I need to find a light weight wind layer for my legs.
Feet - PERFECT! I love, love, love Drymax Cold Weather Running Socks. If this wasn't a testament to their effectiveness, I don't know what is. I did have the Smartwool liner socks and I'm sure that helped quite a bit too.

I'll be heading out again today. Temp should be -15F with a -33F wind chill, so quite a bit warmer.

This run put me over my goal for January!

Cold but sunny day so got out for 4 miles. Still slow, and had to have walk sections but it's done. Forgot to log my weekend run of 3.5 miles. Can't even vaguely keep up with all the posts, but well done everyone.
Months total mileage -29 miles

Sorry pages and pages behind... if anyone asked me any questions the answer is probably 42.

January goal: 75 miles

1/1: 3.11 miles
1/4: 4.6 miles
1/5: 4.21 miles
1/6: 8.02 miles
1/8: 3.11 miles
1/9: 3.15 miles
1/10: 3.15 miles
1/13: 9.01 miles
1/15: 3.15 miles
1/16: 3.11 miles
1/17: 5.03 miles
1/20: 10.02 miles
1/22: 5.02 miles
1/23: 3.27 miles
1/24: 3.26 miles
1/27: 11.40 miles
1/29: 3.30 miles
1/30: 2.20 miles

88.12/75 miles completed

Today I ran a quick 22.2 miles at lunch. That will be my last run for January so I'm ending the month at 88.12 miles which surpasses my 75 mile goal. I'll be running a half marathon on Saturday so I want to be fresh for it. Hopefully the weather will be nice. The forecast is looking good. This will be my second half and my goal for this race is to beat my previous HM time and I'm feeling pretty good about it. The run today was nice. I almost waited until after work since the weather should be the same as it is forecast for Saturday morning, but Wednesday's are busy days for me so I went ahead and ran at lunch. I was just glad that my "kind of chilly" is nothing like the cold weather some of you are facing. I honestly don't think I would leave the house if it was that cold.

I did wear interesting socks today. I usually wear plain solids, but I got these one time when I donated blood, so I thought I would share.




2019 Races:
2/2/19: Catch the Groundhog Half Marathon

2.5 miles on the treadmill today. I was supposed to do 1/4 mile repeats but wasn't really feeling it, so I did a few 1 minute sprints instead. I was pretty pleased myself for managing to run on the treadmill at a 10 min/mi pace without tripping or being flung off the back. Lol. It's the little things in life, really...

Also officially signed up for my first 5k of the year, a week from Saturday! I'm curious to see how much/if my time has improved since my last 5k in the fall.

51.5/45.0 miles for January so far

katharmonic wrote: »

Did @AlphaHowls really run 27 miles in her basement? Did @kgirlhart really run a "quick" 22 miles on her lunch break? I know @7lenny7 really ran at a windchill of -57 F. It's crazy town in here.

Hah, it's like a game of two truths and a lie typo. I live close enough to Lenny that I can confirm that's no typo!

katharmonic wrote: »

Did @AlphaHowls really run 27 miles in her basement? Did @kgirlhart really run a "quick" 22 miles on her lunch break? I know @7lenny7 really ran at a windchill of -57 F. It's crazy town in here.

I was thinking the exact same thing! Else everyone has frozen fingers and are having a hard time typing But HUGE props to you all!! Much respect.

Kinda makes my 50F and 13mph wind seem like a mid summer day.
So 6.2 miles this evening. I guess you would call this a tempo run. Really just did about a 0.2 mile fartlek at roughly the start of each mile. The rest felt just comfortably hard. But it was good to see my stride length increase over 1.05 meters for a change.



Not a bad monthly total with a 2 week taper.

Well, kgirlhart did not run 22.2 miles today. That was definitely a typo. The other two are probably right though.

For some reason, I cannot select the 'edit' button. Wanted to say....I am pretty much easily entertained in my own head, hence 'crazy'. Running soothes the wolf inside (mental health). I just want to run and run and run...