Friday, January 04, 2008

Draggin' my feet

This picture was taken yesterday morning in St. Andrews harbour. The temperature was -18C (OF) with very little wind making for great photo opportunities for the sea smoke. Pretty cool looking and I was very happy not to be running in this weather, unlike some people who seem to be simply unstoppable. I didn't run outdoors but instead did my easy 5 miles on the treadmill. The pace wasn't that slow but it felt way easier than gearing up with 3 or 4 layers and trying to dodge snow plows etc.

Conditions started off much the same today but instead of staying cold it gradually warmed up during the morning (sunshine tends to do that). By the time I headed out the door it was up to a balmy -8C.

Did I mention I'd been dragging my feet? When I woke up it was -18C. "There's no way I'm going out in that and have my eyelids freeze shut!" (unlike 'some' people). Besides there was work to do helping the boys get ready for their long trip back to Ottawa. Car to check, packages to load, more repacking to get everything to fit and finally the sad goodbye's. It was so nice to have them all home but once again we're back to being empty nester's missing them already. Temp was now up to -15C and climbing! Cool! Maybe I should help take down that Christmas tree first? And those decorations too? Ahh, the temp is now up to -10C, should I make lunch too? There, now it's only -8C, time to go.

After all that foot dragging the run went really well, felt light on my feet, good turnover though still a slow pace on the snow covered streets. Ended up doing 13.1 miles, avg pace 8:27 but with an elevated HR of 137. The hammy is getting better and was not an issue during the run. I'm now doing a stretching routine before and after each run and it seems to be helping. So far so good and the first week of 2008 is almost in the books. Tomorrow is just 5 easy miles which will give me 61 for the week.

Have a great weekend!

6 comments:

Garry said...

Mike,
Nice run today. And that is a really cool picture. I hear you about dragging your feet. Although I only have a short day today! Now maybe I should take that tree down....

Andrew said...

Nice mileage week for someone dragging their feet!

You're right. That cold makes one pause doesn't it?

Love2Run said...

Did you notice the lumps on the floating raft are seagulls? Poor things are trying to keep warm.

Thomas said...

Interesting, that sea smoke. I see that phenomenon regularly during my morning runs when it's fairly cold, but that's still at least 20 degrees C warmer than your conditions.

Grellan said...

Those balmy temperatures are a bit cold for my liking. How long does it take until the thaw comes?

Grellan said...

Those balmy temperatures are a bit cold for my liking. How long does it take until the thaw comes?