By far the most popular post on this blog is one I wrote last year about winter running gear. Problem is, a lot of the links had broken. I just went through and fixed all the links, so you can now get a visual of all the running gear I recommend.
Take a look! Winter Running Gear (or, how to overcome even the nastiest winters).
My friend Rosie left a comment in a previous post asking what I wore to run during Chicago’s miserable winters. I thought the answer deserved its own post in case it might help somebody else overwhelmed by all the high-tech winter running gear out there. Winter running really isn’t my favorite thing, but I don’t belong to a gym (and I hate treadmills anyway). If you’re like me, don’t give up because it’s too cold—with the right clothes, you can enjoy a run in nearly any kind of weather. (Well, except maybe the sub-sub-zero temps we’re in for the rest of the week. Nearly any kind of weather).
The absolute basics are a pair of running tights and three top layers: a baselayer, a mid-layer, and a windbreaker layer. (I don’t own the exact products linked to above, but they are pretty similar to my favorites). You should dress for weather about 15 – 20 degrees warmer than the actual temperature, and you should feel chilly when you first go outside—if you’re toasty warm from the first minute you step out, you’ve overdressed.
If you only buy one pair of bottoms, I’d suggest something that fits close to your skin. Expect to spend about $70 on them. I prefer pants from a vanity standpoint (I hate having my butt encased in spandex; the pants’ looser fit is at least a little more flattering), but everytime the loose material around the ankles flaps in the wind, you’re sending more cold air straight up your legs. Brrr.
Since I prefer running pants over tights, and because I need the extra warmth, I wear a pair of SmartWool lightweight bottoms underneath the pants, which can double as long underwear underneath my work clothes during the week. SmartWool is great because natural fibers don’t get as stinky as synthetics; the brand Icebreaker is apparently even better, though I haven’t tried them yet.
Those are all the basics, and any good running store will tell you the same things and help you find the right running gear. I suggest patronizing your local running store first; once you find brands you like, you might be able to save a few bucks at websites like runningwarehouse.com. (I still buy most of my running clothes at my local Fleet Feet; they have a good frequent buyer program, and I still prefer to try clothes on first).
A few more specific recommendations, based on several winters running in Chicago and Indianapolis:
Congratulations to everybody who ran the Chicago Marathon today! Y’all are awesome.
Since I swore after last year’s royal fuck-up that I’d never do Chicago again, I decided I should at least cheer the runners on. So I made a sign last night that said YES YOU CAN in huge blue letters, and I headed down on my bike to North and Wells. It’s a great location because you can easily walk between mile 4 and mile 11—they’re not even half a block apart. I finally got to see the elite runners live, something I’ve never been able to do since I’m a middle-of-the-packer. And… wow. I couldn’t run that fast for quarter of a mile. The women’s Olympic Gold Medalist, Constantina Tomescu-Dita, was there, though the pack went by so quickly I couldn’t pick her out (she came in fourth today). I hung around at mile 11 for awhile and saw two of the five people I was tracking.
I’d planned on leaving after that, but I really wanted to see my friends finish the race. So I hopped back on my bike, got on the lakepath, and headed downtown. I got a great cheering spot on the inside corner at Michigan and Roosevelt, where the runners turn onto Roosevelt, make a final left turn, and cross the finish line. That last stretch up Roosevelt is probably the biggest hill on the entire course. I once tried to run it for a hill workout, and it turns out that the incline isn’t really all that steep. But after 25.9 miles, it’s a freakin’ mountain. I screamed myself hoarse cheering people on, and saw two more of the people I was tracking, plus at least half a dozen other runners I knew. I headed to the CES tent afterwards, and then it was back home. (Where… I discovered that I have a moderately bad sunburn. The worst I’ve gotten all summer, actually.)
I was really impressed with the runners I saw—the weather, while a good twenty degrees cooler than last year, was still anything but ideal. It was nice this morning, but by 10:30 or so, it had really heated up, and I know most of my friends didn’t have quite the race they had planned on, which I know is really frustrating, especially when it’s been cool all summer. WHEN will they learn to start this race at 7am, honestly?
My next marathon plans are still tentative, but I’m hoping to do the D.C. Marine Corps Marathon next October. Heads up to my D.C. friends, since you may have a house guest with an insatiable need for ice (ahemryanlisajenbarb). I’ve got at least three more half marathons to keep me busy until then, and hopefully I can get my time down and get back into shape before marathon training starts next May.
More marathon pictures here. I unfortunately took most of them at mile 11—I wish I’d taken more near the finish line. And I wish I could have gotten a picture of the best t-shirt I saw on a runner: BRING IT KENYA.
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current book: It sounds like my next one will be Gilead, followed by The Poisonwood Bible. Weigh in below and help me figure out how to get through this mountain of reading!
current music: I really need to buy my tickets for the Calexico show in November. I just haven’t been by the Metro lately. Will do it this week, for sure. Who’s coming with me? It’s gonna be an awesome show.
current socks: I wore running socks today. Other than being very comfortable and having small purple stripes on the back, they’re not all that novel.
Today I ran 13.1 miles in 2:15:18, a PR for me! That averages out to a 10:20 pace (10:16 for the first leg and 10:23 for the second leg). I prefer to run a negative split, in which you run the second half faster than the first, but that will be something to work on for the Indy Mini in May. This course was a “net elevation loss,” which means a couple long hills before hitting those downhills (the terminology is a bit sneaky). Although I did not enjoy the upwards part of the hills, it really was nice to run a more varied landscape than the flattened paths of Chicago or Indianapolis. And boy did those downhills feel good.
Now that I’m on the other side of this half-marathon, I am both sore and relieved. It’s always nice to be done with a race/training cycle—I have a few weeks off before Mini training begins, and it will feel good to start at a low mileage. And for now, I’m medicating my aching calves and tightened hip flexors with lots Blue Bell ice cream and queso. I should really run in Austin more often.
Tomorrow morning I am getting up at approximately o’dark thirty and running 13.1 miles in THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WEATHER EVER. Seriously, y’all, it was 75F today. That is about 80 degrees warmer than what I left early Friday morning. I might run extra-slow just to stay outside and enjoy the weather longer. Do you even remember what 75 feels like? I did not.
All the big races I’ve done hand out goodie bags along with your race number and race t-shirt. They are usually stuffed with samples of running crap: everything from special detergents to Clif bars to little doohickeys to hold your extra iPod cord. The half I’m doing tomorrow is sponsored by 3M. The goodie bag had exactly one sample-sized Clif bar in it. And then this:
My Glugul is Cowboy Cody, a light green alien with a cowboy hat and lasso.
Cody’s friends always know where he is because they can see his energy lasso for miles. He is so good with a rope that he can catch objects in mid-air with his eyes closed! He can even start a dust storm by spinning his lariat really fast!
Mark’s Glugul is Rocket Robbie:
Rocket Robbie can use his jet packs to boost himself and his friends out of any “sticky” situation! Whenever someone needs him he can be there in the blink of an eye to help out.
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current book: The Amazing Adventure of Kavalier & Clay. About three chapters in.
current music: Laura & Mark gave me a CD of Neko Case performing at Austin City Limits, and I can’t wait to listen to it. Thanks, y’all!
current socks: Dark blue with light blue polka dots. Although I just got Laura hooked on SmartWool socks.
Normally the new year brings some sense of renewal or rebirth. I’m not much for either New Year’s Eve partying or for resolutions, but the rest of the world seems to celebrate both, and so the passage of time somehow seems more profound. Except that this new year didn’t feel that new to me. Maybe it was the dreariness of winter clinging to me, or that I was so busy at work, or that I didn’t make a big celebration of it. But the new year doesn’t feel very new this time around.
Fortunately, I’m heading down to Austin in—yikes!—11 days. Not only will the weather be reasonable, but I’ll see friends I haven’t seen in ages, and I’m running a half-marathon. I trained pretty well until the start of the new year, so I’m trying to get back on track with a few more good runs before heading south. I plan to do a split long run over the next two days, running two separate 5-mile runs in less than 24 hours. I’ll follow it up with another 5- or 6-miler this weekend, and then a couple short runs, and then race day! It’s a downhill course, and if the weather’s in the 50s or 60s as expected, I could be able to set a PR if I can overcome the mental rut I’m in right now. Hopefully a big dose of Texas sunshine and a half-gallon of Bluebell Cookies n’ Cream will do it.
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current book: I read a lot over Christmas: The Time Traveler’s Wife, The Ice Storm, An Abundance of Katherines, and Stuart: A Life Backwards. I should blog on the last two books, and all of you should go read An Abundance of Katherines as soon as possible, if only for the fantastic footnotes. I have Annie Dillard’s The Maytrees in my work bag, but I did the crossword puzzle on the bus this morning instead of cracking it open.
current music: Saw Canasta play at Simon’s last night. It ended up being a great show—the space there was really small, and I thought that might adversely affect them, but it was a lot of fun. And they even covered Kraftwerk’s The Model!
current socks: Tall, fuzzy blue argyles.
I skipped my group run this morning so I could sleep in; I figured since it was only seven miles, it would be easy enough to do on my own (and yes, I do recognize the insanity of the words “only seven miles”). So I headed out about 10:30am. (The one nice thing about running in winter is that you have the option of running at a time other than o’dark thirty; not so much in the summer, when it’s hot and sticky before 8:30am.) It turned out to be kind of a crappy run. Sometimes you just can’t get into the groove of things, and despite listening to a podcast of NPR’s Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me, featuring my Public Radio crush, Peter Sagal, today was one of those days.
The one thing I like about running in the winter (and especially in the snow) is the dogs: the big ones are ecstatic to be outside, and the plow the snow with their noses, running in circles and chasing each other. Dozens of dogs were out today, and their owners mostly took them off the lake path so they could tear through the half-foot of snow, chasing after balls and toys and sticks.
As I headed home, I passed a guy and his dog who were making all the passersby smile. The dog, a big yellow lab, had a whole freakin’ tree limb in his mouth. The circumference was easily bigger than my upper arm, and the branch was probably close to four feet long. The dog couldn’t have been happier: following his owner, wagging his tail, a tree in his mouth. As I passed them, I asked the owner if he was going to throw the branch for his dog. “I just threw it for him 33 times,” he said.
Wow. Even Monte (who thankfully only plays fetch with lightweight milk rings) loses interest after a dozen or so rounds.
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current book: One of the America’s Best Essays collections. I’d go look up which one, but Monte is comfortably snuggled into my lap.
current music: The latest from The Go! Team. Thanks, Harriett! It’s awesome!
current socks: Still in my running socks, but am doing laundry so I can slip back into my warm SmartWool stripeys.
A couple things about my first marathon took me by surprise—namely, the fact that it’s a more emotional experience than I would have guessed.
But there are few other things nobody told me about. Like how the last two nights I woke up every time I turned over in my sleep. My muscles were so sore that the pain of rolling over jolted me awake. Today is the first day that my stride is somewhat normal, but my shins are screaming and my hamstrings feel like iron rods down the backs of my thighs. If I do something like put my weight on one leg, my hips start swearing at me.
Also, I can now say that I have experienced chafing between my butt cheeks.
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current music: I’ve hardly been listening to anything lately. Suggestions and mix CDs very welcome.
current book: Staying Up Much Too Late: Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks and the Dark Side of the American Psyche by Gordon Theisen.
current socks: Black with neon green toes and heels, and a Cheshire-esque grinning head on the side with the words “Fraidy Cat.” October 9 seemed as good a time as any to start breaking out the Halloween socks!
I was going to just stick this in the comments of the Marathon Recap post, but it’s too good to risk getting lost.
A sign at the starting line alerting us to the video camera said, “Smile Your On Camera.” Forget poor planning—I might never do this marathon again because of this sign.
A guy named Pat Cagney had supporters throughout the race, including one carrying a sign that said, “Pat Cagney’s Nipples Don’t Bleed.”
A group of guys supporting some runners from Mexico carried several signs that said, “Your feets hurt cause you’re kicking ass.”
There were quite a few variations on “Channel Your Inner Kenyan,” which just seems like it has to be offensive, but I see things like that fairly frequently.
Not a sign but a song—around Mile 16 or 17, when the heat was getting brutal, a couple near me started singing “Our God is an Awesome God.” I appreciate the need to rely on a higher power when you are producing several pounds of sweat per half hour. But sadly, I actually know this song, so they totally and unfairly song-bombed me. Also, I was pissed that they actually had enough energy to sing.
Best sign ever:
Go, Kathryn, Go! Dick Cheney’s Behind You!
