How I Have Been Surviving the Cold and Snow (Friday Five Edition)

This winter has been unusually cold for us here in Virginia.  So much so that I just don't understand how people live further north where it's like this for 3-5 months strait.  While we do get part of those arctic freezes that come down from Canada, they usually only last a couple of days.  Our normal high for right now is in the low 40's and we probably hit or exceeded that only 5-6 times this month.  My new thermostat will tell me when my auxiliary heat runs for more then 6 hours and my system kicks on the auxiliary heat when it's below 20 degrees outside.  I've had to hit OK to that message every day but 2 this month.  We have also had a few snow storms this year.  None of them more then a few inches, but we don't have the amount of plows cities up north do, so our roads are usually a mess for a few days.  These are the challenges I have when I'm in a training cycle during the winter months and how I combat them.



1.  Not signing up for any race that happens between December and March.  But that's not the best option, especially if running a race in the warmer part of the country.

2.  This is the time of year when cross training is important.  Sometimes I end up cross training a little bit more and run a little less when it comes to the winter months.  This lets you keep up your cardio even if you are not running.  And a great cross training idea is water jogging.  I've done it while I was hurt and was able to keep up my training.  But I have to say it is so very boring and very hard to jump into a pull when it is this cold outside.

3.  The dreaded treadmill.  I don't mind using the treadmill once in awhile, it just seems to be an inconvenience.  Every winter I think I should just chalk up the money and buy one for the house, but I can't see spending all that money for something I would only use a few times a year.  I have a gym membership, where they have plenty of treadmills to use.  But I don't even like to drive someplace to run outside, so to have to drive someplace to run on a treadmill is so unappealing.  This season I've only headed to the gym when there was snow and ice on the road.  I've actually ventured out when it dropped below freezing.



4. Layers, Layers, Layers.  When I do laundry, I usually do one load that is just my workout clothes.  This past time I did laundry, I had so many pieces of workout clothes, I had to do two loads because I wore so many layers.  I've been looking into finding a fleece lined pair of pants, but haven't found one that fits me well.  I'm sure the moment I find a pair I like, it won't be cold enough to wear them.  I guess I should find a pair soon.  It's still a balance of wearing enough cloths and not too many when  going out when it's below 20 degrees.  And also not ending up like the kid from A Christmas Story who couldn't put his arms down when his mom dressed him to go to school.  Though I don't think I could have put on enough clothes to keep me warm on my 10 degree run.

5.  This year has been the first year that I have done more then one run a season in temps below 20 (don't laugh at me northerns!) as I usually op for the treadmill.  But this year I found that I'd rather deal with the cold then go to the gym to use the treadmill.  My biggest issue with running in temperatures below freezing is that I can't breath.  Even if I'm not out there running, the moment I step outside in freezing temperatures I start coughing.  Then I come inside and I start coughing.  My lungs just can't deal with it.  So while digging for running hats and gloves I came across this running buff that I got with a Runner Box.  I've never used it before so I thought I'd give it a try to help keep my face warm.  Well I have to say that it worked.  Though it did get hard to breath with it over my mouth after it started to get wet due to the moisture in my breath.  But it was much better then not having something.

I started looking for something that was made to go over your face and be able to handle the moisture of my breath.  I found one on Amazon that was fleece lined and bought it.  I used it for the first time when it was in the mid 20's and it worked great.  I didn't get the breathing issues at all.  Though with it being fleece lined, it was actually a bit warm, even at 25 degrees.  And the problem with this design is that if I took it off, I wouldn't have anything on my head and it was way too cold to not have something on my ears.  It was only a 3 mile run, so I survived with my head being hot.  I'll have to look for something that's not fleece lined and/or able to separate to hat and face mask.

How have you stayed warm on your outdoor runs?  Any other tips to help out a winter training cycle?  What conditions will get you on the treadmill?  

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0

Richmond Marathon Recap - Finally! (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

I had another week of very little work outs.  I ran a couple of times, including a Turkey Trot, and went to the gym once.  I really need to get back on a good schedule.  Not a very exciting week, so I'll give you a more exciting (and a little long) recap. :)

So two weeks after I ran the MCM, I had decided to run Richmond.  Because I was signed up for the Marathon Training Team, I have entry to the marathon.  I wasn't sure if I would drop down to the half, or run my second marathon in two weeks.  I had gone back and forth on what I would do for the two weeks.  Come the week of the expo, I was leaning more towards the marathon and when I went to the expo, my decision was made to run the marathon.

So let's start off with the expo.  This race hosts the marathon, half marathon and an 8k.  I've done the half and 8k but this was the first time I would run this marathon.  The expo was the same as always.  We usually go to the expo on Thursday night and then go out to dinner.  This year was the same.  We went to the expo after work on Thursday and bib pickup was easy as usual.  The expo seems crowded and hot, but really there are no lines for anything.

I picked up my bib with no wait.  Went to the official merchandise area and decided that I wanted to get a marathon shirt since this probably is the only time I do that distance.

I walked through part of the expo to pick up my race shirt.  I do hate how the official shirts are so far away from bib pick up as I'm always afraid to put down my bib and lose it.  We get a bag with the shirt, but till then we just carry around the bib on its own.

I walked around a little waiting for my friends.  While I waited they had beer samples.  I don't mind if I do.  A couple of my friends showed up and we went on a lookout for cheap gloves that we could throw out.  We headed out and went for a very fun pasta dinner.

On Friday I decided to go check out the talk by Bart Yasso.  Both Bart and Don Garber were there to talk logistics of the race.  While I knew most of it, it was nice to hear it all again.  Both are fun speakers and people asked Bart a bunch of questions and I heard some of the same stories he shared at MCM.

I even got a picture with Bart Yasso.

Race day...

I met up with my running friends at one of the hotels.  The Richmond Marathon has been known as "American's Friendliest Marathon".  I didn't know this, but Bart Yasso said this of the Richmond Marathon because of the nice hotel and businesses that open up their doors before the marathon to keep us warm and let us use their bathrooms.  I did see Bart Yasso as I walked to the hotel and said hello again.  My friends and I hung out in the hotel and used the bathroom a couple of times and I ate my Honey Stinger Waffle.  Then we headed out.  They all were doing the half and I was the only one to do the full so we parted ways as each race has it's own start line.

I dropped off my bag at the UPS trucks.  I have to say that this is the only race that doesn't make you use a clear plastic bag.  I was able to check my backpack.  Then I headed towards the start line.  There also wasn't any security to get to the start line.  There were only 6 corals and of course I was in the last.  There really didn't seem like any structure to the corals so I stood on one of the corners and finished up my water and took a 5 Hour Energy.  I turned everything on and realized that my HR monitor would not stay on.  I know I charged it but it kept going off.  So I would have to run this without my HR monitor.  I wasn't going to run by my HR, but it would have been nice to have it to look back on.  I did run 30 second walk/1 minute run.  And before I knew it, we were off.

I had a throw away sweatshirt on as it was about 38 degrees as we started.  I also had my throw away gloves and a headband ear warmer.  We did a couple of turns and ended up on Broad Street where we could see the half marathoners on the other side of the street.  I kept looking over and I did eventually see my friends.  They didn't see me and they were too far away to yell at.  I wished them a good race to myself.

I was debating on when I should take off my sweatshirt.  It was still a little chilly but I was warming up.  We were in the shade of the buildings and I decided once we moved out of the shade, I'd take it off.  I did finally ditch it and decided that the first bank of port-a-potties I'd have to go.  What I loved about this race is that the first set were 10 long on both sides of the street.  No lines as this is where everyone decides to take a potty break.

The crowds were good.  Our bibs had our names on them and everyone was calling out by name.  I loved that.  Felt like they were all out there for me.  The first few miles went by quickly.  Everything was feeling good.  We made our way onto Grove Street and saw this wreath that was still up from Halloween.

I felt like I had to use the bathroom again.  I have never used the bathroom more then once during a race.  What was going on?  I saw another batch of port-a-potties and stopped.  We headed down to cross the river.  I ran into someone from the training team who is just a tad faster then me.  He was running with a bunch of people from out of town and they sounded like they were having fun.  I also ran into a lady that said that this was her 149th marathon.  I can't even imagine that.  How great.

As we were crossing the bridge about mile 7 I felt like the race was really thinning out.  Like a lot.  There were times that I felt like no one was around me.  I kept looking behind me to see if I was the last one, but there was a handful of people behind me still.  It was like this the rest of the race.  No wonder everyone on the training team was always ahead of me, this race has mostly fast runners.

We crossed the river and ran beside it for awhile.  We have run this road a couple times and I find it so pleasant to have such nice scenery right next to the road.  I felt like I had to go to the bathroom again.  What the heck?  I decided to ignore it to see if it would go away.  Eventually it did.

There was an older gentleman that ran past me and the back of his shirt said that his name was Woody and he was 86 years old.  We will see each other several times throughout the rest of the race.

We made our way away from the river and it seemed like every road was up hill.  Looking at the elevation chart, I was heading into 3 miles of rolling hills where most of them is up.

During the race, the coaches from the training team were all over the course.  They were there to cheer us on and run with us every so often.  At this time, one of the coaches from my team saw me and ran with me a little.  It was nice to chit chat with someone even if it was only for a few hundred feet.  He had said that he had already run about 11 miles back and forth at different spots.  So he was right about at the same mileage as I was without running the course.  I did notice about this time that every so often, even on my walk breaks, I was having a hard time catching my breath.  It wasn't bothersome, it was just weird as this has never happened before.

There were a few more miles till we reached the bridge to cross back over the river.  I heard stories of the wind on this bridge.  Everyone says to keep your gloves cause it will get breezy and cold while crossing the bridge.  I never took my gloves off, so that was no problem.  By this time it probably was in the mid 40's.  Before we turned onto the bridge, I could feel the wind.  I was a little anxious about what it would be like when I finally was on the bridge.

Once I hit the bridge, there really wasn't any breeze.  It was kinda nice out there.  At the end of the bridge, you could hear the after party.  Seriously, I had 10 more miles to go and the after party was so close, right under the bridge.

We headed up one of the biggest hills of the course.  I've run this a few times and hate it every time.  About this point, I started to feel nauseous.  It wasn't much, but it reminded me of the first 10 miles of MCM.  I hoped that it would go away quickly.

We made our way out onto Main Street and there seemed to be a bit more people out cheering.  It probably was cause they were hanging out at a bar and they were drinking.  That's OK, I was glad for any and all of the people out there cheering for the back of the pack.  They even had this cool drumming group from VCU.

Once we turned onto Boulevard we were on the half marathon course.  I was also so very nauseous.  I kept taking my Gu cause I didn't want to hit the wall hard cause I didn't fuel.  But the Gu made me more sick to my stomach.  Once I started to feel a little better it was time to take another Gu.  I was so excited for the last Gu I had to take.  We would pass a pizza joint and it made me want to puke.  We passed a BBQ place and it made me want to puke.

We made our way through some really nice neighborhoods.  I was so glad there were no more restaurants around to have to smell.  We have run this a lot, not only in marathon training, but for long runs throughout the year.  It was finally getting close to 50 degrees and I started to peal off my gloves and ear warmers.  Every mile during the last 10 miles I would skip one of my running segments every mile to take a break.  I knew if I kept up my pace, I would get a second PR in two weeks.

The course was so space at this time.  We got to one turn and the other two people that were around were not sure if we were supposed to go strait or turn.  We stopped and had to ask a volunteer that really wasn't paying attention to the runners.  That's how few people were still on the course.

I got to the last few turns and knew I was almost there.  The coaches were there and so encouraging as we made it to the hill.  If you haven't seen the end of the Richmond course, the last .2 miles goes strait down hill.

I was so happy to be done.  My legs held up and really didn't have much pain with them.  Crossing the finish line was very emotional for me.  I knew that my stomach would feel better once I stopped and I couldn't believe that I just finished a second marathon in two weeks.  Not only that, I couldn't believe that I made it under 6:30, which was my MCM A goal.  My official time was 6:26:45.

After I crossed the finish line I saw Don Garber, the MTT head coach, and I asked him for a hug.  I needed a hug so bad.  And then I heard that Woody (the 86 year old man that I saw many times on the course) finished right behind me.  I turned around cause I wanted to congratulate him, but he had stopped to talk to a couple people and I was just so tired that I needed to keep moving.

I got my finisher medal, blanket, and hat.  Along with water and snacks.  I couldn't even think about eating, but I did grab a bagel and was able to eventually eat about half of it.

I ended up buying the finisher jacket.  I have the finisher jacket from my first Richmond Half (which was my first half ever), and wanted one of my first (and probably only) Richmond Marathon.   They didn't have my size so they are shipping it to me for free, which was nice.  I just wish it was a full zip, but I love the color.

I started walking up the big hill towards where I remember the bag pickup was and my car.  I was just tired and just wanted to be home.  I was wrong about the bag pick up and ended up having to walk all the way back to the finish line to get my sandals and jacket.  It was probably good that I went back as I saw the PR bell on my way back up the hill to my car.

My breathing at this point had not gotten any better.  It was just like I had walked up 5 flights of stairs. Everything turned out OK, but it was really scary for a while that night.

Overall I was really glad that I had done it.  Except for the nausea (that stopped soon after the race) and the breathing problems after the fact, it was a great race.  The weather was great, the few crowds that stayed out for the back of the pack were wonderful, and the course was not too bad.  I know I felt like I was going up hill the whole time, but there were a few good down hills.  I probably won't do this race again, as I don't see me doing many more marathons.  I'd rather do a new marathon then this again.  I actually would like to do the half again.  Out of the many halves I have done, I've only done this one once.  Also, I'm officially a Marathon Maniac!

Have you done the Richmond Marathon before?  Are you a Marathon Maniac?  Have you ever felt really sick during a race?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

Wrapping My Week with the Richmond Marathon (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

I have my MCM recap almost done, but haven't had a chance to finish it up yet.  It should be my next post, I hope.  Till then, a quick recap of my week.

I had a pretty boring week, two 3 mile runs and two classes at the gym.  The big events happened this weekend.  Thursday I went to the expo and decided that I was ready to run a second marathon in two weeks.  I was physically feeling really good and I knew I'm not one to pass up a challenge.  I also knew that I wouldn't have a chance to do the Richmond Marathon as I don't think I would train just for that race.  I've been wanting to do the Richmond Half again at some point and really I don't have any wants to do more marathons right now.  I'd really like to lose 20-30 pounds before I go though that training again, and I don't see that happening anytime soon.

So a few highlights of the Richmond Marathon, I'll have a full recap soon.  If the one word for MCM was hot, the one word for Richmond is hilly.  I swear it felt like the whole course was up hill minus about half a mile.  The weather was great.  Started out in the mid-30's and by the time I finished it was about 50 degrees.  Also, probably 90% of the people running probably finished in less then 5 hours.  The course thinned out very quickly, like in the first 8 miles.  And the big news is that I PR'ed the second time in two weeks.  Not only did I PR, but I beat my A goal for MCM - finished faster then 6:30.  And now I can be a Marathon Maniac. 

During the marathon I had felt like I couldn't catch my breath.  Like the feeling that you walk up several flights of stairs and you just keep breathing heavy.  That feeling never went away after I stopped running.  It never went away after I got home and by that time my chest was feeling tight.  So I decided to go to Patients First cause I was scared to fall asleep.  Don't worry, nothing serious is wrong and I'm am a bit better today.

Patients First did an EKG, which was normal and then sent me to the ER.  They told me that if I every have problems breathing or chest pain to just go directly to the ER.  I was just wanting someone to tell me that I was over reacting and really to not want to pay ER fees.  Don't worry, nothing serious is wrong and I'm feeling a bit better today.

At the ER the doctor listened to my lungs and said that she couldn't hear any wheezing, so they would have to do further tests.  They did another EKG.  The nurse kept telling me I had to slow down my breathing.  I looked at her like she was crazy.  I was barely getting breaths in and she wanted me to slow down.  I basically had to hold my breath for her.  They took some blood and started me on fluids.  They brought a portable X-Ray too my room to look at my lungs.  I've never been anywhere where they bring the X-Ray to me.  It was kinda cool.

They were worried about a blood clot in my lungs so they wanted to give me a CT Scan.  By this time they had me move me around some, then I started coughing like I had bronchitis.  Every time I moved or talked a lot, I would cough.  I've never had a CT Scan and it was kinda cool.  A hell of a lot better then a MRI.  It's a pretty cool machine.  It's an open circular machine which moves you back and forth in the machine.  It would randomly move me back and forth and it would tell me to hold my breath and breathe. Then they wanted to add contrast to my IV.  It was a very weird sensation as it made my mouth tingly and made me feel like I peed myself.  It moved me back and forth a bunch more times.

They brought me back to my room to wait for the results.  As I said they found nothing seriously wrong, which is good.  They wanted to give me two more bags of fluid to help my dehydration from the day and gave me some steroids.  What they think happened is that I inflamed my lungs while I was running.  The paperwork they sent me home with called my diagnosis Chest Wall Pain.  It's like pulling a leg muscle, I'll just have to rest.  They also gave me some pain killers for the pain in my chest.

Today I'm better.  My breathing is mostly under control.  If I move around too much or talk a lot my breathing starts to strain and I get pain in my chest and I start coughing, so I have just been sitting on the couch most of the day.  I also took a 2 hour nap which was nice.  I just have to take it easy for the next week or two, which I already planned.  But this will defiantly make me take a break.

Have you ever run two marathons in two weeks?  Have you ever had a CT Scan?   

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.