Yesterday, Nick and I ran 12 miles. I know some of you have already heard this, as you were the recipient of a rushed, post-run, endorphin-high phone call. I am also fairly sure that several of you are growing weary of these phone calls and our complete inability to have a conversation that does not include running, but rest assured neither of these facts will deter our behavior.
Yesterday's run took 2 hours and 13 minutes. Nick and I conversed for some of the run, but I would guess that we were silent for about 1/2 of the run. Given our (deserved) reputation for being chatty people, an hour of silence between us is huge. A lot of things went through my head during this hour, and I figured that it might be fun to blog the random thoughts that occur to me while running.
Running in Anchorage in the winter brings certain factors that runners in warmer climates may never have to think about. We have become very adept at dressing for the temperature, following the advice I read in Marathoning for Mortals (Bingham, Hadfield) to dress for 10 degrees warmer than the actual temperature and to expect to be cold walking out the door. We have developed a system using two to four layers depending on the temperature - our coldest run this winter was -20, requiring four layers top and bottom. It was 30 degrees when we started out yesterday, warm compared to most of our winter runs, and we both started with only two layers of clothing.
We started our run at Westchester Lagoon, and as much as I have come to enjoy running, I have to tell you that the first fifteen minutes out of the car demand a LOT of self-motivation because I don't like to be cold. Yesterday we ran the first mile at a frustratingly slow pace so that our muscles could warm up and to prevent injuries. Unfortunately, this meant that we felt the cold for that first mile. Thirty degrees is too warm to wear gloves, so we both pulled our sleeves down over our fists until we started to warm up. I am sure we were quite the sight, running so slow a fast walker could have passed us, with penguin-like short strides, trying to steel ourselves against the wind. The first mile of the trail had the additional challenge of two tunnels, both of which have been filled with overflow and ice this winter so they were ankle twisters.
It is always in the first mile that I think about all of my friends who say they could never run, that they are just not runners like we are. I think about those friends because the thought invariably creeps in to my head that we could just turn around, jog back to the car, drive home, and go back to bed. Best not to say that one out loud, so the first mile is pretty quiet between Nick and I. I try to shift my focus to two pieces of running advice, the first being one that I picked up third-hand...Sarah told Chanda who told me: The first couple miles always suck, no matter how good of a runner you are. I agree. The second piece of advice came from my friend Dena: When you don't feel like exercising, because you are achy and tired and have no energy is EXACTLY when you need to exercise and release those endorphins.
Since our prior long run had been in Hawaii, during this 12 mile run I mentally compiled the following list:
Top 10 things runners in Hawaii never have to think about
10. Moose
9. Water on your waist pack freezing (at mile 8, with 4 miles to go, I wanted to cry but couldn't spare the body fluid)
8. GU freezing (GU is a gel, more on this later, it is a fuel long distance runners take every 45 minutes or so)
7. Frozen Chock Block (a gummy bear like block you can eat, because you were tired of frozen GU)
6. Finding the water you left in the car for hydration after you run frozen ( again, I wanted to cry but this time didn't have the body fluid)
5. Frost everywhere on your body you are sweating (back, bum, upper lip, hat, etc.)
4. Breaking through ice on a very deep puddle that looked frozen
3. Hair, wet from sweat, freezing into icicles clunking the back of your neck
2. Ice, wet ice, black ice, crunchy break-up ice, slush
1. Frozen eyeballs
More thoughts later, baking with Jessica calling...
I am Brooke's # 1 fan. I follow her everywhere she runs. We are having a good time training and it feels great. I have to say that last august, getting started was tough sometimes. But, it has proved to be very rewarding. I never thought that I would run farther than to the fridge or bathroom. More later.....
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