Whilst having one of the warmest January's on record, it was inevitable our winter would come and bite us hard. Ive got into my car in the mornings to be greeted with a dashboard reading on minus six!! (wtf?? Almost makes me think its a scene from a Hollywood film?) Which is more than enough to make me rethink my early morning runs!
The last cross country i ran was at school!! This is winter training most runners and elite runners advise and recommend that we perform cross country events, its certainly never appealed to me, to make me feel that i must continue running through such arctic temperatures! I dont even own and have never bought a pair of, off road trail shoes? I own a pair of trainers for my half/full marathons and another for my 10k's and speed work. Full of offering advice on road shoes!... I havent a scooby when it comes to trail shoes! This art of running just hasnt appealed to me and at my age... probably never will so you certainly wont be teaching this old dog new tricks!
So when the bad weather does come i have to rethink my running schedule especially as i always try and run in the London Marathon in April which falls "within" the 16 week program most websites claim you should train too.
Firstly my compression #skins come out to play. I admit i'm a wuss and never do i contribute to the #stillinshorts trend on twitter. Before you point and laugh at me (Aaaah ya southern fairy) let me explain. Firstly, i'm being cautious. Having played football as a kid i remember overstretching or just tweeking a hamstring *pain* but in comparison to premier footballs running full pelt to pull up suddenly #tearing a hamstring. #agony. Now ive never had that happen to me to that extent but know just in my little experiance a muscle like this letting go on you is proper painful stuff. My air of caution is to protect myself. A) from the weather B) keep my muscle fibres tight & compressed so they work together keeping me strong and retaining strength in my legs. Thus limiting any chany chance of muscle weakness that may give way on me when i really want to push on with my training. Try to look after your body and your body will look after you? As you get older, reading quotes like this you certainly start to take more seriously!!
Im not an elite runner(obviously), never going to be so i feel i do not need to run in shorts on my way to work to be a member of the #6amclub. Heat rub applied to legs, tights on (Dont forget more vasaline to sensative areas) basslayer, windproof top and jacket, hat and gloves. Vaseline on lips maybe vick rub on top to aid breathing and prevent a runny nose, ruck sack full of work clothes then i'm ready for my wintery run to work?....
Wait hang on? I only own road shoes, what if its too icy to run in or in fact has snowed. Well no trail shoes, no foot grip thats my runs knackered then! Now this is where i start falling behind in my #adidas #micoach training schedule. The only way around this is to head to the gym!
All those exercises ive neglected doing through the winter period isnt it time i started to build up that core, stretch out sore muscles, use a foam roller (daily), perform squats, use a medicine ball etc etc, i can now start doing in the gym. As for those machines sitting in the corner. Aaa the boring old X-trainer (i loathe using this machine, with a *passion*) or look a Dreadmill, sorry treadmill. I really find the X-trainer boring but it is handy when injured? Very good for cardio training which is a high percentage of what running is about?
For years i was anti treadmill probably with the same reasons as you, as running on a belt is easier helping to propel me along, No head wind or wind resistance replicated. I bet youve heard someone! Say their best 10k time was on a treadmill *roll eyes* All the above is cheating and not what we enjoy about running!... Well not cheating as in running a marathon and getting a bus half way through a race!! but we are cheating our body out of the natural things that improve our running? Mind you for the sake of getting out of these minus six degee mornings and to assist with our training for an 'A' race of ours later in the year i think a treadmill is sufficient enough just to aid our cardiovascular performance whilst protecting us from the elements where you're more than likely to pick up a stinking cold and not be able to run anyway by dragging yourself out into such poor conditions on the sreets? :-/
I find that in life if we can get away with not doing something we take this oppportunity and wont do it. You can sit there and call me a sothern softy but in my book if its not race conditions and i dont 'have' to go out and run in these ludicrous sub temperatures, then i am not flippin' well doing that! :-) As this will be my fourth London Marathon in April let this timed result be my judge and then we'll see who's right?? :-)
The last cross country i ran was at school!! This is winter training most runners and elite runners advise and recommend that we perform cross country events, its certainly never appealed to me, to make me feel that i must continue running through such arctic temperatures! I dont even own and have never bought a pair of, off road trail shoes? I own a pair of trainers for my half/full marathons and another for my 10k's and speed work. Full of offering advice on road shoes!... I havent a scooby when it comes to trail shoes! This art of running just hasnt appealed to me and at my age... probably never will so you certainly wont be teaching this old dog new tricks!
So when the bad weather does come i have to rethink my running schedule especially as i always try and run in the London Marathon in April which falls "within" the 16 week program most websites claim you should train too.
Firstly my compression #skins come out to play. I admit i'm a wuss and never do i contribute to the #stillinshorts trend on twitter. Before you point and laugh at me (Aaaah ya southern fairy) let me explain. Firstly, i'm being cautious. Having played football as a kid i remember overstretching or just tweeking a hamstring *pain* but in comparison to premier footballs running full pelt to pull up suddenly #tearing a hamstring. #agony. Now ive never had that happen to me to that extent but know just in my little experiance a muscle like this letting go on you is proper painful stuff. My air of caution is to protect myself. A) from the weather B) keep my muscle fibres tight & compressed so they work together keeping me strong and retaining strength in my legs. Thus limiting any chany chance of muscle weakness that may give way on me when i really want to push on with my training. Try to look after your body and your body will look after you? As you get older, reading quotes like this you certainly start to take more seriously!!
Im not an elite runner(obviously), never going to be so i feel i do not need to run in shorts on my way to work to be a member of the #6amclub. Heat rub applied to legs, tights on (Dont forget more vasaline to sensative areas) basslayer, windproof top and jacket, hat and gloves. Vaseline on lips maybe vick rub on top to aid breathing and prevent a runny nose, ruck sack full of work clothes then i'm ready for my wintery run to work?....
Wait hang on? I only own road shoes, what if its too icy to run in or in fact has snowed. Well no trail shoes, no foot grip thats my runs knackered then! Now this is where i start falling behind in my #adidas #micoach training schedule. The only way around this is to head to the gym!
All those exercises ive neglected doing through the winter period isnt it time i started to build up that core, stretch out sore muscles, use a foam roller (daily), perform squats, use a medicine ball etc etc, i can now start doing in the gym. As for those machines sitting in the corner. Aaa the boring old X-trainer (i loathe using this machine, with a *passion*) or look a Dreadmill, sorry treadmill. I really find the X-trainer boring but it is handy when injured? Very good for cardio training which is a high percentage of what running is about?
For years i was anti treadmill probably with the same reasons as you, as running on a belt is easier helping to propel me along, No head wind or wind resistance replicated. I bet youve heard someone! Say their best 10k time was on a treadmill *roll eyes* All the above is cheating and not what we enjoy about running!... Well not cheating as in running a marathon and getting a bus half way through a race!! but we are cheating our body out of the natural things that improve our running? Mind you for the sake of getting out of these minus six degee mornings and to assist with our training for an 'A' race of ours later in the year i think a treadmill is sufficient enough just to aid our cardiovascular performance whilst protecting us from the elements where you're more than likely to pick up a stinking cold and not be able to run anyway by dragging yourself out into such poor conditions on the sreets? :-/
I find that in life if we can get away with not doing something we take this oppportunity and wont do it. You can sit there and call me a sothern softy but in my book if its not race conditions and i dont 'have' to go out and run in these ludicrous sub temperatures, then i am not flippin' well doing that! :-) As this will be my fourth London Marathon in April let this timed result be my judge and then we'll see who's right?? :-)
