6 Mile Easy Run

by Blue Tapp Scheffer

Craig and I did a 6 mile 10-minute-mile easy run yesterday afternoon. I’m increasingly happy with my new toe socks. If you’ve ever had trouble with toe blisters, these socks are the solution.

After this abnormally frigid winter, yesterday’s 44 degrees felt downright tropical. It’s almost too late in the season to talk about winter running but I do want to mention it here while I’m contributing to the 5K training blog.

Nothing against treadmill runners, I admire their tenacity. But I absolutely despise treadmills. I would rather have hot needles poked into my eyes than run for 15 minutes on one. I’ve tried it, even used to own one, and I just can’t force myself to do it. A 30 minute run outdoors is fun for me, but the same amount of time on a treadmill feels like hours of torture. So I sold the mill and only run outside now.

The problem was that I hated cold weather and stopped running outside every year as the temperatures dropped too low for comfort. Then I got flabby and out of shape every winter. That was really depressing. I felt horrible and every spring I had to start training all over again.

Finally I got fed up with the yo-yo fitness. One year I decided to just tough it out and run all winter long. I found to my amazement that I really enjoy winter running. In fact I discovered that I actually PREFER running in the cold.

It's easier to regulate body temperature in the cold and I don’t sweat so much. My body heats up so fast when I’m running that I’m only cold for the first minute or so and then I’m usually very comfortable. I much prefer a cold couple of minutes than the sweltering sweaty hours of summer running. After a bit of experimenting, I’ve learned to dress properly… the rule of thumb is to dress as if it were 20 degrees warmer than the actual temp. The hardest part of winter running is just forcing myself to get out there but once I do, it’s normally a good experience.

I’ve also found that by spending so much time out of doors during the winter, running and bicycling, I no longer experience seasonal affectation disorder (SAD) (aka “cabin fever"). Curing myself of my annual case of severe SAD has been an unexpected and wonderful surprise.

Recently I was explaining this to a friend who complained of his own SAD affliction this winter. I encouraged him to get outside. No, he said, "I can't do that; I would get cold!" Well that's my whole point. You might feel like you're pampering yourself by staying in the warm indoors. But I suppose it makes sense that the only cure for cabin fever is to get outside!

I write this to encourage seasonal runners to at least TRY to run in the cold. You might find as I have that it is not bad at all. So store that in your brain until next winter and get out there and run!