An autumnal trail
Last night I went to my running group. I thought I'd better not go overboard with winter clothing as it's only October, so I wore capris, a t-shirt with medium length sleeves and a sleeveless jacket. When I arrived I was pretty cold, and observed that I was one of the least warmly-dressed of the runners. Some people were in hoodies, jogging bottoms and gloves. Considering I am the sort of person who always feels the cold and wants to switch the heating on immediately at the end of summer, I wondered if I had overdone the hardiness and underdone the warm clothing. However, as soon as we were running of course I was fine, and warmed up really quickly.
I was also perturbed to see that it was a very small group last night, and others were discussing how numbers tend to drop off in cold weather. I can understand being put off by heavy rain, but running is such a great way to keep warm when it's cold! Why wouldn't you move your body and get sweaty to warm up and deal with winter blues?
I love a crisp, cold, winter's day run, and as all you runners know, there's not much that a woolly hat, gloves and plenty of layers can't cope with. There is a saying I like that goes 'Champions are made in the winter', which refers to all the training that elite athletes do in the dark, cold months before the major marathons and other events of spring. I first heard that when I was training for my marathon in May 2010 - it inspired me when I was plodding through snow-covered streets on dark, chilly mornings in January and February.
Of course a change in temperature also means that you have to go shopping for more running kit - yay! I can't wait to get stuck into some winter running.
Crunchy autumn leaves
It is definitely fall here, too...I was running on the trails and all the leaves were so crunchy already. Not a huge fan of winter but I guess it's part of the cycle, huh? Too bad some of your group are cold weather wimpy, but you know it's not you so all's good :).
ReplyDeleteHave you started swimming yet?
ReplyDeleteIt's always tricky getting the clothing issue right when it cools down. I always opt to be a little cold at the beginning - you always warm up. Our seasonal change is doing its usual indecisive thing. One day it might be 30 and the next 22 (that's C not F).
ReplyDeleteI'm not very brave when it comes to cold temps and so I am one of those who tend to opt for the treadmill more in the winter...
ReplyDeleteIt's been cold here too, in the mornings but we have had some lovely afternoons. Hope it lasts a bit longer!
We are supposed to be in spring now but the last few days and right now were 34°C. Don't know what summer will be like then. I'm in full summer gear for running at the moment. At least it means less washing. Have a good week!
ReplyDeleteLike Amy, above, I might use the treadmill more this winter. The older I get, the softer I get! I'm on top of a hill that catches the full force of the westerlies and it feels incredibly cold when I step out the door. And to think, not very long ago I used to camp out and go winter climbing in north west Scotland over Christmas/New Year! Central heating has a lot to answer for!
ReplyDelete