Grayson Highlands 1/25/20

Brrrrrrrr...it was so cold!  And windy!  And there was snow blowing around!  But we had a great time wandering around in search of ponies and views.  Walk faster stay warmer is what I always say!

5 people crazy enough to go hiking in the winter.  

Surprisingly, we were not the only ones out there!

Friday Five : Winter Running Edition

Since I had a snow day today, this seems like a good time to share my winter-running go-tos!  The day started out with a 2 hr delay, but I went to bed early last night and was wide awake around 5:30, so sleeping in was not going to happen.  I got up and had breakfast, gave it some time to settle, and then headed out the door for a run.  I was really glad we got the delay (which I had been expecting, due to the snow and ice accumulation forecasted for last night) because without the delay, I wouldn't have had time for exercise today!  I finished my run and then shoveled off my sidewalk and began clearing the 2 inches of snow and thick ice off of my car...and then got the snow day message.  I wanted to go run some more miles, but I'm trying really hard not to make my tendonitis any worse right now, so I'm limiting myself to 4-5 miles every other day until I get new orthotics on Monday.  So no extra snow-day miles, but at least I didn't have to rush through my shower to get to work on time!  And I had time this morning to get my taxes done, which was another bonus to a day off!

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20 degrees, feels like 10. 

Not a whole lot of snow, but there was a thick crunchy layer of ice under what snow there was.  Most of the trees were covered with a layer of snow that looked really pretty, especially with the morning sun shining on them. 

Here are 5 things that I am currently 

finding indispensable 

for cold weather running.  

1) Hat with a hole for my ponytail, with an earband on top. 

I find that most hats don't quite cover my ears the whole way, unless they also are so big that they cover my eyes.  So I love a hat that keeps the warmth in my head, but is also thin enough to comfortably layer an earband over which takes care of my ears.  This hat from Brooks has the added bonus of a hole for my ponytail to stick through, which is pretty awesome. 

2) Fleece-lined shirt with a neck. 

I LOVE my fleece-lined shirts.  I got this one from Target many years ago, and it is still probably my favorite!  I like the mock-neck, which comes up high enough to overlap with my buff and not let any heat escape my core.  It's only downside is that it doesn't have thumb-holes, but the sleeves are nice and long.  My other fleece-lined shirts are from Under Armour (thank you, Black Friday online sales) and have the thumb holes, but not the mock-neck.  The fleece lining keeps me extra warm, and I've also found that this shirt can block some wind, which is an added bonus!  

3) Thick wool socks. 

My toes can get pretty cold on these frigid runs!  I find a pair of normal thin running socks fits nicely under these wool socks, and the double socks keep my feet nice and toasty!  This pair of socks was a gift from a girl I used to ride with West Virginia, and at the time I had no idea I would end up finding them so useful!  

4) Ski mittens. 

These mittens were a life-saver a few years ago when we had a really frigid winter in WV.  I didn't dress properly for an April race one year, and ended up losing circulation from the elbow down for the first few miles.  My hands were weird and tingly for several months afterwards, and though  they eventually felt normal again, I've had trouble keeping circulation in them during cold runs ever since.  When we had a winter in which sub-20 degrees was the norm, and single digits were frequent, I found I couldn't run much more than 2 miles before my hands hurt so bad I had to go home.  I tried many different pairs of gloves, and none of them kept my hands warm enough.  I found these mittens on Amazon for $19 and they turned out awesome!  They keep my hands toasty warm no matter how cold it is (actually, they keep my hands sweaty no matter how cold it is, but sweaty is far preferable to frozen!), and they even have little zipper pockets that can fit my house key.  

5) Fleece-lined Buff. 

Fleece-lined everything is awesome.  I also have non-fleece lined Buffs which are fine when it's not quite so cold out, but for the frigid temps I am in love with this thick fleecy Buff.  It is thick enough that so far it doesn't freeze when it gets a little wet from my breath, like my thinner ones do.  (When they freeze, they start to rub my face and that hurts!)  

All bundled up for my run this morning!

 This windbreaker from OneMoreMile is also very useful
as an outer layer to hold in heat and block the wind. 

Steele Creek 1/27/2018

Just an easy walk along Steele Creek Park Lake on the gravel path as we had kids in tow.  The colors were mostly blah grays and browns, but I found that the photos didn't look so bad if I made them black and white and boosted the shadows just a bit.  Despite the past few days being in the 50s, there was still quite a bit of ice on the lake, which made for some cool photos!

It took some editing to get these colors to come out, so this photo isn't entirely real...

but I like it anyway. 

The Channels Natural Area Preserve : 1/7/2018

I bought myself some hiking boots for Christmas and today I got to try them out!  I am happy to say that they fit perfectly with my thick wool socks and kept my feet dry and toasty warm on a cold hike through a bit of snow.

It was a cold and windy afternoon up at the Channels today, but at least the temperature wasn't in the single digits like it has been for the last week!  The hike up was a good 3 mile uphill which helped me stay warm, but once we got into the rock channels and up in the open on top, the wind was brutally cold, which resulted in me not lingering long to take photos!  It will be a great place to go back to on a warmer day though.

The hike wasn't on difficult terrain, as it was all on forest road like this.  There were only a few icy spots, but they were easy to walk around on the edge of the road.  There was a stretch that was steep enough to make my calf muscles start burning, but other than that it was an easy walk. 

I love walking through rhododendron tunnels!

I also enjoy having someone else along to take photos of me so I don't have to do so much back and forth with the tripod...

It's too bad the old fire tower is in bad disrepair and much too dangerous to climb...

The Channels rock formations.  

 Lots of different pathways through them, 

it would be easy to get lost if you don't have a good sense of direction!

Since jumping photos are now a standard part of my adventures, it stands to reason

 that anyone who hikes with me must also take part.  

I'm pretty proud of us for getting the timing perfect on the first try! 

Long Run and lots of internet issues

I'm so glad to now be in an apartment that is cigarette-smoke free...but the issues I've been having with Comcast since the move have been ridiculous.  The first day they were supposed to send a tech to set up my cable/internet, he never showed up.  I spent all day calling every few hours and being told to "just keep waiting" even though he was supposed to arrive by 10 AM.  I can't be home during the week, so I had to reschedule for this past Saturday.  It snowed Friday night and was bitterly cold, so it was icy.  They changed my time from 8-10, to 8-8.  And then around noon cancelled because of the "weather" even though the roads had been cleared and nothing was falling through the sky.  I got access to a wifi hotspot, and thought I would be fine.  Then my old account was cancelled, and I lost my access because I can't access the hotspot through my new account until a tech shows up.  I lost access while I was sleeping Saturday night.  No-one yesterday managed to fix my problem.  I was at work all day today.  First person I got when I called today had no idea what she was doing, but pretended she was going to have someone else call me back.  I ate dinner and then called again.  And got someone smart enough to set me up a new username and password that will work.  So I'm back online...and hoping it lasts.  But not holding my breath.  I have a race this coming Saturday, so I can't get a tech out here til the 21st...it's gonna be a long 2 weeks if I can't keep access to this hotspot!

Last week : 

M : 5.5 / 7:27 / 354 ft

T : Wolf Pack 3.5 / 7:52 / 131 ft

R : 14.5 / 7:57 / 892 ft

Sa : 4.7/ 8:09 / 226

Su : run w/Ben 3.1 / 7:41 /118 ft

total miles : 31.3

Monday was supposed to be an easy day, but I found a new hill I wanted to run...and in the process of getting there somehow I started running fast and then I pushed the hill just a bit...so not an easy day.  

Tuesday I again wanted to go easy, but got carried by the group.  I did cut it off short though and let Ben go on and get 6 miles without me.  Wednesday I finally took a day off, which I needed since I had run 10+ on Sunday and then run hard again on Monday.  

Thursday I decided not to wait til 6 to run with the group, and started around 4:45.  I wasn't sure how many miles I would do, I was vaguely hoping for something over 10.  I figured if I still had energy around 6 I would run through the parking lot and run a few more with the group.  I got there right around 6, at just under 10 miles.  I hit 10 while running circles around the parking lot waiting for everyone to get ready.  Then they told me they were running the creeper trail.  I wanted to keep running, but I was getting tired, and knew I was dragging my feet to much to run on the trail with all its rocks and roots.  Last thing I wanted to do was fall on my face.  Also, I don't have a headlamp, and I suspected I was too tired to keep up with the group, but also I couldn't fall behind without a light.  So, I ran 3/4 mile to the trail with the group, then broke off and continued my long solo run.  Somehow I made it all the way to 14.5.  It was long, cold, and lonely out there with no music or partner, but it was a great run and I'm glad I was able to do it.  

I took my much deserved day off on Friday, and then Saturday I shoveled myself a path to the road and went for a jog in the snow.  It was about 10 degrees out, so at least I could run through the snow without getting my feet wet...

Sunday it was about 7 degrees out for Ben & I's jog.  Froze my face off, but the rest of me was fine.  

In which I dug my car out of the snow. Twice.

Running this week was very frustrating.  After the snow we got last Saturday, the roads never got completely cleared.  It was just too cold for the snow to melt away.  Between the frigid temps (-9 for my Friday morning run to school to turn on the heat!), and the snow covered roads, my runs were mostly short.  My legs got so restless from such short runs, I ended up going for a run on Friday night because I just needed to MOVE!  We only had school on Wednesday and Friday so there was a lot of sitting around at home.

The up-side to all that snow?  I finally started working-out again.  Long overdue.  Doing my first workout in a very long time the day before I had to unearth my car from a snow pile might not have been one of my more brilliant plans, but I survived.  At least that first snow was really easy to shovel.  The cold air helped keep the snow really light so it was easy to scoop up and throw onto a pile.  It only took me an hour to clear my car and all around it; the sidewalk next to it, 6 feet behind it, and 3 feet in front of it.

A snowpocalypse rolled in early Saturday morning and dumped snow on us All. Day. Long. And at least half of the night.  There was almost 8 inches of snow on the sidewalk leading out of my building when I shoveled around 12:00.  By the time I had shoveled all the way to the road, I turned around and the whole sidewalk was covered again.  It took me a good two hours of shoveling this morning to unearth my car and clear around it, and then I spent some more time after my run clearing some more icy slush and moving my car back and forth to get as much out from under it as I could.  It went up to 40 degrees today, so the roads were very clear for my run, but there's still some icy slush glued to the pavement under my car, which is going to freeze solid tonight.

Thanks to an awesome friend with 4wd, I got to go check on Pony yesterday evening.  She was super stir crazy and really wanted to get outside, but then she wasn't really sure what to do with all the snow.  She attempted unsuccessfully to dig through it for grass.  I ran her up and down the driveway a little bit to stretch her legs, and then put her back inside.  

Today pre-shoveling

Today post-shoveling round 1

Today's run on clear roads, in 40 degree sunshine was amazing. It felt so luxurious after the previous runs.  I wish I could have run longer, but I hadn't eaten enough for lunch to get me through much more than I did.  I am very glad I got to enjoy a longer run before the temperature drops back down for the foreseeable future!

This week:

M: workout : 10 exercises*, 5 rounds 30/10

T : 4.3 miles, 1 hr snow shoveling

W : 5.1 miles

R : 3.2 miles, repeat Monday's workout

F : 4.6 miles (AM), 5.9 miles (PM)

Sa : workout 60-50-40-30-20-10**

Su : 9.1 miles, 2+ hrs snow shoveling

total miles : 32.1

*30 sec on, 10 sec rest, 30 sec between rounds : squats, push-ups, plank, leg raises, side plank right, side plank left, burpees, shoulder bridge, lunge hold (switch 1/2way), jumping jacks

**60 jumping jacks, 50 sit-ups, 40 lunges, 30 squats, 20 push-ups, 10 burpees, no breaks.  9:29

The push-ups were the hardest, I couldn't crank them all out without pausing a few times.  I'm going to try to do that workout at least once a week and see how my finish time varies as I (hopefully) get stronger. 

And...because this post isn't already long enough... 

here are some pictures of food I made this week.  

quesadilla filled with broccoli, turnips, and mushrooms, topped with fried eggs and avocado

Sandwich with rosemary pork tenderloin, fried egg, avocado, and a bit of mozzarella

(my new favorite sandwich)

Shrimp-Brussels Sprout Lo Mein