Hey Old Man Winter, It's Spring!

March 19, 2013

Today I am 198.0 pounds of rolling thunder.

Winter had the last laugh today when I went out for my daily run.

The calendar knows that spring officially starts tomorrow, but that didn't stop Old Man Winter from keeping his icy grip on the landscape by providing a steady batch of light snow to accompany me on my familiar loop.

Although it was cold enough to snow there was little if any wind so it made for a great day to run. It's hard to believe just four days earlier I was running sans shirt and today, the day before the start of spring, I was out with four layers on top and two on the bottom.

Yesterday was not a great running day. Oh, the weather was fine, but I went out to run too soon after eating a really delicious but greasy chicken sandwich -- darn you, Chick-fil-A. So it was pretty much 50-50 walking and running.

Today was a different story. I ran better, and the snow made the miles seem to click by. I ran about 70 or 80 percent of the 5-mile loop, but there were still some walking moments. But that's OK. I am what I am as a distance runner.

I'm out there to get healthy and enjoy the moment. Sure, I'd love to get faster and have more stamina to climb the hills without walking. Hopefully, I can return to last summer's form when I could click off 6 miles without a walk.

For today, however, Old Man Winter and I did the dance of spring, and we were both better as a result.

The forecast is for more snow this weekend, so hopefully you'll see the world's slowest human beating the streets long before then. If you do, give me a wave and a smile.

Battling Back From The Icy Grip Of A Cold

 Dec. 13, 2012

The great thing about colds is that you never know when they will attack, and you're never quite sure when they are going to let go of the death hold they have on your body.

The only thing you know for sure is that when you're done with having a cold, the cold just doubles down and holds on for dear life.

Tuesday I decided to just get out and move, so I took a long walk for the first time in a week. That was good -- a little sweat, a little heart rate increase, some sun.

A little comfort food always helps quicken your recovery.

So if walking was good, how about a run? Note to self: Don't push too hard after a week off from running.

So I decided to take an easy run on Wednesday just to see if there was any fitness left in my body. My goal was to run and walk as far as I could go while listening to my body and shutting down when it decided it was time to slow down.

The first half mile wasn't bad. The lungs and legs were working, and the heart was soon to follow. I made it three-fourths of the way up the big first hill and walked to the crest before starting to job again.

The long downhill was a welcome relief, just as it has always been for the past three or four years I've been running. I could feel the fatigue mounting in my legs and lungs and kept a steady pace until the next round of tiny rollers.

About midway through the second hill, I heard my body say uncle, so I backed down to a walk, which was greeted immediately by a big "thank you" from by out-of-shape, cold-riddled body.

I walked a bit and then jogged another descent and long flat. At this point, I decided walking it on in would be fine. If I could get three miles of walking and running in that would be good, so I ran when I could and walked when I had to and completed the loop.

Man, that post running soreness you get right after a run and the next morning felt good. It felt good to have the little aches and pains that let you know you're a runner.

Sounds like mild weather again this afternoon. No excuses. It's either a walk, run or a walk-run for these old bones.