Today I am 188.6 pounds of rolling thunder.

Snow is a word I had hoped not to use for another month or so, but here we are in mid-October and the temperatures have dipped into the low 40s. A check with our friends on Facebook tells me that snow has rolled across eastern Colorado and into western Kansas.

Fortunately, there is no call for snow in my forecast, but the thought of a misty, cold run after work today doesn't sound all that inviting.

Darn it all. Wasn't it just May when the last snowfall swept through the area turning spring back into winter one last time? Winter had overstayed its welcome then and it just might do it again.

If this sounds like the musing of a running wimp, well they are. I'm sort of a cold weather wimp, but I do like to get my run in so it might be time to find the tights and bundle up.

Plus, I've got some motivation. I finally bit the bullet and bought an UP to track my fitness efforts.

For those of you not familiar with the Up from Jawbone, it's a wristband device that tracks your movement and sleep. And, of course, it comes with an app that displays your data, lets you add things like meals and mood, and delivers insights that keep you moving forward.

And, of course, to make the app run I needed a cellphone upgrade. So being a runner, I decided to upgrade the phone as well so I could actually run the app that turns the UP on. Confused? Let's just say it was an excuse to add more gizmos to my already cluttered life.

So after wrestling the UP from its tightly sealed packaging I put it on and started the day off counting steps and calories. o far, 2,272 steps taken and 1,054 calories burned. I'm feeling healthier already, and I'm also sensing pie in my future.

Hopefully, there is an app to shake the wimp from my system and get me back out on the road. How shameful would it be for the world's slowest human not to hit the streets when he's got a new UP to tell him where he's going?

Summer Running: The Heat is On

Today I am 190.0 pounds of rolling thunder.

The heat is on, and the running has gotten gritty. I have to say, however, I like running in the heat much more than battling the cold. I don't know about the rest of you, but bundling up in layers and then peeling them all off after an hour or so of running in the freezing cold is not my favorite thing.

Another big plus to running in the warm weather is the fact that I seem to be finding my wind again. Last week, I even climbed my arch nemesis big hill without stopping and it felt good.

Now I'm still the same walking and running wimp that has to take periodic walking breaks, but recently I've made my normal circuits with far fewer and far shorter walking breaks. I'll probably never not have to allow for some degree of walking, but it feels great when I can fight up over the bumps I call hills without slowing to a stroll.

The other change in my formula this summer has been to cut out sodas. That's right. No more Cokes, or colas or pop. Man, as a person addicted to that knockout punch of caffeine, this has been a tough one.

But I've noticed some changes. My weight is down (a little) and my endurance is up. I don't feel those tremendous energy swings that I did while on the sauce.

So the heat is on, and the soda is off. Hopefully I'll catch some of you out on the road in the near future. Remember, if you see the world's slowest human out there pounding the pavement, give me a wave as you run on by.

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.

Just Call Me a Winter Weather Wimp

Jan. 30, 2013

Today I am 194.4 pounds of rolling thunder -- although given certain dramatic climate changes I'd say it will be more like spinning-in-the-basement thunder.

Was it just two days ago when I shed my shirt and went from man to manatee (think great big, slow-moving white mammal) in just one run on a 70-plus degree day? 

Not so much today. Bitter cold and blowing snow have replaced that little glimpse of mid-winter paradise. Just a splash of fool's gold in the midst of another bleak Midwestern winter.

Now I'm a recovering cold-weather wimp, so I was impressed that I forced myself out of the comfort of my snuggly house on Tuesday and went for a run in a 40-degree rain. It's probably one of the 12 steps in my recovery, but I've started and stopped so many times I've lost track. It's just good to know that I recognize that there is a problem.

I love running in the rain. There's something about it that changes the experience. Even familiar running routes seem different in the rain. They sound different with the cool rain pelting your glasses and soaking your toes. They look different under the gray skies and the hope that the next row of trees will get you out from under the drizzle, if only momentarily.

Rain, even cold rain, makes the experience worthwhile.

Even better is a good run on a warm, rainy day -- but only without lightning and thunder. I'm brave, but not stupid.

Maybe it's the kid inside of me, but I like that feeling of getting soaked by the rain on a hot day. It cools you down while the running heats you up. It's kind of a nice blend between the best of the two.

But this won't be the case today. A little bit of snow and blustery winds that have the wind-chill in the single digits, so I'm wimping out and staying inside.

And if my in-box is any indication, I might be lucky to get that spin in.

From Man to Manatee in One Run

Jan. 28, 2013

Today I am 192.2 pounds of rolling thunder.

So today was one of those rare mid-winter days when a warm breeze blows into town, and all over the city windows are flying open and curtains are being pulled wide apart to let the sunshine in.

The humid air felt more like a pre-storm day in April than a typical dry cold day in late January.

If you heard those emergency sirens today, perhaps you thought they were coming for me. We've all heard about the whales that beach themselves for no known reason, and then the entire population of some resort town on the coast spends days and dollars trying to get the beast safely back out to sea.

It was so warm today I decided to launch my run today wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Gone were the double layers of tights and sweat pants. Gone were the days of donning a T-shirt, turtleneck, pullover and a jacket just to stay warm. Gone were the headband and hat combining to keep my ears warm.

Today was back to the freedom of summer. And back, too, were those pearly white legs that hadn't seen sunlight since late autumn. I'm sure the glare blinded many a driver as I rolled slowly past them on my 6-mile run/walk.

It's a real feeling of freedom when you can give up the trappings of winter, lose the heavy clothes and run unencumbered, even if it's just for a day.

Somewhere around mile No. 4 I went from man to manatee. It was so warm that I shed my shirt and became something resembling the giant marine mammal.

Surely there were villagers who were going to rush up and try to put me back in the ocean (it's OK, I live thousands of miles from the ocean). Surely if I slowed to a stop they'd be sure I had beached myself in the hope of being saved.

No, it was just the world's slowest human running sans shirt for the first time in months and not a manatee. Call off the sirens. Townspeople go back to work. Nothing to see here. Just a guy, his radio and a pair of running shoes.