Monday, November 5, 2012

Into the Dark

One should never base his plans on the weather in Ohio. Forecasts are fleeting, and as the saying goes, "If you don't like the weather, then wait five minutes and it'll get worse." Or something to that effect.

Heading into this recent weekend, the weather looked like it may become pleasant after the onslaught of Super Storm Sandy. Alas, it wasn't really pleasant at all on Saturday, and Sunday would have been OK for a run if Mrs. Viper and I had any spare time in between family visits. But we didn't, so no running this weekend.

This week though? The weather forecast looks totally awesome for runs.

The challenge now is darkness. Daylight Savings Time is over. The sun will be long gone by the time I get off work from now until next spring.

Falling back in time, however, is the first reminder to dig out that winter gear, starting with the geeky-looking head lamp. 

Winter running requires a specific selection of accouterments. Here is a list of everything you will need to survive running in winters with Lake Effect:
  • Layers. Lots of fucking layers. 
  • Long-sleeved technical shirts
  • Long-sleeved cotton shirts
  • Long-sleeved thermal shirts
  • Wind-resistant jacket/shell
  • Vest, snug fit and lots of pockets
  • Gloves without much insulation
  • Something to protect your junk
  • Hat/thermal head band
  • Socks, preferably knee-highs 
  • Traction and/or really good balance
  • Glasses/goggles (I prefer yellow-tinted lenses)
As with last winter, my goal this year is to go the whole season running in shorts. No pants, no tights, just shorts. My days of running barefoot are likely over until next year.

New York Marathon Debacle
This is my take on the whole marathon cancellation thing. Those dumb S.O.B.s should have made the move about a week earlier. There was no reason to have out-of-towners travel into a disaster area only to find out that the race was off. Hope you weren't among the unlucky ones.

Kudos to those would-be racers who went to Staten Island and other areas hit hard by the hurricane to help out residents in need.

Runners are awesome. Race directors are idiots.

7 comments:

David said...

I don't live near a great lake, just near some mediocre ones. But I run in shorts down to 20F in all conditions. Below that, its shorts down to about 15F if it's not windy. It's kind of a conversation starter in this area: "Hey idiot! Don't you know its f-ing cold outside?!?!" It's always a pleasure to engage the locals.

Jen Feeny said...

I have to say, your take on NYCM is probably the best I've read over the last week. "Runners are awesome. Race directors are idiots." They should've called it on Tuesday or Wednesday, not Friday. By Friday everyone that had decided to still run it was already en route. Such crap.

TNTcoach Ken said...

I knew a guy that ran the entire winter in shorts, notice I say 'knew'! NYC was all about MONEY, get them in town and then cancel the race.

Anonymous said...

I use to run in shorts in cold weather, but now I am old.

KW said...

I have to agree on your take for the NYCM. They should have canceled it. But I do like the fact that the runners still ran in Central Park.

I'm getting use to this whole running thing in the dark. It doesn't get as cold down here as it does for you guys.

Robin said...

It's that time of the year in CLE where the first mile is the hardest. I went out for a lunch hour run yesterday and almost went back inside because it felt so cold. Good luck with the cold weather running!

Robin said...

It's that time of the year in CLE where the first mile is the hardest. I went out for a lunch hour run yesterday and almost went back inside because it felt so cold. Good luck with the cold weather running!