Baby, It's Cold Outside

All the leaves have pretty much fallen off the trees and the holidays are nearly here, which can only mean one thing in Chicago, winter running season. I broke out my winter running gear for the first time last weekend. It was a sad day. Fall is my favorite season to run, so it's depressing for me to think about needing to bundle up before going out. Running consistently and staying in shape just gets that much harder.

Last winter while I was training for the Arizona Marathon, I was able to run outside pretty much until the race in January as there wasn't a whole lot of snow until the new year. February ended up being the only month where I needed to confine myself to a gym treadmill in order to keep running.

This year my tentative plan is to stay in half-marathon shape throughout winter. Doing a couple easier runs during the week between 4-6 miles and a long run every weekend in the 10-14 mile range. Since I am not planning on doing another full-marathon until at least April or May, I am not going to kill myself doing any runs longer than that or getting out more than 2-3 times a week. I'll continue to run outside as much as possible, but when the snow and ice sticks around it'll be time to hit the gym for the shorter runs. For me, long runs need to be done outside, there is no way I will do any more than 4-5 miles on a treadmill. I'd go crazy.

It is Chicago, we had some 70 degree days last week, but that's highly unlikely again. Who knows, maybe we'll get some more 50 degree days and the shorts can stay out for a while longer,
but it's time to buckle down for another long midwestern winter.