slowly getting back into running…

Over the past week and a bit, I’ve been really wanting to get back into exercising. I’ve been feeling really sluggish and rather down as a result of it… and not opposed to whining about it, either. Well, my wife can only take so much of my whining (go figure) and the played the “I don’t want to hear another word about it unless you plan on doing something about it” card. Crap. I was already feeling down about it and now I’m not allowed to complain about feeling down? Well played, Lovely. Well played.

Long story short (which is rare for me), I’ve decided to make this my infomercial year. Y’know, the one where I get to say “I’m in the best shape of my life.” My older brother and his wife have been running/walking/quite a bit over the past number of months and they’re like brand new people. My brother alone has lost about 30 lbs and has done a few running races. Since I am no longer allowed to complain, I’ve decided to be inspired and start running again too… in the Winter. Not one of my smarter ideas, but par for the course. Whatever, I’ll just blame my brother. He showed my some of the winter running gear he got for Christmas and it made me want to go out and start running that very evening, proper clothing or not.

It wasn’t that evening but a few days later I managed to get out for my first run in months, perhaps even a year. I wore long johns and my soccer track suit and managed to run 2.5-ish km (all downhill) before I turned around and walked/jogged back home. Holy, I was sucking wind. Overall, not bad but what came of that was I knew I needed better winter running gear. Sweating in the cotton LJs in freezing temperatures was a special kind of awesome.

I checked at Costco for the same running suit my brother has but 10 days after Christmas I was told “Sorry, we won’t be getting anymore in. We’re already bringing in our Spring clothing.”

No joke.

So next, I tried to get all my stuff at my favourite store, MEC. I bought a nice and bright, manly “Orange Spice” running top with some gift money…

…but they too were sold out of the pants until next winter.

What. The. Focaccia.

Yesterday, we decided to try a different Costco. We called in advance to make sure they had some. “Our system shows we have 35 pairs of the pants in stock but it doesn’t tell us what sizes they are.” Really?

Of course, we drive over only to find out that “35 in stock” doesn’t mean they actually have them. So, now I’m whining and complaining all over HRM ’cause I’ve turned into a giant baby.

My wife, wanting to stop the whining before it got too pathetic, convinced me to go look at SportsChek, not too far away. Well, they were more than I wanted to spend but at least they had some, and they’re kinda wickedsticks…

Nike Element Shield Tights.

 

I went for a run this morning in a mini-blizzard (-2°C) and got to use my gear for the first time, and I gotta say, all the parts that these two pieces of clothing covered were impressively cozy. My hands and forehead, however, froze.

Looks like I’ll need to grab some new gloves and a new hat next payday. In the meantime, I’ll just have to freeze because being able to run again is worth it.

 

[steelie]

8 comments
  1. Looks like you have very similar winter running gear as I do! I also have a running windbreaker that I wear over the insulated hoody which is great for cutting the biting wind I always hit about half way through my route. The gloves have always been a challenge for me, though: the ones that keep my fingers warm for the first 10ish minutes of the run leave my hands absolutely sweltering after that (once I’m warmed up) but the ones that are the right weight for the latter part of my run don’t keep my hands warm enough in the first 10ish minutes! It’s a no win situation. So good luck with that one. And if you find the perfect winter running gloves, please let me know!

    1. MEC has some light-ish paddling gloves I want to check out — they’s definitely be weather proof.

      I used my cycling gloves thinking they’d work well given they’re not too heavy (actually Fall/Spring gloves) plus, the ring and pinky fingers are together. Unfortunately, they have a strip of textured fabric from the tip of the index finger to the tip of the thumb to which the snow clung like crazy. There was no keeping them warm after that.

      Perhaps lighter mittens would work better? Me thinks I’ll have to visit some forums for advice. ;^)

  2. Hey there bro, glad to see you out running again. I like the choice of gear. It is amazing how the right running gear will keep you nice and warm on the run. I used to wear my track pants (soccer) and by the time they were soaked from snow and sweat, I was tripping over them because I kept stepping on the pant leg (Too be fair they were a little too long to start with so probably not the right choice to wear).

    I found the boys/wifes little stretchy gloves worked pretty good as a pair of running gloves. Your hands are cold for the first 5 minutes, but then they always warm up to the point where I want to take them off. They don’t do much for the rain though.

    As for a hat, consider a head band as well. I have a head band that covers my forehead and ear and I find it keeps me plenty warm.

    1. Thanks! I love the new gear too but after seeing how nice yours was (price AND looks), mine feels about $100 too expensive. I haven’t been out in a few days because the paths are a bit too slippery for my comfort level. Ah, well.

      In lieu of running on slippery days, I’ve been trying to make a point of walking down to the ferry terminal to get a bit of exercise in. I’d love to get running spikes but don’t want to spend another chunk of cash. Do you have any? The head band sounds like a good idea… Where do you get most of your gear?

      1. Most of my running gear has come from The Running Room. I got some gift certificates for my b-day and the other stuff came as a Christmas gift so it was covered that way.
        The Costco stuff I have it base layer clothing meant to wear under your jackets and running pants in colder weather. So you still have to buy the outer shell stuff.
        As for running t-shirts I get them from WalMart for $8.

        I don’t have any spikes for running right now. I see lots of different pairs out there but I am not sure what I would want. I think it would feel funny running on something attached to the bottom of the shoe. I have seen where some people take an old pair of running shoes and put screws in the bottom. Very short screws so that they don’t poke up through the bottom. (http://www.runningwall.com/snow-and-ice-running)

        Perhaps I will look into it in the future.

      2. Weird… I apparently cannot reply under your most recent comment. Comment nesting limit perhaps?

        Ah well.

        I have two pair of older running shoes and, unfortunately, the soles on both are too thin at the toes for half-inch screws. Too bad, that guys shoes look pretty impressive. The Running Room seems to have a cool looking pair for $25 but again, it’s spending more money.

      3. Very Cool. I think that would be the better way to go instead of purchasing a pair of strap-on spikes just in case you didn’t like the feel of them and then couldn’t return them.

        Here is another site about DIY shoe spikes.

        http://www.skyrunner.com/screwshoe.htm

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