February mileage

In January I only managed to run 65 miles.

This month I managed to more than double it.  Just barely.  131 miles for February.

In January I was forced to scale back on the mileage due to all of the snow and severe cold. This was probably a good thing because it forced me to take a break and start building mileage slowly for the spring instead of going out too hard too soon.

This month I've been trying to build up the mileage slowly.  I'm aiming to do my first ultra - a 50 miler - on May 18th, so it's important I keep it up.  I have to do it smartly, though, especially since I'm still running every single day.

Here's to March, folks.

Running in Central Park

Stevie and I spent last night with a friend of hers who lives near Central Park in NYC.

Notes from a Central Park 7 miler:

• Still a lot of slush on the paths, but clear roads.
• There was a marathon/half marathon going on in the park today.  If I had known about it I would have definitely signed up for the half.
• This is the second time I've come to NYC on the weekend of a half marathon and not known about it.  
• It was an utterly glorious day to be out running.  Temps in the low 50's, not a cloud in the sky, runners everywhere, all in one of the greatest cities in the world.
• There were runners everywhere, not just from the race.  The sense of camaraderie was nice.
• Despite the great conditions, I never quite hit that runner's high I was hoping for.  I've felt a little tired, sluggish and just out of it lately.  I was happy to finish the run.

On the rum with Cockspur

Not only do we bloggers enjoy giving out tips on any random topic that flits through our brains, but we also enjoy doing product reviews.  We'll shill anything, especially if it's free for us, and doubly so if we get to run a contest on our blogs.

Imagine my delight, then, to receive the following e-mail from Steven Shaw, the PR rep at Cockspur Rum, after he found my blog:

As much as I wanted those samples, for the benefit of my readers, naturally, I felt it prudent to inform him first that my blog actually has little to do with rum, despite the misleading title.  After a brief e-mail exchange revealed that I am but a humble distance runner and not some rum magnate, he politely rescinded the original offer.  English wordplay is not his forté, it would seem.

So I'm left to do my product review without the benefit of actually having tried the product myself.

Cockspur Rum: if it does its job as well as its PR rep, plan on bringing some backup to the party.

Drink Cockspur Rum responsibly, and rum wild, friends.

Winter running tips

Bloggers love to give advice.  We can't help it; it's the narcissistic side of us that insists letting the world know of our breakfast choice simply isn't enough.  We must bestow upon our groupies the precise knowledge of how they can attain our level of greatness.  There is just no other way with us.

• 6 ways to make your lunch healthier!
• How to hydrate better in the summer!
• 37 ways to improve 3 minutes in your marathon!
• 5 reasons why you're tying your shoelaces wrong!

Every blogger is a magazine writer at heart, and this is what online content looks like nowadays, so there is no stopping us.

That said, I've decided to offer my own sage advice on a topic that has become near and dear to my heart recently.  As mentioned, I have been running outside every day this winter, and we've experienced some pretty heinous weather so far.  Let me tell you the best way to beat those winter running blues and get out there and maximize your efforts in the cold snow!

Without further adieu...

Step 1: stop being a baby and go run outside.

There is no step 2.

Back in double digits

10 mile run today.

What more is there to say that hasn't already been said?  It was cold, there was a lot of snow on the ground, I slipped a lot but didn't fall...

You know you've acclimated when winter running starts to get boring.

Mileage increase

8 miles today in yet more snowfall.  My longest run of 2014 so far.  Slowly building up my mileage in preparation for an epic spring.

8 miles with a side of crazy eyes

On snow days

My grandmother got me this sign for Christmas a few years ago, and it's been hanging in the teachers' room ever since.

I think it might be time to take it down.  It's working a little too well this year.

Fool in the snow

I'll run in the snow 'till I'm breathless,

When I'm breathless I'll run 'till I drop.

The thoughts of a fool's kind of careless,

I'm just a fool waiting on the wrong block, oh yeah.

Light of the love that I've found...

Snow day #5 today.  Now we have to make up one of the days during spring break.  

I ran 5 miles in the snow this morning.  Not the light, fluffy variety we saw last month when temps were in the teens, but rather the heavy, sludgy variety seen when temps hover right around freezing.

In addition, I was pelted the whole time by a mixture of snow and freezing rain, prompting the decision to bring my old ski goggles with me.  First time I've ever run with goggles on.  Highly recommended.

It was extremely slow going, especially through a brief section of woods where I made first tracks in the snow, and by the time I finished I felt like I'd run double the distance I actually did.

Me: I'm running my usual 5 mile route.  

Stevie: Ok.

Me: If I don't come back, don't remarry.

Stevie: Got it.

While I'm not getting in the miles I could be if I had access to a treadmill, I have no doubt that the running I'm doing now is toughening me up.  Come spring time, I will be in amazing shape and ready to tackle some serious races.

Movie Monday: Portland snow runners

In what could be a skit on Portlandia, two runners out for a run in a snow storm get interviewed by local news.  They wax poetic about the snowy conditions, and as soon as they run off the woman bites it in the middle of the street.

At least she turned out to have a good sense of humor about it all.

School's out for winter...

Another two hour delay this morning.  I'm losing count at this point at how much school we've missed due to inclement weather.

The rain was falling steadily and the temperature was hovering right around the freezing point, and the view from one of our windows looked like this:

I thought about going back to bed for a bit, but instead ran 5 miles through the rain and several feet of slush.  I was soaked by the time I returned home.

Snow day #4

Woke up this morning and showered and shaved like any other Monday morning.  Then it occured to me to check my district's website.

We were supposed to have off next Friday for a four day weekend.  Now we're down to a three day weekend.

I went running anyway this morning.  A very slow five miles in the slowly accumulating snow.  I'm already at 15 miles for the month of February.