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Sunday, February 10, 2008

Running in the Sleet

I had a long run scheduled for this weekend, 24K, my longest ever.

Saturday forecast: snow/rain, +2C
Sunday forecast: -7C with strong winds

I chose Saturday.

Spending 2 1/2 hours wet at around freezing doesn't sound like fun, and without the great advice I got from my experience earlier in the week I wouldn't have tried it!

Head:

- Head condom. OK, that's not what it's really called. Kind of like a spandex head thing, sheds moisture nicely, covers ears. I got it for biking (under helmet) but works great for running.

Top Layers: (this is where I changed things up)

- Nike base layer, a very thin shirt that does a fantastic job wicking moisture away from the body.
- Long-sleeved cycling jersey - a bit thicker than I would normally wear at that temperature, but ended up being perfect.
- Running jacket, a thin not-water-proof jacket.

Legs:

- regular running tights, my loose ones. They're not super tight, which leaves some air space, I like them better than the tight ones

Feet:

- Wright double-layer socks - thin and fantastic
- Running shoes - my usual ASICS

Result?

Supreme comfort!

The only thing that sucked was splashing through puddles, soaking my feet with ice-cold water... but that was always temporary, within a dozen or so steps the water was gone and my feet were warm again. Not dry - never dry! - but warm. And with the thin double-layer socks even the wetness didn't bother me. The layers make a huge difference, no blisters.

As an aside - 24K is a very long distance for me, especially in sub-optimal conditions. Fortunately I didn't have any knee problems, it went great. But I was definitely pushing my limits, which I guess is the point!

Next few weeks:

19K
Peterborough 1/2 marathon (21.1K)
24K
26K
28K

Can't wait!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you had a good run, hope you get some dry days for running. have you ran a full marathon yet? I've only ever ran 2 half marathons both last year. hey if you want to check out my blog here's my addy http://triman-triman.blogspot.com/