One of the gifts I got for Christmas is a new pair of winter running gloves. I used to wear were regular polar fleece gloves, and they were a victim of the 2008 Green Bay Marathon. I wore them to the race and threw them away shortly after the start.
The new gloves my in-laws got are running specific, windproof, and likely to be much better than what I've used in the past. Then again, I haven't been able to try them out, so that's all a guess.
In December, we fought both cold and snow as we experienced records in both. We exceeded previous snowfall records by several inches, and have had several stretches where we don't see the positive side of zero for days.
January is following the same trend with more emphasis on the "below zero" aspect than the snow. And when the air temperature is in the double digits negative, running outside is only an option for the truly hardy (pronounced NUTS). To put it in perspective, my wife was unable to tell me the air temperature one day because the mercury was all in the bulb. That means it was colder than -20F. Wind chills push that down to the -40 to -50F range.
The only running I'm doing in those temps is from my car to the office building. Call it an "out and back" as I do run back to the car.
Between the dangerously cold temperatures and constant snowfall, training outdoors has been seriously curtailed. The up-side is that I have a lot of time on the trainer and in the pool. Running is down as even I have limits to running in circles.
The good news is the temperature has been increasing over the past 24 hours. Sadly, it is snowing, again. If I'm lucky, the snowfall will be minimal and I'll be able to get outside and run.
If I'm unlucky, I'll be back on the trainer or back to running in circles.
The temperature at the Houston Marathon was predicted to be around 40F. What I wouldn't give for that balmy weather!
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