Time flies; it’s cold again.
December 7, 2010So, wow, it’s been a while! Since my last brief post on marathon Sunday, things have been hectic. Has it already been almost two weeks since Thanksgiving? Where, oh where, does the time go?
The past week and a half has seen the shift in NYC weather from almost unseasonably warm to FRIGID. Two weeks ago I was running in the park and had to strip down to my base layer, take off the gloves, and tuck the hat into my capris. This past weekend I was wishing I had put on one more layer under my running tights (which, btw, are supposedly thermal yet don’t seem to keep me very warm), and an extra pair of gloves over my wind-breaking running gloves. I’m also going out later this week to invest in a sack of smartwool socks, since my regular running socks seem to be too thin to keep my toes warm.
Ah, winter.
One thing I discovered at the end of last winter was that if I get myself fully dressed for a run, then jump or dance around (I prefer the Hammer dance) for a couple minutes until I’m good and warm, almost too warm, while I’m still inside. THEN I go out and immediately start running. No walking to the park or chatting with the our building super, but taking off right away from the front door. For some reason this seems to keep the warmth I built up from shakin’ it inside from escaping, while continuing to generate new heat from running. The whole process probably looks a little bizarre to anyone watching. Especially when I pretend that I’m about to jump into a cold pool or lake. I count down 3-2-1, take a deep breath, open the door and jump into my run. Hey, it seems to be working.
The other thing that seems to be helping is drinking almost-hot water before and after. This might be personal preference (I usually prefer my water room temperature, not iced, even in the summer), or maybe even just a psychosomatic trick, but the warm water seems to warm me up from the inside.
Who else has a trick for staying warm in the frosty weather?
