Let The Cold Weather Begin!

This morning was my first sub-freezing temperature run of the season.

I found it quite comical - I dressed in my running tights, long sleeved tech shirt as a base layer with my running jacket as a second layer (and a reflective vest - as it was still dark at 5:30am when I ventured out the door), a beanie hat that I received as my finishers premium at the Parks Half Marathon I ran in September (it was quite ironic that at a race where it was over 70 degrees that they were handing out winter beanies!), and a pair of running gloves.

It was 31 degrees outside. I know that in two months, when it is 31 degrees outside I probably won't be wearing the jacket, and the beanie will be replaced by a baseball cap. It's all relative, right? Right now 31 degrees is 10-20 degree colder than I'm used to running in...in January it may be 10-20 degree warmer than I'm used to running in!

As I started my run, I remembered what my big issue was in cold-weather running - I start out too fast! I believe it is an attempt to warm my body up, so instead of easing into my pace, I jump right in - normally going fast than I intend to. This was supposed to be an easy run - with my HR under 150 bpm. About 1/4 mile into the run, I took a look at my HRM and saw 160....time to slow down!

I ended up keeping things under control. My average HR was 148 and my pace was 11:03/mile. Nice and easy.

And if I had gone much further than 3.4 miles, I surely would have overheated! :-)