Ode to Uncle Tom

My uncle Tom was a police officer & a Vietnam vet. As a kid, I was afraid of him. He was tough. He was the guy who was always throwing the kids in the pool at family parties. I didn't like getting thrown in the pool so I would stay away from him. He told it like it was regardless of the consequences. It didn't matter if he hurt your feelings.

But, he also had a soft side. He was a dad. He had 3 sons. He took them to a camp they had in the Adirondacks. They would fish and hunt and come home with tons of stories. That's what I remember most about my uncle...he was always telling stories.

He was the guy that got my brother jobs as a teenager. My uncle knew everyone because he was a cop. His job was "walking the beat." He got to know the business owners on his beat and they loved him. They felt safe because of him.

I remember when I was getting married that he insisted the guys get tuxes at his friend's shop which of course was on his beat. He got us a "deal."

I remember our families going on vacation together to the beach. Everyday he would bring a cooler filled with cans of Budweiser, a chair and a hat. When the cooler was empty, it was time to go home.

I've hardly seen him in the last few years. He retired from the police force and he and my aunt separated. The last time I saw him was at my cousin's wedding over a year ago. When I went up to him and said hello, he looked at me like he didn't recognize me. I told him who I was and his expression changed. His face softened and he said, "you get more beautiful everytime I see you." And, that's exactly what I loved about him. Far beneath the tough exterior, there was a soft heart. It wasn't always obvious, but I believe it was there.

Rest in peace, Uncle Tom..

1948 - 2010

20

Today is the first day of our vacation. I was scheduled to run my first 20 miler today, but there was no way I was doing it so far from home so I got it out of the way on Thursday. It was a very busy week..it always is right before you're going away, isn't it? The kids had dentist & orthodontist appointments. I had my annual physical. Plus, I was trying to cram 2 weeks of work into 2 days. My uncle died so I had a wake & funeral to attend..the list goes on & on..

But, nothing was going to stop me from getting this run done. I was fortunate enough to have Linda & Alyson volunteer to run portions of it with me. I did 2.5 miles out and back (4 times). So, every 5 miles I would pass by where I parked. I knew from when I did the 17 mile run that I was running 5 miles in just under an hour so that made it easy to time when they should get there.

Here's how it worked out. I did the first 5 miles by myself. I started at 7:40 a.m. Linda met me and ran the next 5 with me. Then, Alyson & her son, Conor showed up when I hit 10 miles. The 4 of us were off and running miles 10-15 . Linda turned back around 12 because her foot was bothering her, but we eventually met back up with her for the last mile.

I meant to put on body glide at the 10 mile mark, but forgot (big mistake). It wasn't until the 3 of us were running for about a mile that I felt the chaffing begin. Same place as last time - thighs. I asked Conor if he minded biking back to the car and getting the body glide for me. Thank goodness for him otherwise I woud've really been hurting even worse than I am.

Linda left when we hit 15 miles. We used the bathrooms and I filled up my handheld bottle with Gatorade. I even had 1/4 of my PB & J sandwich. I was eating Sharkies along the way, too. I was feeling really good. Alyson, Conor & I were off to finish the last 5. Alyson has been having problems with her hip so I wasn't sure she'd be able to run the whole 10 miles with me..she came pretty close. She did 9. something..just under 10. She was with me when I finished though and that was the best part. She did a good job of keeping the conversation going at the end and I needed that.

When I stopped running, I shouted "thank you, Jesus." And, I meant it! I was really glad to have Alyson there with me. My brain felt like absolute mush those last few miles. I couldn't even think of anything to think about. It was kinda weird. I wanted to focus on something, but it was like my brain was turned off. It made me wonder what I'll do running a whole marathon completely by myself. I know I can wear an iPod for some of it, but that gets old after awhile, too. I'll have to come up with something..

I have to mention that I texted my husband when I stopped at 15 miles. He was at work of course. I just wrote "15 done." He wrote "keep going." By the time he sent that I was at 17.5 so I replied "17.5..don't reply..i'll text you when i'm done." As I was basking in the glory of finishing 20 miles, in pulls a truck and Alyson says, "hey that looks like Larry's truck." Sure enough, it was him. He wanted to be there when I finished. Isn't that sweet? I thought that was really nice. I was running on a path very close to his work and it was lunchtime. I never expected him to be there, but was really touched that he was. I could never do any of this without his support.

So, all in all I have to say the run went just about as well as it could have although my knee was really hurting afterward. Not sure what that's all about. I think it was just tired, not really injured. I went home and took my first ever ice bath which was not fun at all, but I do believe it helped tremendously. My muscles really didn't feel sore at all. When I did the 17, I was pretty tight and sore for a few days. My legs feel so much better this time and I think it's from the ice bath. Plus, we were in the car for 8+ hours yesterday and even that didn't bother me.

Today is Saturday and I'm on vacation. I'm not going to run today. I think I need a few days of rest..I might do 3 tomorrow. We'll see.

Today I'm only doing one thing...going to the beach :)

Respect the Distance

Today will be the third day of temps in the 90's. With the heat index it feels like over 100. Definitely not a good time for the a/c to break down. Yeah.

I want to talk about the 14 miler that I did 2 weeks ago. It was the hardest run to date. I am doing the Galloway beginner plan (to finish). The longest distance I had run prior was the half marathon distance. I really wasn't worried about the actual distance because I had been building up to it. I was stressing a little bit about the course. It's hard to find out a course that's not too hilly. Then, I had to figure out where to plant water/gatorade. Suddenly, the weather was an issue (possible thunderstorms). Plus, I had to do the run on a Thursday rather than my normal Saturday because I was going out of town...which meant the kids were home since school was out. What I'm trying to say is there were a lot of things to worry about.

I was happy to wake up that morning and see that it was not raining or thundering/lightning. Phew. I drove around the course I had mapped out on Map My Run to drop the drinks and realized that this one section was extremely hilly (a road I had never been down before) so I decided we had to change the course around at the last minute. Not good because I had to estimate the miles and we ended up having to add on at the end which really messes with my head.

With all that said, what I really should've been worried about was the heat and humidity which I didn't give much thought to (stupid). I was drenched with sweat only a few miles into the run which is not normal for me. I don't sweat very much for some reason. I think it was around 9 miles that I realized I had some chaffing action going on in the thigh area. It wasn't long before I was trying to run while holding my shorts up above that area (didn't work). I only had chaffing one other time and it was years ago, but I do remember that it was also very humid that time.
By the last mile, I was so ready to be done that I stopped taking the walk breaks and practically sprinted to the end. My friend, Linda that was running with me just completely stopped at mile 13 (she's dealing with some plantar fasciaitis). When I finished, I backtracked to try to find her. By that time the temp had to be in the mid 80's. We were both hurting. Because we had to do so much adding on, we were probably a good half mile from my house when we finished. I had some weird cramping at the very top of my calves (never had that before). It did go away after a little while, but it was kind of strange.

I felt like garbage for the rest of the day. Up until that point, I had felt GREAT after doing my long runs using Galloway. This time was a completely different story. I was starting to get the headache that has become normal for me after a really long run. I knew I should eat something, but had no appetite. Looking back, I think part of why I felt so bad was because I was a little dehydrated. Even though we drank along the way, I don't think it was enough for the temps & humidity we were dealing with. Plus, I didn't bring any sort of nutrition..I usually at least have sport beans or Sharkies. I don't know what I was thinking not to bring anything. So stupid of me.

So, this Saturday is the next long run. 17 miles. I'm very nervous about it. I know I have to go get some body glide and beans. Maybe even bring a sandwich or something. We are going to a bike trail which is flat so that should help. I'm taking all the necessary precautions this time. I think that 14 miler was a good wake up call..you always hear "respect the distance" and I didn't do that. I took it for granted. I won't make that mistake again.

Update on Freihofer/Subway $5 discount

To get the $5 discount, all you need is a receipt from Subway that has their 5 digit store # or just call your local store and ask them for their #. I called the Subway I went to this morning (looking for the coupons) & explained that all I need is their store # to get the discount and they were happy to give it to me.

So, now it is "only" costing me $57 for 2 entries. I guess that's not so bad :)

Good News..well, sorta

I was so happy when I found out that Subway will again have $5 discount coupons for the Freihofer's. The only problem is I've already been to two Subway shops today and neither of them HAS ANY!!! The first place at least said they should be getting them "soon." Hopefully, that's true because June 1 they raise the registration price AGAIN.

The second place looked at me like I had two heads or something..."Freihofer's"? "We don't have any Freihofer coupons." They might as well have followed that with..."idiot." Maybe they thought I wanted a discount on cookies or something? I don't know, but they were kind of rude.

The first place was at least nice enough to take my name & phone number down. She said they would call me when they got the coupons.

We'll see about that...I will be shocked if they call. In the meantime, I'll be stopping around the other local Subway shops.

I'll keep you posted...

Race fees

Ever since I went through having a stress fracture last year, I have a thing about registering early for races. In 2009, I registered in January to run a marathon in October. I got hurt in June and couldn't complete the training. Fortunately, I was able to still run the half marathon so I didn't throw all of that money out the window. I did lose the difference between the two registration prices, but I could live with that. However, that did teach me a lesson and now I do not register for anything until I absolutely have to.

Which brings me to my gripe...race fees. They are getting outrageous. My specific gripe is about the Freihofer's Run which is less than 2 weeks away. You can usually save yourself a bit of money by mailing in the entry fee & registration the old fashioned way..using regular mail. Normally, when you register online you have to pay a few dollars extra in processing fees.

Not that a few dollars is a big deal, but for races that you are registering the whole family for (like I did last year for the Winterfest& Turkey Trot), those fees really add up. I think it cost my family of 4 well over $80 to register for a 5K. I just can't justify doing that anymore.

Back to my Freihofer's gripe...I went to the website and I see that the mail in registration is now more expensive than the online registration no matter when you mail it in. Apparently, they want to get away from the mail in's? So, right now if I register online before June 1, it will cost me $33.50 ($30 plus $3.50 "processing fee") oh..double that because I'm signing my daughter up so make that $67 total.

To their defense, if I had registered earlier online (by 2/28) it would've cost $20 plus the $3.50 processing fee, but there is no way I ever would sign up that early.

The race fees are just getting out of hand. I hate not to do the races because the kids love it, but I'm gonna have to start drawing the line eventually. It's getting ridiculous!

Mohawk Hudson vs. Hartford

I have a fall marathon weighing heavily on my mind today...well, not heavily. That's an exaggeration :) Actually, I have much more important things weighing heavily on my mind, the marathon is just mixed in with everything else.

I mapped out a training plan today using the Galloway method. Alyson, Larry and I experimented with it 2 weeks ago and it went really well. We used a run/walk ratio of run 4 minutes/walk 1 minute. We did a 10K training run and we started the run/walk from the very start.

We all felt great at the end. Even Larry - and he absolutely hates running. In fact, that was the farthest he has ever run. I think his exact words were "I think I found my niche." He also said he felt like he could keep going at the end. So, Galloway gets 2 thumbs up from Larry :)

Alyson and I felt really good, too. I have to admit I have a bit of a mental block about walking at all during a run. It's going to be hard for me to overcome that barrier, but I want to be open to giving this a chance.

To be honest, I think when we were running for the 4 minutes, our pace was faster than it would be if we had been just running (no walking). Overall, our time was almost exactly what it normally would be had we not been walking.

So, what does that mean? It means that even though we were walking for a total of 6 minutes - we didn't lose ANY time. Isn't that crazy? The biggest benefit of using this method is you feel better & less tired during your run. The recovery time is also much faster afterward.

The Galloway method also calls for running just 3 days a week + one day of an easy walk. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Plus, you can't argue with the success rate of this method. I think something like 99% people that Jeff Galloway has trained with this method complete marathons AND they do not get injured. There is certainly something to be said for that!

So, I think we're going to continue using this method for our Saturday long runs and see how it goes.

I have somewhat of a dilemma about which marathon I want to register for. Do I want to run local and do the Mohawk Hudson or do I want to stick with my original plan of running Hartford?

I love the Hartford race because it's so festive. There are tons of people there and there's a really great atmosphere. They also do an awesome job of putting on the race - top of the line. I've done the Hartford half 2 other times and my plan has always been to do my first full there.

I have a few friends who will be running the half locally - some of the women who were in my running group last year. I'd love to be there with them even though they will probably be home & showered by the time I finish my race ;-)

I don't know what to do...I also just found out that one of my "Running Wild" team members (Brian) already registered for Hartford. Not sure what the others are going to do..

Decisions, decisions.

Ocean City, MD Half Marathon

I got back from Maryland yesterday around 4:30. I had a GREAT race (we all did)! The weather was perfect..couldn't have been better. It was cool, but sunny with a slight breeze. Probably in the 50's or so. Kathleen, Brian & I all exceeded our goals..Brian finished in 1:55, Kathleen 1:58 and I was 2:05 (new PR for me by 6 minutes!). Gregg had a broken toe and couldn't run, but he came along and graciously agreed to be our coach/cheerleader/caddy/chauffeur. And, he did a GREAT job. We planned out where he was going to be around the course to give us drinks, etc. and it worked out great. It was really nice to have someone do that. We jokingly talked about possibly doing that for each other for future races. I think it made a world of difference.

My pace was 9:29 which I was very pleased with. It didn't seem to be a problem to keep that pace until about mile 10-11. By then, my legs were getting pretty tired and I felt like slowing down. I was trying to beat my first half marathon time (of 2:11) and even if I dropped down to 10 min. miles, I'd still beat it. But, I really didn't want to do that..if I could keep going at my current pace I could smash that time. And, that's what I did! I was soooo happy with that.

The course was totally flat other than the bridge at mile 12. The bridge takes you over to Assategue Island. I've never walked on that bridge before (just drove). I didn't realize how high it actually is. They made us use the narrow pedestrian bridge (rather than the one that the cars drive on) which was a little weird. I felt a bit nauseous. I'm not afraid of heights at all, it just felt strange running on it.

Right after I got my medal and was just standing around in the tent talking, a man right behind me collapsed. He landed face down on the concrete. We yelled for help and medics were right there. Within a couple of minutes they started giving him CPR, but you could tell he wasn't responding. They eventually took him away in an ambulance. We couldn't find any news online or on tv about the race so we kind of assumed he must be okay...

My sister-in-law emailed the race director to ask about his condition since we were right there when it happened. She was told that he didn't make it. He was 40 years old. They said his wife was also running in the race.

I just can't stop thinking about that and how tragic it is. You do hear about runners dying in races, but it's actually not very common when you think about how many people are running. Still, it's kind of scary. It makes me wonder what this guy's situation was..did he train, was he experienced, etc. More than likely, he probably had some kind of heart disease or underlying (possibly unknown) issue. I've even been looking online for his obituary. I don't know why. I haven't found anything yet.

Went for a 4 mile run today to loosen up. My quads are pretty tight. Everything else feels good though. Not sure what my next race is going to be...possibly the Freihofers if I can get my daughter to run it with me. I'll keep you posted :)

Upcoming Local Races

http://www.powerhouseathleticsny.com/races

This is a new local half marathon you may be interested in. It's called Jog for Jugs in support of breast cancer. There is a half marathon & 5K. I think maybe I should start putting links to local races here. Sometimes it's hard to keep track of everything that's going on!

Congratulations to Evelyn on finishing her very first half marathon. I believe her time was 2:24..I hope that's right. That's awesome!

It's an exciting time for runners..it's getting warmer out & there are lots of great races coming up. I'm doing my third half marathon in a little over a week down in Ocean City, Maryland. I'm excited about that because first of all, it will be fun. I'm going down with my brother and his friend, Brian. We're going to have a great time. Also, the course is flat. We vacation down there so I'm very familiar with the roads. I've been going there since I was a teenager. It's practically my second home.

I have one last FREE registration for Sean's Run in Chatham..that race is April 25 (same weekend I'll be in MD)..anyway, if you would like to run that race, let me know I'll give you the form. Someone I know is one of the sponsors of the race and gave me several free registration forms. I have one left. I'd hate to waste it!

Happy Running :-)

Good Luck Evelyn!

This Saturday (4/3), Evelyn (along with her brother) will be running the World Vision Half Marathon in New York City. I'm sooo proud of her! She has really stuck to the training - which is normally not an easy thing to do during the winter.

The WV 13.1 raises money for Africa which is where Evelyn lived when she was a little girl. I believe she was born there. Her parents were missionaries.

Anyway, in order to support her I'm going to post a link to her fundraising page:

http://www.facebook.com/l/7c6f7;twv.convio.net/site/TR/TeamWorldVision/General?px=1070783&pg=personal&fr_id=1090


If you can support World Vision in any way, I'm sure Evelyn would appreciate it!

Holyoke 10K Race Report

First off, Gregg & Kathleen scored us some shirts to wear from this really cool hamburger place in Holyfield called Local. We were supposed to wear the shirts for the race and then go there for a burger afterward. Sounded good to me. The guys got red shirts and the girls got black. They were cute. There was just one slight problem..it was going to be pretty warm out on Saturay and not only were our shirts black, but they were also cotton. It was going to be the first really warm day. Like really warm..like in the 70's. The race started at 1:00 and when we finished and got in the car it was 79!

The race was just part of the St. Patrick's Day festivities going on in Holyoke that weekend. They also have a big parade on Sunday. It's actually the 2nd largest St. Patrick's Day parade in the country..at least that's what I was told.

This was the best crowd support out of any race I've ever been a part of. There were people lining the entire course from start to finish. It was unbelievable.

Gregg said this was a fairly flat course with "some hills," but they weren't supposed to be bad. Well, that turned out to be untrue! The first hill was pretty big. From what I remember, there were 3 hills altogether. I don't think the hills would've been a problem if it weren't for the heat. I think we were all pretty sweaty long before we got to the starting line. Between the heat and the black shirts (plus I had on black capris), we were dying!

I was looking for water at the first mile, but unfortunately there wasn't any until mile 2. The other unfortunate thing was I started the race way too fast. I think my first mile was something like 9:08 which is too fast for the first mile of a race (at least for me it is!). That's a classic mistake and I know better, but I did it anyway.

I have to say, there were a couple of times where I honestly thought I wasn't going to make it. I had been feeling a little sick the night before & the morning of the race. I had an upset stomach and I almost felt like I had a stomach bug..so I didn't feel so great going into the race.

It was so hot that I drank water at every single water stop. I don't normally do that. In fact, the only races I've ever stopped for water were during 15k's & half marathons. I really needed it on Saturday though.

My sister-in-law unfortunately started vomitting between miles 2-3 and had to drop out. Although she was drinking water for 4 days prior to the race, I think she got dehydrated. I felt bad for her. When she dropped out at mile 3, her splits were right where she wanted them to be. What a bummer.

So, the bottom line is..I was aiming for a time 58 minutes and ended up with a time of 59:55. I think that's an overall pace of 9:36 or something like that. I'll take it. I think I could've done better though. I think the heat played a big factor.

All in all, it was a fun day. After the race we went to Local for some awesome burgers and fries. I was so hungry that I inhaled everything. Thanks to the peeps at Local for hooking us up with the shirts and the burgers!

I went out for a 3 mile run today. I have to admit that the quads and the calf muscles are a bit sore. Today's run felt good though.

Next race is the Ocean City, Maryland 13.1 next month..yowza!

Here is a nice picture of our group - pre-race :)

My First 10K

I signed up to run my first 10k! It's next weekend (3/20) in Holyoke, MA. My brother lives in Massachusetts and this was his very first race ever two years ago. He & his wife are going to run it along with a bunch of their friends. I thought it would be fun to make the drive out and do it, too. What's great about it is it starts at 1:00. I've never run a race at that time of day. I won't have to get up at the crack of dawn and drive out there (although I'm sure I'll be up at the crack of dawn anyway!). I'm taking two running friends along with me so it will be a great time, I'm sure.

This race is all about St. Patrick's Day so I went out and bought a green shirt to wear..I know, I'm a cornball. Just trying to get in the spirit..if that doesn't help, the free beer after the race should do it ;-)

Although I've run the 10k distance many, many times (& beyond!) this will be my first actual 10k race. I like this distance. I've been running it a lot lately.

I have an 8 miler planned for tomorrow morning. I have to crank up the mileage if I'm going to do this half marathon next month. Gotta respect the distance as they say. I don't want to take it for granted that I can just do it. I'll get in some good long runs over the next month and I should be fine.

Well, hopefully we'll all get a run in tomorrow before the rain rolls in! Have a good one :-)

Friday

I love Fridays, doesn't everyone? Many Friday nights, we go and hang out with some good friends and tonight is one of those nights. Always fun times on Friday nights!

The weather is getting nicer which means better running is in my near future. I've felt so weighted down with extra clothes lately and my runs have been SLOW! I was able to run 5 miles yesterday at a decent pace (9:20 ?) and I also had on just one layer of pants, but two layers of shirts. Still, that's a lot less than what I have been wearing.

I also went running by myself yesterday..I always run faster when I'm alone. I felt like pushing myself a bit and it felt really good. I think I may just do that 10K on March 20 in Holyoke. Hoping some of my Freihofer teammates want to come along!

I have to mention the girl in California that was murdered while she was out running. Sometimes we feel indestructible, like that would never happen to us. Hopefully, it never does, but we must think ahead try to imagine what we might do in that type of situation.

Personally, whether I'm running with someone or running alone I bring pepper spray. I'm not saying 100% that's going to save me if I'm attacked or whatever, but at least it's something. I also bring my cell phone and I try not to run in remote areas. We just need to remind ourselves to be alert while we're out on the road (or anywhere for that matter) because things can happen so fast.

Well, hope you go out for a nice run this weekend and don't forget to stay safe!

Freihofer's Run $5 Discount

http://www.freihofersrun.com/

I received an email tonight (already) regarding the Freihofer's Run For Women. If you register by March 1 (online) there is a $5 discount. Just wanted to pass that along..the race is Saturday, June 5. The email said they have a new start time (9:30) although the website still says the old time (10:15).

Personally, I learned my lesson by registering too early for races. Early last year, I registered to run my first marathon and I ended up getting a stress fracture in June. The race wasn't until October. Anyway, I had to take a couple of months off over the summer and there was no way I could do the training. Fortunately, it worked out because they let me transfer my registration and I was able to run the half marathon.

With that said, I won't be registering for the Freihofer's before March 1 :-)

Winter Running

I think we have 19" of snow right now. That's a lot of snow! The kids had a snow day so we were home all day long. I finally ventured out tonight to go to the grocery store. I was pretty impressed to see that the roads are fairly clear. If it weren't for the 2nd storm on the way, I think I'd be able to go out running tomorrow! Unfortunately, because of the other storm I think running will be put on hold for a day or two. Hopefully, not much more than that.

I'm wondering if most people that consider themselves runners, run all year long? Specifically, if you live in the northeast and have snow to contend with, it can be difficult. Personally, I used to take winters off. I was a fair weather runner. It has only been these last couple of years that I decided to run all winter. Actually, I used to run on the treadmill from time to time in the winter. But, since I've gotten more and more into distance running, I've been running outside all year round. I love going for my Saturday morning long runs. I'm a creature of habit.

Of course, you sometimes have to cut back on your mileage in the winter. It's hard to avoid that. I used to get a little bummed out about that, but I recently came up with a new spin on that..I've decided that it's a good thing to cut back your mileage during the winter a bit. It gives your body some time to recover and/or rest up for the upcoming season. How's that for a positive spin?

Anyway, that little spin helps me to not get too freaked out about missing a run or not being able to run as many miles as I would sometimes like.

I'd be curious to hear what other people do? I'd love to hear from you :-)

Winter Gear

It's the middle of February and I really hope you are running!! At least a little bit anyway :-) I know this is a hard time of year to run because we're at the mercy of the weather and road conditions. I have to say .. all things considered this winter hasn't been bad at all for running. I think I've only had to cancel one or two runs and that was because it snowed and it took a few days to get the roads clear. But, I've been able to get out at least three times per week which is only one day less than what I do in good weather. Ideally, I like to go out four days. But, on the other hand, I'm not training for anything right now and this is a good time to give my legs/body a little bit of a rest.

I have some tips for cold weather running that I think would be helpful.

The first thing is, go and buy yourself some warm long underwear. They don't have to be expensive, but the key to staying warm on a winter run is LAYERS! I have some Nike FitDry that I bought at Marshall's last year and it's wonderful. Each piece was less than $20 and it was money well spent. That is my "base layer. "

The next layer on my legs is a pair of sweat pants (Target) or fleece pants (Old Navy). My next layer on top is a lightweight pullover jacket (Brooks). I got mine online at http://runningwarehouse.com/fpw.html for less than $30. I love that jacket - it's so versatile. (I love that website, too. They have great deals!) I usually wear another lightweight jacket on top of that and sometimes even an additional windshirt in between. Have you lost track of how many layers we're up to? That's 2 layers on the bottom and 3-4 layers on top.

I always wear mittens rather than gloves. They seem to keep my hands warmer. If it's really cold, I'll even wear 2 pairs of mittens.

On my head, I wear either a hat or a headband...sometimes both! This is going to sound strange, but if I wear a hat alone, I sometimes feel the cold air go up inside my hat (maybe my hat is a little too loose?) so on rare occasions, I'll actually wear my headband on top of my hat so it all fits nice and snug.

Okay, last but not least is the most important part - my feet. Up until recently, I just accepted that my feet would always be cold during a winter run. (Actually, my feet are cold even when I'm in the house!) Normally, I would wear two pairs of socks and would still be cold. Recently, I started to wear wool socks on top of my regular running socks. This may not work for everyone..my socks are extremely thick and bulky. I could see how that would bother most people. My running shoes happen to be a full size bigger than my regular shoes so I have quite a bit of room. With the thick wool socks, my shoes are a bit snug, but not tight enough to bother me. I'll deal with it in order to have warm feet. I absolutely hate having cold feet.

The last item you need for a successful winter run is tissues! There's something about being in the cold that really makes your nose run like a faucet. I'm not alone on this, am I?

If you have any tips of your own, send them to me and I'll add them to my list.

Stay warm and keep running :-)