To my future self: a note on running conditions in March

As I mentioned, I do check past years of my blog to see what the weather was doing on my runs.  It helps me be emotionally prepared for more cold and crappy weather and helps me look forward to more warm weather as well.

To my future self:  In March, all bets are off.

I'll just remind you that last Tuesday I went for a run and it was 60*.

Wednesday I'm pretty sure I used to pool being closed "to fix the big fan" as an excuse to do nothing.  Works for me.

Thursday
Weather - low in the low 20's; high in the 40's; freak snowstorm during morning rush hour
Running gear - tights, sweat pants, wool socks, long sleeve shirt, jacket, hat, gloves, reflective gear. 

I headed over to St Paul at 5:30am to run with Running Beth and Other Beth.  It was a gorgeous run, and we even got to see the sun come up.  It was quite windy on the way back; it didn't bother me as much as other Beth who was only wear one pair of pants.

PSA to runners: Wear your reflective gear!

Sunrise in St Paul

I headed home for breakfast and got ready for work.  When I walked back out to my car, all I could think was is this a joke?!?

How the heck did everything get covered in snow in less than an hour.  That snow was just enough to royally screw up rush hour traffic.  The Ohio Street hill in St Paul was super exciting to drive down.  Thank goodness for salt, sand and manual transmission.

After the morning, the sun came back out, all the snow melted and it was in the 40s. 

Minneapolis sunset

  
Friday
Weather: Low 16*, high around 32*, sunny and colder than hell
Running gear: Tights with fleece lining, sweat pants, wool socks, long sleeve shirt with fleece lining, jacket, hat, gloves.

I went for another run with Running Beth.  We did the awesome Beth Loop (not to be confused with Beth's torture loop).  I finally had my camera with me on this gorgeous run and snapped some pictures.

A view of Ft Snelling from the St Paul side of the river.

Beth noted that we did go up the monster hill really fast this time.  I agree.  I was brain dead on the run and super tired the whole day because of that run plus the three workouts I'd done the day before.

Saturday
Weather: Low of 32* (remember the high from yesterday?); high predicted for 60*, actually got to 69* and may have set a record.
Running gear: Shorts, t-shirt, camelbak, bandana, still wore wool socks because I knew my feet would get wet in monster puddles coming from snow melt.

I hung out around the house in the morning and waited for it to warm up.  What the hell do I wear to run in this?  I had a 12-miler planned, the Ford-Lake loop, from my house and back.  Around 1pm, I got into my shorts and a t-shirt and loaded the camelbak.  That is all.  I kept feeling like I was going to be cold so I chucked in arm warmers but they never left my bag.

Minnehaha Creek - approaching the falls

The Mississippi River from the St Paul side

Have I mentioned the sunshine?

The creek between Nokomis and Lake Hiawatha, coming home and feeling dead.

Today was a very rough run.  Suddenly I remember why we hydrate the night before a run.  Also in the future I hope I'll listen to my brain instead of my stomach about pre-race meals.  At least it wasn't eggs and bacon this time.

PAIN!

I realized even with an, um, break and all the pain at the end, I went a bit faster than I expected.  There was a lot of walking at the end.  I did have some time to stretch out and take one last picture of my wardrobe.  Look at those super white legs!