The dog days of Winter

This week, actually, is one of my favorite weeks of the year. Why? Because when I drive home at night, I notice there is a bit more sunshine on my commute. I get to watch the Australian Open tennis matches where it looks so warm down under. So, spring is just around the corner. Having said that, the forecast this week is down-right cold. Very cold. Witches' t..., well, it's going to be cold.

Now, if you live in Green Bay, Wisconsin you are laughing at me when I say its cold out. But, this week is the coldest its been all season. The thermometer at our house this morning registered 14 degrees F. 14 degrees? What sane person lives in a climate like this? Plus, with the wind kicking up, even the dogs weren't too thrilled going outside for a long period of time.

But, this is gut-check time. I don't have a specific race in the spring that I'm aiming for at the moment. Yes, there is an outside chance for a Boston marathon entry and I am planning to do the Broad Street Run in May but that seems sooooooo far away from this January weather. But when is cold too cold?

I know, in summer, there is the 180 rule. That is, you shouldn't push yourself if the temperature and humidity add up to 180. Is there a similar rule in the winter?

As a runner, January and February are just tough months to endure. At least in summer, when its hot out, you know that it will be cooler as the sun goes down. Now? The forecast for the week are highs not much above freezing. There are treadmills but it's hard to do any long run on a treadmill. I guess I should be thankful that I'm not enduring the snow like our neighbors to the north and midwest are. Still, in times like this, you need to run with someone because you know they are freezing their tushes off as much as you are.

(Notes: I did pretty well on my training last week though I think I overdid it by just a bit as I was more sore than I thought I should have been. I did my long run on Saturday up by the Delaware River on an absolutely beautiful morning. No pictures as I have found out my mini-camera sucks the lifeblood of batteries very easily. I'm either going to have to carry extra batteries with me or pop out the battery from the camera when I'm not using it.

I also added some new things to the right side of blog if you haven't noticed. I now have included my race history from 2001 to the present. Even though I did Corporate Challenge 3.5 miles races back in the early 1990's, it was more of a one-off thing I did every year and never kept any kind of official records (though my 3.5m PR is 29:45).

I also added a poll for readers. Of course, this is a very scientific poll that will be used for as reference in upcoming articles in various running magazines. Or, maybe not. But, I thought I would try it out for a bit of fun and see what the responses are. Not sure if I'll do it every week but I'll be playing with it from time to time.

RIP--Allen Melvin. )