Running
I've been putting a lot more miles in than I have in the last couple of offseasons. Marathon training is a great motivator, and Boston Marathon training is probably the best. Up until this time in 2012, I had only 67 miles, whereas this year I have 267 miles in. I finally seem to have a hold of the issues with my hips and feet. I'm also doing runs slower for the most part (7:12 avg at this point last year vs. 7:26 this year). I'm targeting 7:15 to 7:30 pace on my long runs instead to trying to run them all under 7 min miles.
Winter Biking
I bike outside all year round. Its one of the advantages to living in South Carolina. I haven't really found the disadvantages yet (I love the heat), but when I do, I'll be sure and let you know. With my run focused training right now, I've mostly ran weekend mornings and biked in the afternoon. My rides have not been bad at all. This past weekend I did my first "cold" ride. It was about 34 degrees and I took off about 15 minutes before sunrise. Last year I had some miserable rides. Party due to temps (27 degrees anyone?) but also due to lack of preparedness.
This year I'm more prepared. I got a pair of PRO Ventura Overshoes, that I have worn an few times. Basically whenever the temp is under 40. I also got a pair of long cycling tights that I wore the first time this past weekend. So here is the bulk of my cold weather gear:
So clockwise, upper left we have hand warmers, winter gloves, neoprene head band, the overshoes, and my Shimano tri shoes. I wear my regular shoes with Pearl Izumi toe covers. I then cut the toe off of a pair of wool socks and stuck those on the end of the shoe over the toe covers.
This is just to provide an extra layer of insulation underneath the overshoes. I purchased the XXXL size overshoes even though I only wear a size 43 shoe. I had heard they run small and I knew I wanted to be able to put some extra layers in there. With the wool sock toes, they Triple X's fit perfectly.
So as you can see, I'm pretty well covered up with the the tights and boot covers on.
I also have some foot warmers, but seeing how it was "only" 34 degrees, I did not bring them along. I threw the hand warmers in my cycle jersey, but did not end up needing them either. So up top, I have my head band under my helment and then put my sunglasses over the head band.
I wore a long sleeve shirt with arm warmers underneath a long sleeve jersey. It all kept my quite toasty. But we shall see how it feels after another 10 degrees cooler. Will this winter ever end?
