Running In Cooler Weather

Now that my run is complete, I feel great. But as usual, getting started was a challenge. Today’s issue was the weather. I always have trouble deciding how to dress when running in cooler weather.

As you can see from the picture above, the mountains got snow last night but it was too warm in the city, so it just rained. But this morning, it’s about 50 degrees and there’s a light breeze, so it feels more like the lower 40’s. I wore shorts and a light jacket and that was about right for my body temperature. The only problem was the cold wind on my bare legs. It makes me uncomfortable.

As for the run itself, I’m still in the walking more than running phase. After a walking warm up, I’m running 1 minute and walking for 1:30. I did 8 intervals of this run / walking. Total time including warm up and cool down was 30 minutes.

Because of my lack of fitness, any running is difficult. And because I live in the foothills, I’m either running uphill or downhill. There’s not much flat terrain. Downhill isn’t much of a problem as long as I maintain my pace. If I go too fast downhill, I’ve noticed that it’s easy to get injured.

But running uphill is another story. When you’re overweight, carrying those extra pounds up a long hill is brutal. Not only am I gasping for air but my thighs start burning. It’s anaerobic and I can only last a few minutes.

Running up the hill this morning, I recalled back when I was in shape. I could run the entire hill without walking and depending on my pace even without getting out of breath. That feels like a long way off.

But you are what you are. And right now, I’m 5 years older and 50 pounds heavier than when I was last running seriously.

My goal is to start getting out more often. Even if I’m only running three days per week, I want to walk on my off days.

That will be tomorrow’s workout.

 

Readers, do you notice any performance differences when running in cooler weather? What are your ideal running conditions?