January 2014 - Winter and Wounds

One month of the year 2014 is complete.  That's 8.5% of a year, done.  (Actually, since I'm posting this entry on the morning of February 2, it's really more like 8.9% complete, but I won't bore you with math... anymore.)  January was a colorful month with events that affected my running in a myriad of ways.

Historically Cold Temps
One day, the high was -6°F.  The HIGH.  Even I won't run outdoors when it's that cold, though believe me, I wanted to get in a "polar vortex" run for posterity.  Some of my friends did go on arctic runs, but I am forever haunted by a 2007, -1°F run after which I landed in the hospital with pneumonia.  The sub-zero run and the liquid lungs might've had a correlation; one can't be sure.

Boatloads of Snow

On Mile 7 of The Highway Blizzard Run

My favorite run is a snowy run, so this aspect of January 2014 was a happy one for me.  I managed to don my trail shoes and enjoy several snowy runs.  A combination of the snowfall and cold temperatures led to five school closures and five two-hour delays in NLCS, the school corporation where I teach.  On the early morning of one of the closures, Wendy and I ran 11.16 miles along Highway 37 from Mitchell to Bedford in white-out conditions.  Joined by Becky and Larry for the first half, we both agreed that that run was one of our most memorable.

Wendy's Foot
Wendy has been dealing with a large fibroma on the bottom of her foot for months and months now.  She finally had it removed on Jan. 17.  Held the morning of her surgery, the snowy Mitchell-to-Bedford run was Wendy's last.  She is not allowed to run for four to six weeks, so that has altered my training, as well.  I've been running less and running alone more often, but I've also run on the treadmill at the gym with Wendy spinning beside me, so we can still train together.  Wendy's foot has an incision shaped like a W slashed across the bottom of her right foot, but she already feels less pain than she experienced prior to the surgery.

Py's Tray
In my living room, I have a five-foot polar bear named Pythagoras who holds a 12" x 6" x 1" wooden tray filled with candy.  (Long story.)  That tray crashed onto my foot on Jan. 18.  For a few hours, I was certain I had broken my big toe.  Luckily, the injury was nothing more than a good bruise, but both it and what felt like the start of post-tib tendinitis sidelined me for eight days.  Better to be safe than sorry.

3K Club
My running odometer rolled over 3,000 mi. on Jan. 17 during that famous Mitchell-to-Bedford blizzard run.  I don't know how that statistic affected my running, other than to make me feel awesome for a little bit.

Here are a few statistics for the month of January.  Apologies for breaking the "no more math" promise above.

Miles Run: 59.29
Runs: 8
Hours Run: 10.01
Average Run Distance: 7.41 mi.
Average Run Pace: 10:07.90
Average Run Duration: 1:15:05.3
Average Temperature: 24.7°F  (Good suggestion, Jennifer!)
Longest Run: 11.16 mi., January 17
Shortest Run: 6.00 mi., January 8 and January 29
Favorite Run: January 17, 11.16 mi.
Total Lifetime Mileage: 3,012.03

So, it's clear that I ran less often, and mostly on days that weren't frightfully cold.  There were some frigid-temp runs, but there were also some unseasonably warm runs to balance the average.  Running less often is OK right now, because it gives my body a break from mileage that will soon increase.

February promises to be a fun running month as I'll be enjoying several runs with Wendy's daughter, Amelia, who is training for her first half marathon as a means to raise money for Saving Sunny, an organization that rescues and rehabilitates pit bulls.  Amelia had a mileage PR yesterday when she ran 8.5 mi. of my 10 mi. run with me.  If you would like to donate to her cause, you may do so at her fundraising web site.