I think I may have found a new passion... I know that running in the ice, cold and snow can be risky and you have to be careful for all sorts of reasons, but I've been really enjoying my running over the last week. I love being outside in the snow anyway, wrapped up against the cold, but the added dimension of running has been a new challenge that I'm relishing.
Last Monday was my first experience of snow-running... I rescued my trail shoes from where I'd discarded them after the final cross country event in Leek last December, wrapped myself up in lots of layers and ventured out. I ran along the canal to Hanley Park and just ran around in circles... making footprint patterns in the snow on the tennis courts, football pitches and cricket nets, plus one loop of the lake. It was fun... I wasn't worried about how far or how fast I was running, I was just running and enjoying it. I only ran a couple of miles, much less than I had intended, but that seems to be a small price to pay for the fun I had in the snow.
On Tuesday, when the snow turned to ice, discretion took me to Northwood Stadium and the treadmill... I found it difficult to deliberately change to different paces in the snowy conditions, so the treadmill seemed the best bet for the speedwork session in my schedule. But on Thursday, I was back to running outside, thanks to my Potters Trotters running buddies Bobbie and Liz. We stuck to the main roads and kept our pace slow - our long run for the week completed before the worst of the weekend snow, although I did have to contend with the occasional "snowflake in my eye". But we were all pleased with our efforts.
On Saturday, I had the opportunity to try out a different parkrun, as we were staying in Manchester on Friday night (for a concert which was actually cancelled). We headed out on the tram to Heaton Park and were relieved to find out via Facebook that Heaton parkrun had beaten the weather. It was a really lovely course made even more appealing with its light dusting of snow - described by fellow parkrun tourist and Hanley parkrun run event director Tommy Hill in his blog post from the weekend. Our visit even received a mention in the Heaton parkrun run report and photo stream. Thanks to Duncan Shuttleworth for the photo.
Over the weekend, I also invested in some Icerunner Ice Grips from Clas Ohlson in Manchester. I've attached them to my running shoes and they definitely seem to add extra grip in the snow - it may be a confidence thing, but they've worked for me on the two runs I've tried them on so far.
Today I was back in Hanley Park for another run in the snow - I tried to follow the 5km parkrun route around the park. It wasn't too difficult around the lake, where the snow had been trodden down quite a bit, but at the top of the park, the snow was considerably deeper and even finding the footpath was tricky. But I tried not to worry about that... I simply ran through the snow (at various depths) and enjoyed the workout. At the end of my run, I'd managed 5 miles but it felt like a lot more. It was a really good workout and it was lovely to be outside. Then it was great to get back inside and I treated myself to a hot chocolate to warm me up again.
There are obviously some downsides to running at this time of year - the conditions underfoot and from above can change very quickly. But I've followed lots of advice about running in the cool conditions - like this helpful blogpost by Mark Cooper about Running in the Snow - and I don't think I've been particularly reckless. I've tried to get my clothing and footwear right for the conditions and made sure my running goals have been sensible - no 100m sprints in the snow for me (I'll save those for the treadmill).
So what next? I've signed up for the North Staffs Road Runners Association (NSRRA) and I've been placed in Group W... I'm not entirely sure what that means but my first race will hopefully be the Alsager 5 on Sunday 3rd February (weather permitting).
But I've had so much fun in the last week, running in lots of different conditions and locations, that I may be one of the few people who won't mind if the snow stays for just a little bit longer.
Happy Running
LizT
PS Last year, my blog posts were named after songs on my running playlist. In 2013, I've decided to go for movie titles... let's see how it works out.
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| Garmin Map of 1km of my snow run in Hanley Park! |
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| With Liz at the end of our run! |
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| With Tommy Hill and Mr T at Heaton parkrun |
Over the weekend, I also invested in some Icerunner Ice Grips from Clas Ohlson in Manchester. I've attached them to my running shoes and they definitely seem to add extra grip in the snow - it may be a confidence thing, but they've worked for me on the two runs I've tried them on so far.
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| Hanley Park in the snow |
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| More Snow! |
There are obviously some downsides to running at this time of year - the conditions underfoot and from above can change very quickly. But I've followed lots of advice about running in the cool conditions - like this helpful blogpost by Mark Cooper about Running in the Snow - and I don't think I've been particularly reckless. I've tried to get my clothing and footwear right for the conditions and made sure my running goals have been sensible - no 100m sprints in the snow for me (I'll save those for the treadmill).
So what next? I've signed up for the North Staffs Road Runners Association (NSRRA) and I've been placed in Group W... I'm not entirely sure what that means but my first race will hopefully be the Alsager 5 on Sunday 3rd February (weather permitting).
But I've had so much fun in the last week, running in lots of different conditions and locations, that I may be one of the few people who won't mind if the snow stays for just a little bit longer.
Happy Running
LizT
PS Last year, my blog posts were named after songs on my running playlist. In 2013, I've decided to go for movie titles... let's see how it works out.
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