# We're running in THIS? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 8, 2003, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-running-in-this/159906 "2003-03-08T13:52:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gazelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Gazelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazelle)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-running-in-this/159906/1 "2003-03-08T13:52:49Z")
I’m taking a marathon training class through a local event management company. Today, at 9:00 AM, is our first group run. Overnight, it snowed several inches here in [Minneapolis-St. Paul](http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/local/USMN0503) and is still snowing… The temp is in the teens and there’s a slight wind. I called the coach. “We’re still on!” he said excitedly. My training schedule says I’m supposed to run 14 miles today. Coach said, “Well, we may need to shorten that up.” Holy crap. I’m about to head downstairs for some coffee, then I’ll don my winter running gear and fabulous [Yaktrax](http://www.yaktrax.com/pages/1/index.htm)… Wish me luck. ---
**Author:** ![Lucretia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@Lucretia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucretia)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-running-in-this/159906/2 "2003-03-08T14:08:14Z")
Ermmm…have fun? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-running-in-this/159906/3 "2003-03-08T14:27:54Z")
I’ll be thinking of you as I sip my cocoa. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-running-in-this/159906/4 "2003-03-08T14:37:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by twickster47 \* > \*\*I’ll be thinking of you as I sip my cocoa. \*\* I’ll think about you while I enjoy the temps that are supposed to be near 70 today. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-running-in-this/159906/5 "2003-03-08T14:54:19Z")
_sips her tea wrapped up in her fleecy clothing and quilt_ It’s waaaaay to cold to leave the house. I got home from work about 15 minutes ago. Just checking the weather it tells me that right now it is… -44C _shivers_ I nearly got frostbite on the 5 minute walk home. But I’m all nice and cozy now. Enjoy your run! ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-running-in-this/159906/6 "2003-03-08T14:57:33Z")
I’m sitting in a suburb of St. Paul wondering if its snowing too hard to drive a mile up the road in a 4 wheel drive Subaru to get the McDonalds I promised my daughter for lunch if she could get through the morning in a single pair of underwear…and you are going to run fourteen miles!!! ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-running-in-this/159906/7 "2003-03-08T15:24:09Z")
Running rather than x-c skiing after a freshie? Sacrilige. ---
**Author:** ![Davebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Davebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Davebear)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-running-in-this/159906/8 "2003-03-08T16:31:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Obsidian Flutterby \* > \*\* Just checking the weather it tells me that right now it is… -44C _shivers_ I nearly got frostbite on the 5 minute walk home. \*\* :eek: I don’t know what your physical location is, **Flutterby** , but that’s not _my_ idea of a dream! Nightmare, perhaps. ---
**Author:** ![Gazelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Gazelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazelle)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-running-in-this/159906/9 "2003-03-08T20:26:01Z")
Well, I’m back. Thanks for the warm thoughts, everyone! 🙂 What a morning. Oh wait, it’s afternoon now. Left the house early in anticipation of crappy road conditions. Oh yeah, they were crappy. Plows hadn’t even hit the highways yet! Arrived at Minnehaha park at about 8:50 AM; the coach and one other woman were there. Coach says that only the St. Paul side of the Mississippi River Road is plowed and suggests that we come back tomorrow to do our long runs. (He also says that both of us need only run 10 miles this weekend.) I was disappointed at that prospect; long runs on SATURDAYS, dammit! Luckily, the other woman (I’ll call her Jo) seemed to feel the same. She offered me a guest pass to her YMCA so we could run together. It has a 1/10 mile track and treadmills. I quickly agreed. An hour later (normally a twenty-minute drive) we reached her house, greet her dog and husband and grab the guest pass. Thirty minutes after that, we entered a YMCA located in a northern suburb. Jo’s normal routine is to run 20 laps (2 miles) and hit the treadmill for a mile, all the while working the Galloway method (nine minutes running, one minute walking). Walking to the treadmill after the second mile counts as the minute of walking. We folllowed her routine and man, what fun! I thought I would slow her down too much and she’d have to go off on her own – she’s an experienced marathoner who is aiming for a 3:30 this time – but we ran the together the whole time and talked most of it. I felt energetic and only the slightest bit tight in my calves. So I didn’t have to slog through snow and didn’t have to do the whole thing on the dreadmill. A great first “official” long run that I hope was an omen of things to come. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-running-in-this/159906/10 "2003-03-08T20:34:30Z")
would that be the yak pro or walker? after the winter here i’m gonna retire the deathspike things i have now, i’m considering the walker for next year. how are they? ---
**Author:** ![Gazelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Gazelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazelle)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-running-in-this/159906/11 "2003-03-08T20:55:38Z")
Hey **rocking chair** - I have the walkers. They rock! My footing is solid as a rock on ice and snow; I slide the tiniest bit on bare pavement. I bought a pair for my best friend who runs faster than me; one of the arms wore through within three uses but that’s not surprising. The pros are more heavy-duty, I guess. When my walkers begin to wear out I’m gonna order those bad boys. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-running-in-this/159906/12 "2003-03-08T21:04:31Z")
hhhhmmm, the problem with my deathspikes was bare pavement. they really filed down the spike. also the rubber on the spike holder was horrendously foul. do the yaks have any odour? i’m thinking glow in the dark walkers… ---
**Author:** ![Gazelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Gazelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazelle)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2003, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-running-in-this/159906/13 "2003-03-09T19:05:22Z")
The yaktrax have no odor. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2003, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-running-in-this/159906/14 "2003-03-09T19:11:24Z")
I went outside for a run, my first outdoor run of the season. I’m supposed to do a half-marathon next weekend. It’s not that cold, but the wind! Anyway, 10 minutes later, I’m reading this thread. I guess I’ll go down to the treadmill. Fortunately I got “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot” out of the bargain bin, so I’ll have something to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-running-in-this/159906/15 "2003-03-09T19:16:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Davebear \* > :eek: I don’t know what your physical location is, **Flutterby** , but that’s not _my_ idea of a dream! Nightmare, perhaps. Dude… I’m in Alberta… right now it’s around -27C so not as bad as yesterday but I don’t like the cold. Wish it would warm up before tomorrow. I really don’t want to go to work tonight then school tomorrow in this cold weather. Waaaaaay too cold for me. ---
**Author:** ![susan\_foster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@susan\_foster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan_foster)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2003, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-running-in-this/159906/16 "2003-03-09T20:00:39Z")
I went rollerblading yesterday. Worked up a sweat - good thing I was wearing a strappy tank! Susan (Case you didn’t get it, I live someplace warm. High 80’s!) ---
**Author:** ![Gazelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Gazelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazelle)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2003, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-running-in-this/159906/17 "2003-03-10T15:02:11Z")
Ah **Scylla** , _Thunderbolt and Lightfoot_ - quality entertainment. 🙂 I can’t wait 'til spring is here. I had a dream about it last night. What a glorious time of year in Minnesota. Bare trees become explosions of bright green overnight. I live near a bridge over the Minnesota River that has trees all around it; crossing it daily becomes a celebration. Every year winter becomes “worth it.” Conservatively, I have eight more weeks to wait. ::sigh:: ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2003, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-running-in-this/159906/18 "2003-03-10T16:07:50Z")
I’m sorry, but I’m convinced that I would not be as much of a runner if I lived ANYWHERE other than San Diego (or SoCal). I run in rain, and it feels like I’m taking on the world and being a supreme bad ass. Snow and ice, on the other hand, makes me weep and go fetal. You have my utmost respect, all ye cold weather runners. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2003, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-running-in-this/159906/19 "2003-03-10T19:55:10Z")
- as we used to say in Denmark, “If you use the weather as an excuse, you may as well not run.” Actually, the snow provides some much-needed illumination on those dark winter evenings, that has to count for something. I never used spiky footwear, but I had GREAT results with cross-country ski wax on my shoes - the sticky kind of wax (the type you’d apply to the center of the ski), obviously. Worked pretty darn good. And yeah, running in adverse weather does have that “taking on the world” quality. ---
**Author:** ![Gazelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Gazelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazelle)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2003, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-running-in-this/159906/20 "2003-03-11T02:17:04Z")
One of my favorite things about this board is the fact that I know I will get responses from **scout** and **Scylla** to any running thread I open. It’s a comforting feeling. You’re my Doper running buds! 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-running-in-this/159906.md?page=2)