18 Down and Running Economy

Sunday's 18 mile run was indeed 18. No bad weather, bad kharma or lost inspiration for this run. I did hilly loop in Deerfield starting out the door at about 7:30 A.M. It was 12 degrees F when I headed out the door and 25 when I returned. A stop at Jerry's place for a bagel and coffee after the first 2 miles helped to keep me on track. I have about 8 weeks of serious running ahead of me to get ready for Boston. The last three before the marathon are tapering weeks meant more for recovery from training than any further conditioning.

Next Sunday I will make another loop on most of the same roads for 20 miles. River Road, Hillside, North Hillside, Upper Road, Lower Road., hills. Up hills, down hills. Donna and I will try again to meet at Sugarloaf at 7:00A.M..

Donna is running a 100 miler in May down in Virginia. She thinks that it will take her between 25 and 30 hours to finish this thing. I have signed on as her pacer for the last 30 miles. My job will be to run alongside her and keep her going when her body and mind say enough is enough. Donna did say that I could jump in around mile 50 for the last 50, but then I would need a pacer. This will be an adventure.

So it's freaking cold and you hate to be cold, but you gotta run, but it's freaking cold so whatta you gonna do? You have to dress for the elements. Here is observation on wardrobe that I had a while back on a long cold run. Thoreau's Economy, not in long shot. This is what it takes for me to stay warm when I run.

1. Two pairs of running tights, $40.00 * 2 = $80.00
2. Running socks (double layer), $6.50
3. New Balance 856 ( favorite running shoe in years), $75.00
4. Super Feet inserts (I have very flat feet), $30.00
5. Poly Glove liners, and heavy gloves, $15.00 + $30.00=$45.00
6. Polypro underwear, $6.50
7. Bergeline top, New Balance heavy top, and Hind Hydrator top. $30.00+$30.00+$45.00=$105
8. Poly baliclava, and wool hat, $15.00+$25.00=$40.00
9. Luminite Wool Blend Pullover Jacket, $65.00

Total so far: $453.00

Add on my Garmin Forerunner GPS, $150.00,

Grand Total: $603.00

Running suddenly does not sound so cheap after all. The one good thing about this list is that I have aquired all this stuff over the last five or six years. I couldn't cough up this much for running in one dose without feeling ill. Also you can get by with many layers of old clothing to simply avoid freezing.