It’s Cold Out There

I was hoping I wouldn’t have to broach this topic for a few weeks, but cooling temperatures in Boston (and now during my week long stay in London) are an unwelcomed reminder that winter is just around the corner.

It’s a bit disheartening to acknowledge, but my favorite thing about running in the cold is the gratitude I feel once the temperatures rise again in the Spring—not necessarily the best attitude given Spring is a solid 6 months away. But in the meantime, I’ve started reflecting on some of the things I do differently to accommodate the cold weather, including:

• Bundling up. My $2 gloves from Target go a long way towards keeping in the warmth. And when the temperature drops a bit more, I’ll rely heavily on a fleece vest and headband to get me through.


• Extra stretching. While I usually don’t allocate enough time for stretching, in the colder months, I make a point to find the time to stretch pre- and post-run, as I notice a significant improvement in how I feel both during and afterwards.


• Embracing the dark. Whether before or after work, the shorter days leave little choice but to run in the dark, and while it’s generally not my preference, I try to make the most of it. This morning for example, I ran a 3 mile loop around London’s theater district. Rather than avoiding the run altogether, I brought my camera along and snapped some 6AM “night shots” along the way—a very different landscape than I would have seen at the same exact time just a few weeks ago.

Curious as to other’s perspectives, I found a short and to-the-point article on Runner’s World on “10 Tips for Running in the Cold” which highlighted a few aspects I hadn’t thought of, like warming up indoors and running with the wind. Got any others? I’d love to hear them.

The Windy City

I have to thank the existence of this blog for my motivation to run while in Chicago last week as admittedly, the idea for writing a post on ‘running while traveling’ preceded the trip itself. In fact, the motivation to run was pre-empted by the notion that if I didn’t, not only would I be disappointed in my lack of discipline, but I would also need to come up with another topic to write about.

Regardless of the reason, I was able to venture out for three runs throughout the trip, each of which highlighted a different approach towards running while traveling:

• Run with a local: A few weeks ago I brought along a colleague visiting from out of town to run one of my usual 5K’s, so when the opportunity arose to run in her hometown, I was keen on the reciprocation. Running someone else’s regular route is fun because you get to run a mile in someone else’s shoes (yes, pun intended). I particularly appreciated her pointing out her favorite landmarks along the way, as I definitely enjoy doing the same when others are running my route.


• Run at the hotel gym: While I’m generally not a fan of treadmill running, I do enjoy checking out the layouts and equipment at various hotel gyms. A few particularly cool ones stand out in my mind, like the hotel I visited in Orlando that featured stationary bikes embedded with video game screens that enabled users to play a Tetris-style game, synchronized with the workout. While the gym at the Chicago Marriott was nothing to write home about, at least the anticipation got me down there. And at the end of the day, a run is a run.


• Run and explore: On the last day of the trip, I had the pleasure of running through downtown Chicago with another colleague of mine. We ran through the upscale shopping district on Michigan Ave, down the picturesque Navy Pier, and then looped back to the hotel. It was a great way to get my bearings and explore a new area that I wouldn’t have had the chance to see otherwise.

My only regret was that I didn’t have a camera compact enough to bring with me on these runs—something I fully plan on addressing before my trips to London and Italy later this month, so stay tuned for more ‘running while traveling’...

Better Than Nothing

This was one of those weeks where I felt I had more to do than hours in the week to get it done. And while I hate to admit it, these are the situations when I have far too easy a time crafting excuses not to run: “I need to save my energy for other commitments”, “I deserve a few days off”, or “I just can’t find the time”.

But this week, as I started assembling my arsenal of excuses, it finally dawned on me that I’ve been needlessly practicing an “all or nothing” approach to running—if I couldn’t run my usual distance, I would take the day off all together. Why do I have this mentality towards my workouts when it’s not how I pursue other commitments? Take work for example: If I have a doctor’s appointment and need to miss a few hours of work, I don’t just decide to take the whole day off. Or if I can’t make the beginning of a party, do I decide it’s not worth going at all? Generally, no. So I decided to extend this same mindset to my running.

When my 8AM meeting on Tuesday left me with only 30 free minutes in the morning, I opted for a quick 1.5 mile loop around my neighborhood. And my only chance yesterday was jumping on the treadmill for just 20 minutes before heading out to Chicago for a few days. Both times I was really happy with myself afterwards—not only did I avoid defaulting to excuses, but I also appreciated the therapeutic benefits of those runs even more than on any other given week. So the next time I find myself concocting reasons not to run, I plan on applying my newfound “better than nothing” approach.