The roads were a mess this morning, but I wanted to get back to running regularly, so I decided to head down-back wearing ice spikes.

Running on the ice in grippers would be safer and more comfortable than the slush/slurry that the roads had become.

Especially since my trail shoes weren’t going to cut it without non-Merino wools socks in the sub-freezing temps. I had to figure out what to wear for shoes with the ice spikes and opted for my old Beacon 2’s. They always fit well, and when I tried them on, they didn’t aggravate my tender toes at all.

Planned Workout: 4.0 miles easy down-back in ice spikes.

Variables: It was still below freezing at 31*F with a pretty good breeze from the South, making it feel like 21*F. Yesterday’s snow and rain made a mess of the roads but left a nice crunchy layer on top of the ice down back.

Day: Saturday – February 6

Course: Tiffany-Blake “T” Route, Sidney

Distance: 4.02

Duration: 38:51

Pace: 9:40

Running Streak Day #: 2

Comments: 

Mile 1 – I didn’t need the ice spikes for the first quarter-mile, but they are such a pain-in-the-arse to put on that it was easier to do it before I started running and run on the road shoulder until I got to the dirt road. Then I was happy to have them. Especially once I got to the lower gate.

The road conditions made me kind of re-think the typical 4.0-mile course that I usually do. Once past the lower gate, it became double-track and mostly white ice where the vehicle travel. The ice grippers were doing great, so I decided to do the Tiffany/Blake T course. It meant more hills, but as long as I went slow, it was probably doable.

Mile 2 – When I got to the start of Tiffany’s tar section, the road was clear. I don’t know what they do differently over on this end, but Tiffany is in a helluva lot better shape after every storm than Philbrick is. Almost like the guy who plows down there uses the sand/salt, and our guy forgets to open up the spigot enough to make a difference.

Coming back up over the little hill, I didn’t notice where I was until I started back down the other side. I was lost in thought or the run. I did stop at the top of Blake Hill to take pictures. I have to admit it sure was pretty looking into the woods and stuff.

Mile 3 – It was all double-track on Blake, and I was glad that I had on my ice grippers. They made it so I could stay upright and run-slowly.

Mile 4 – I made it going up Blake Hill and even managed to pick up the pace slightly, very slightly along the flats. Finally, after Wade’s driveway, I gave into my desire to walk and walked to the upper gate. Could I have kept going? Probably, but I chose to walk and enjoy the scenery a little. I stopped to take off the ice spikes at the tar to run in the Beacon 2’s without the extra weight or tightness of the ice spikes on my feet.

Shoes: New Balance Beacon 2 — Mileage (99:07) – Yes, these are supposed to be my primary treadmill shoes, but since I am not going to be running on one anytime soon, I might as well use them for whatever I need to.

When I saw them in storage remembered how well the Beacon 2’s fit my forefoot and figured that the issue I had with heel slippage would be mitigated by wearing the thicker Merino Wool socks. So of the shoes that I have in the house, they seemed like the best bet to get me through until next week. 

They did fine with the ice spikes, but I wouldn’t want to wear them this way very often. The outsole wouldn’t last very long at all.

My feet were not cold despite running on snow/ice and the temps being below freezing, so that was a good thing. However, with the outsole on the Beacon 2’s, I wouldn’t use them unless the roads are clear, and if I have to jump off onto the shoulder, I would be smart to stop and wait for cars to go by me. 

They reminded me how much I do like running in the Beacon line, but they are more decent weather shoe, but I will keep around until the new ones arrive. Then I will put them back into semi-retirement for this Spring or when I get back to treadmill running.