I should have gone out to do my run sooner but simply never got around to it until I saw the snow coming down. I knew that freezing rain was in the forecast this morning and that the roads would most likely be nasty by noon. 

It got here a bit sooner than I expected.

Looking up the road before I started running – it got worse.

I was looking out the window and watching the snowfall while wondering if the digestive system had processed breakfast enough to not be miserable during the entire run. I asked myself if I could wait a little longer or not.

At this point, I knew that the roads were getting nasty quickly, so I decided to chance the tummy giving me grief over the inability to remain standing up later.

It was the correct choice.

The first lap was about getting the body back to using some of the tweaks I am adding to help me run a bit more efficiently. The old body loves the way that I have always run, it has gotten quite efficient at running inefficiently, and this changing the gait, even the minor stuff I am throwing at it, is making me work a lot harder than I have been.

I am not on autopilot when running with these changes, and they are making my running more of a chore.

However, even if I don’t ever run beautifully. I am sure that I need to run more efficiently, especially when I look back at my injury record. Which I blame more than a little on the way my body slams the ground with the classic straight leg and heel strike.

By the second mile, I had reacquainted myself with the changes that I consider necessary: keeping my head up, landing more under my hips, and running tall. Although, I do add inT-Rex arms and relax them too because I feel the difference when I do.

However, the snow had turned to freezing rain by the second mile, and the road was starting to get a bit slick. Judging by the tracks I was leaving in the snow, I was landing better, and my right foot toe-out was not as horrible as usual, so that was good. However, as time passed, I could feel my toe-off starting to slip back due to the deteriorating road conditions.

Between getting pretty wet and the roads icing up, I decided to stop the run at 5K. Sure, I could have gone further, but at the same time, I didn’t feel like taking a chance on bouncing around on the road either face or arse first.

Brooks Glycerin 19

I wore the Glycerin 19s and with merino wool socks, they were a little too snug in the toe box. I could wear them with thin socks, but in temps below freezing and wet, cold feet are not something that I enjoy or want to mess with. I have a feeling that I should have worn my Catamounts today, both for the fit (they are a size 9.0) and the additional grip that they would have provided. I think that tomorrow if the conditions are decent that I will try out the Skechers Forza 4s to see how they do.

Going Forward

Often discretion is the better part of valor, and when it comes to icy roads, and today I practiced discretion quite nicely.

I don’t worry about pace, cadence, or stride length in these conditions, but surprisingly, they were pretty much in line with my other runs this year and better than I was averaging in 2021. Who knows, maybe I am making some progress.

All I know is that I have to keep working at it. 

Come with me now, the best is yet to be.