Running in the Dark

So, I usually run in the very early morning when it is still dark out. This leads to some interesting issues that I thought I might share. First off is the obvious darkness, this is easy to deal with given enough street lights. Unfortunately, not all the roads that I run have adequate lighting. My solution? Also obvious, a flashlight. However, while did start out with a normal flashlight, I have since advance (thanks to a present from my wonderful wife this past Christmas) to a rather high tech flashlight. The function that I find most useful of the flashlight I currently carry is the fact that it can change through a veritable rainbow of colors. Also, it has the ability to flash these colors in succession rather quickly. This function combined with the fact that this is a super bright LED flashlight helps me to feel safe running down the back roads sans street lighting.

Another issue that I am still trying to find the perfect solution for is the cold temperatures. Upstate NY is not known for balmy winters and this year has been no exception to that rule. I have gone through several combinations of various clothes and am still searching for the perfect set. This morning I stepped out wearing cotton thermals, a plain white tee-shirt, cotton sweatshirt, jeans, a jacket with insulated lining, convertible gloves/mittens, and an alpaca wool skull cap. This getup worked fairly well except that my lips and nose were quite cold by the end of my usual thirty minutes of running. So, as of right now, I am in search of something that will keep my lower face region warm, but still allow for adequate breathing (I tried a fleece neck warmer, but it didn't breath well enough and I felt as though I wasn't getting enough air.) If anyone reading this has any low cost suggestions, please feel free to comment.

Puddles

So, it rained here yesterday. A lot. As usual this created many puddles. Unfortunately, I did not anticipate the combination of bad sidewalk, no street lights and early morning darkness. Therefore, I ended up wading through several puddles before I decided to pull out my trusty flashlight. This helped only somewhat as several puddles were cleverly disguising themselves as slabs of sidewalk. The ice grips that my wife gave me for Christmas were somewhat helpful in avoiding the shallower puddles that I couldn't see, as they provided my shoes with an extra quarter of an inch of lift.

Also, I was shocked to see the virtual lake that had developed in front of the local gas station. Of course these puddles were thankfully not an issue on the highway as that has adequate slope that the water runs off. The only problem there was that the water was not running fast enough to prevent freezing. Which was not a problem for the cars, but the side of the roads don't always get the best salting.

As you may have already guessed, I did survive, but it was a run for the record books as far as puddles go.

Advice: Always carry a flashlight.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! This is going to be a blog about running (encase you couldn't figure that out already). I have started running for my health and found that it is somewhat enjoyable, however, I am having issues staying motivated. So, I decided that writing a blog about my running experiences might be a good way to keep me motivated and on top of things.

I have been running for about two months now and it is starting to get really cold here. I was going to title this blog "Running on Ice" because I have found that to be the biggest challenge so far, but that title has already been taken by tc at. I have subscribed to her blog at http://runningonice.blogspot.com/. Anyways, I think my next post will be about how I overcame the challenge of running on ice.

I also plan to cover snowplow dodging, dog avoidance, winter running outerwear, flashlights, and anything else I find interesting about running. Please feel free to comment on anything, I welcome the conversation.