4/26/2009 8:32 PM   

Running of the shoulders:

As we look towards another week of potentially wet weather, I’m reminded of last weekend’s snowstorm and the challenge of avoiding the treadmill for my long training run.

My coach had me down for a 10 mile easy run to be done either Saturday or Sunday. Saturday was out for sure. Where I live in Lone Tree, the snow was still falling most of the day on Saturday. In fact it didn’t stop until about 5pm.

So, I turned my focus to Sunday, which posed a few obstacles. For starters, my usual running path and the sidewalks were covered with several inches of snow. The shoulders on most of the main roads were clear, but covered with water and/or flooded in many locations. The streets were fairly dry, but running down the middle of Lincoln Avenue didn’t sound like the safest idea for some reason.

My solution: get up as the sun rose on Sunday morning, run the shoulders and avoid icy spots for the first couple miles, then as the sun warmed things up, deal with some wet but not slushy conditions for the remainder. To my surprise, the plan worked perfect.

I concentrated on avoiding a few dicey spots the first few miles and then before I knew it, the sun did its job and my running shoes were cruising on the pavement. Intersections had yet to start flooding and I soon found myself lost in my thoughts and actually ran 10 ½ miles.

Moral of the story: even in the worst of weather, many times you can find a way to get out and run or walk... it just takes a little creativity and pre-planning.

Speaking of pre-planning, here’s a tip: for my early morning weekend runs, I check the weather forecast and set out everything I need the night before (clothes, socks, shoes, heart rate monitor, Garmin, ROAD ID, Fuel Belt, Clif Shot Blocs, MP3 player, etc). That way I wake up, get dressed, eat a quick snack, and go. I don’t waste any time trying to find my stuff in the pre-dawn light which is really still dark. More importantly I don’t wake up my husband and kids in the process. I love getting out before they are awake (mostly because if someone is up, they want to talk and that delays the whole “getting out the door” quickly strategy). Plus, by the time I come home, everyone is up and ready for me to make a bunch of pancakes – especially me!!

Susie Wargin is the morning sports anchor at 9News and is again running the ½ marathon distance this year. She can’t wait to turn 40 next year and be in the next age group.

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