Winter Weather Brings the "Runs"

With the cold temperatures and unsure weather conditions over the last month, my ability to get on the bike has been a little difficult. I somehow snuck in about 70 miles over the course of January, but I haven't been able to commit to any work commutes with weather so questionable.

My main source of exercise has been at the gym. As of recently, I have been logging nights with as much as 3 hours doing classes and cardio machines. With my cycling outlet in the near future coming from the spinning class I take on Thursdays, I have been getting back into running...a little bit.

In the fall, I would dabble a bit on a treadmill and worked myself up to running for a full hour at a reasonable pace without having to stop or slow down. With any workout, I had my good days and bad days.

December was a bad month as my lower back flared up and I was afraid to run extensively and put any undo pressure on it until I could get it to settle down. For those of you who don't know, I was hit by a car in May 2008 and suffered a compression fracture of my T-12 vertebrae.

Being a 34-year old with back problems doesn't help with some of the things I want to accomplish...especially those that have a physical demand. After seeing friends complete Ironman triathlons, I've started contemplating this for myself.

One of my 2010 resolutions is to learn how to swim. Once I can get myself comfortable in water, I can make this part of my training, which would get me through the first part of the race.

Cycling is not a problem. I'm not a speed demon, but I have completed 112 mile rides which would fulfill that portion.

Running might seem the easiest, but you need to run a marathon after swimming 2+ miles and cycling over 100 miles. I can only imagine how difficult it is to run a marathon. I am trying to fathom what it is like doing so after a grueling swim and bike portion that probably takes up 12 hours.

So I am going to take advantage of this crappy weather and run. Evansville is holding it first full marathon in April, but I am going to start small and attempt the 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles).

I'm going to have to learn to deal with the back pain. Treadmills are one thing...concrete will be another. I'm not trying to win. I just want to complete it and work my way up to the big goal.