This last Sunday I did the Cheshire Half Marathon.  Great temps (43F at the start).   Flat course.  Trained for it well.

Several weeks back I bought some hiking boots/socks, and have been doing some trail hikes to break them in.  The hiking socks are some kind of smart wool, and are pretty close to the same color as my running socks (which are not as thick).

So I accidentally picked out the hiking socks on Sunday morning, and didn't even think about them, until mile 11, where I was struggling to run.   I finished, but wasn't happy with my time.

When I got home I found that the hiking socks had crowded the small toes in my running shoes, and I had developed large blisters on the outside toes.  Natch.

We've gotten nailed by blizzards the last four Mondays (min 5, max 12").  So even though my half-marathon training has been impacted - not doing early week runs (hate running on a treadmill), we've still been able to get in the Saturday morning long-runs.

Today was our taper (only 5 miles) before next weekend's Half -  a cold run at 8F - but no wind.  I'm really sore from all of the snow-blowing and shovelling.  And we're forecasting to get 8 more inches this evening.

The folks at Hyannis hosting the Half Marathon sent out a notice that it might be cancelled/rescheduled as they already have a bunch of snow on the ground, are getting more today, and are forecasting to get more next weekend - no place for parking, streets difficult to run, safety concerns for volunteers/runners...

As part of our winter half-marathon training program, we went out this morning and did 7 miles (a taper week) but at 9F.  Luckily there was no wind.

I wore The Marmot over my usual layer of Icebreaker wool base layer, and a thicker head band.   Still the last mile I started to get cold, and having to stop a couple times for traffic lights, by the time I got back to the running store, my sweaty clothes were freezing and I was quite chilled.

I've been home for about an hour now, and I'm still cold (i.e. give me a break if Ode To Turning Fifty is not necessarily PSA Award materiel).

I heard/read a Norwegian's saying that you can't have bad weather, but you can have bad clothing.

Got out for a cool run this morning with my running group.  Funny how during the week I try to get every minute of sleep I can in the morning, but on Saturday I'm up and at 'em for the long run in any temperature (28F this morning) and any weather.

Will be doing the Moustache Run in Mpls over the Thanksgiving weekend - did it last year and really enjoyed it.

A slow, sluggish run this morning with my Fleet Feet training group.  We did 8 miles, and it was cold outside, but I fell way behind.

At the end, I was looking at my running shoes (Brooks Ghost) and realized my tread on the outer right side of both shoes had worn down considerably. I got the last pair back in Sept - surprised they had worn down so much but I have been piling on the miles.

I bought a new pair (same model), and trying them on I could tell the immediate difference.  Looking forward to the next run (and the extra hour of morning sun we'll get with daylight savings Fall Back).

Here's an interesting article on what it will take for a human to break the 2-hour marathon record (Spoiler - it's not EPO).

http://rw.runnersworld.com/sub-2/

Nice 8 mile scramble through the trails around the Mohonk Mountain Preserve trails this morning - lots of cliff climbers out there today.

Plenty of color still in the Hudson Valley, but enough of the leaves are down so you can see the geological structures of this area. - awesome.  Some spa-time at Mohonk, and Osso-bucco/Nebbiolo for dinner - not bad.

Just finished (from the Mohonk library) the book The Long Run by Matt Long - incredible account on how a NYC fireman/Ironman got nailed by a bus, destroying most of his interior - and after being  stitched back together, had the verve to run the NYC Marathon, as well as finishing IronMan at Lake Placid.  Wow.

Nice to be running in the cooler temps...

We did a 9 mile slog in heat/humidity only 3 weeks ago and I must have stopped to walk a dozen times, gasping like an amphibian washed upon some distant shore, sweating like a Gatorade ad.

Last week we polished off an easy 12 with the cooler temps.  Today was also cool and an easy 9 (taper) for the upcoming Hartford Half in two weeks.

It's really different running with other people - get into a good conversation and you don't notice the miles fly by.