How to Run When It's Icy

During the winter, I get asked a lot about how to run when it's icy outside. It's a great question, because the last thing you want to happen is to slip and fall and end up injured and losing the winter to build up your mileage base. Below are my top 3 suggestions:

Suggestion 1: Don't Run

I know that may sound funny coming from a running coach, "Don't run", but honestly, I'd rather you stay healthy and not risk it. Stay in, run inside on a treadmill, or do some other form of cross training like a stationary bike, swim at an indoor pool, etc. Also, keep in mind, if you run consistently, missing a day or two is not going to hurt your performance. In fact, it may even help by forcing you to rest, giving your body a chance to rest and recover from prior workouts.

Suggestion 2: Run Very Carefully

If you love racking up the mileage and insist on running, then try shortening your stride. Taking smaller, more frequent steps will help you keep better traction and reduce the risk of a slip and fall incident. If you can, find snowy parts as the snow will give your traction whereas ice will just be slick.

You can also drop you arms out to the sides and lower than normal and use them for balance the way a tight rope walker would. It may sound funny, but it helps.

Suggestion 3: Use Crampons or Ice Cleats

If you live up north, where it can be icy and slick for days upon days, you may want to invest in a pair of slip-on crampons, also sometimes called Ice-Cleats. these slip over your runnin shoes and have sharp nodules on the bottom that will bite into the ice and give you traction, similar to the way chains on tires work for your car. Below, I have a link to a great amazon product. By using the link below, you will help support this site as I will receive a small commission.

Timex Ironman Watch Review: My Favorite Running Gear

In my opinion, the Timex Ironman Watch is the best, most affordable running watch you can buy. I’ve used the ironman watch for as long as I can remember. In fact, in the beginning, it would record only 8 splits for you which I thought was the coolest thing since my favorite workout was doing 6 – 8 x 400m repeats. This was way back in high school. I’m not so crazy anymore. So what’s so great about this watch when there are so many fancy smart watches out there? Let’s take a look shall we?

PRICE

First of all, the price can’t be beat in my opinion. For all that this watch does, and for as tough as it is, I think a good sport watch under $50 is a steal.

QUALITY

This watch is amazing. It’s water resistant up to 100m, I’m constantly banging my arm on things and I’ve never in all the years I’ve owned one, had any issues with the buttons not working or the band breaking.

EASY TO USE

When you first get the watch, assuming you haven’t had one before, it can seem a little confusing but if you just take a breath and look at the buttons, they are very intuitive.  Basically there are five buttons.

Bottom Left: Mode Button takes you from the time and date screen to the Chrono or Stopwatch mode.  Press it again it takes you to the timer mode. Next are Occasion, Alarm 1, Alarm 2 and Alarm 3.  The timer mode that I mentioned is a great feature because not only will it countdown, but you can have it repeat!  What does that mean?  Let’s say you’re doing my free Couch to 5K running plan.  The plan calls for running a minute and walking a minute.  You can set the timer on repeat so that after it counts down from a minute, an alarm goes off and it begins counting down again.  All you have to do is keep track of what you’re doing when the alarm goes off.  Run or walk!

Top Left: Set/Recall is the button you use to either set your time and date initially or to recall your splits.  When setting up your watch initially, you simply press and hold “set” and then press “Mode” to scroll through setting up the time, date, year, 12/24 hr format, etc.

Top Right: Indigo Light button. This is one of my favorite features of this watch.  Whether it’s early morning or late at night, it can be hard to see you watch display.  The old lights really just lit up one corner of the watch and was still barely readable.  The indigo light however, illuminates all the text and numbers in a bright blue/green color so it’s super easy to read.

Bottom Right: Stop/Reset button.  This is pretty self explanatory.  If you’re timing something and you want to stop, simply press “stop”.  If you’re using a countdown timer, when you’re done with it, simply hit “reset” to take it back to the setting you entered.  For example, if you set a countdown time for 15 minutes but finished a little early.  You can hit reset and it will reset the timer back to 15 minutes.

Bottom Center: Stop/Split button. Again, pretty obvious what this button does.  If you are using the stopwatch, this starts it.  press it again to grab a split.  Maybe you’re on a track doing laps or you want to compare your out and back times. Regardless, it’s a great feature and the button is so big and central, you can’t mess it up.

CONS OF THE TIMEX?

If you want a watch that tracks your sleep or your steps then this is not for you. If you're looking for a GPS watch, this watch is not for you. I also would prefer the stop and mode buttons switch places.  To me, it would feel more natural to stop the stopwatch with my thumb if it was the bottom left button but honestly it’s not that big of a deal. It’s just ergonomics.

SUMMARY

If you’re looking for a great, reliable watch that will gives you a countdown timer, a stopwatch, has multiple alarms and occasion reminders, as well as recording up to 30 splits, then this is the watch for you!  One other great feature for me in a world of tech, is I don’t ever have to plug it in!  I have to charge my phone, my iPad, my Fitbit (another review coming soon) and my Bluetooth headphones. It’s so refreshing and easy to just grab my watch knowing it will be ready and won’t run out of charge on my run.

If you are interested in buying a Timex Ironman, please consider supporting this site by using the link below. I have partnered with Amazon as an affiliate and so I will make a small commission from your purchase.

Sub 8 Mile Attempt: Update

Well, my last post was October 11th when I ran a test mile to see where I was starting from. Turns out, I was very close to an 8 minute mile as my time was 8:15. I was super excited to train and hit my goal of sub 8. 

Life Finds a Way...to Screw up Progress

Well....Life happened. My job ramped up as soon as the election started gearing up. Absentees went crazy this year due to Covid-19. Early voting started in Mid-October. Election Day in early November. Since then, we have had Canvass (where we certify the election), a Statewide recount and now the possibility of an eye-hand recount. Needless to say, my running and my 5K progress all came to a screeching halt. 

I was running 2 miles almost daily with a 5 mile long run and my 5K was sub-30 which was my initial goal. After my 8:15 mile, I found it much easier to run faster times for my 2 and 3 mile routes. I think I got over excited and wasn't resting as well as I should have. Also, I was missing a week at a time and only running on weekends. Needless to say, old injuries starting hinting that they would reappear. I took time off to focus on work. As a result, I'm basically starting somewhat over. 

Hitting the Re-set Button

I have been running just a mile every other day, and this past week 1.5 miles every other day to ease back into things. My job is still crazy - yesterday I spent the day driving all over the State - but not as bad as it was the last two months. I feel good and have my winter running gear ready so I'm not going to let the cold stop me.

I will gradually up my mileage 5-10% each week and start adding back a longer run.  My goal is to hit the track once per week for speedwork like quarter repeats and get my mile below 8. 

Keep checking back for my progress and hopefully I inspire you to keep running, or get back into it.

Happy Trails!

 

Mile Time Trial - I Now Have a Starting Point

Chasing an 8 Minute Mile

For those of you that follow, you know I set out this year with a goal to run a 5K. I did that. Then I set a goal to run a sub-30 5K. I did that running a 28:39! My latest goal is to continue to get faster. But rather than set a new 5K goal, I figured what I need is speed. As a result, I decided I'd do a mile time trial to see where I'm at "speed" wise and go from there. My short term goal for the mile is to break 8:00 minutes. I assumed given how I feel on my 5K runs that I'd be able to knock out an 8:45-8:55 mile. 

The Result of my First Time Trial

I was pleasantly surprised when I crossed the line this weekend in 8:15! I'm so close to breaking an 8:00 minute mile. Once I accomplish this, I'll then set goals in 30 second increments. I don't plan to ever get back to my glory days of a 5:00 minute mile, but who knows? I've got the rest of my life to try, right? 

Here's the first video in my pursut of my short term goal of an 8:00 minute mile.

Stay tuned and check back with me as I try to break 8, then 7:30, then 7:00 and so on. The benefit of getting a faster mile, is of course a faster 5K so it's a win-win for me.

Happy Trails!

SUB 30:00 5K - ACHIEVED!!

For those of you that follow me, you know at the beginning of the year, I couldn't even run a mile without 4 or 5 walk breaks. I had heel pain, hip pain...it was awful! But I stopped trying to run like the old me and instead trained myself the way I'd train a client. Let me tell you, that was not easy. I'm stubborn and think I should be able to dive right back into running so slowing down and following a program was tough. 

A while back I successfully ran a 5K distance which was my main goal to work up to. My next goal was to try and break 30 minutes. I was able to accomplish this much faster than I thought I would. See the video below:

How I Did It

I ran every other day and ran a tempo run at least once or twice per week. I also ran a long run once per week which at first was two miles, but over time became 5. 

For strength, I did push ups every other day to develop arm strength for the all important arm swing. Move your arms, and your legs will follow.

What's Next?

Now that I'm under 30 minutes for the 5K, I plan to up my long run to a 10K once per week, increase my every other day runs to a 5K distance, up from my current 2-3 miles and continue to do push ups. I do plan to add speed work to my routine once or twice per week and try to get my mile time down to an 8 minute mile. In all honesty, I have no idea how fast I can run a mile. I'm going to see this coming weekend. I feel I can run an 8:45 or maybe a little faster.

By lowering my mile time, I will of course lower my 5K time, which is what I really hope to accomplish as I continue to run. 

Continue to follow me here or on my YouTube channel. Just look for the Asheville Running Coach and make sure to like and subscribe. You can also follow me on Instagram @ashevillerunningcoach.

Happy Trails!

Quest to Run a Sub-30K

Major Sub-Goal Achieved!

Today I achieved a huge milestone for me! I ran 5.04 miles non-stop! I was so exited!! I went out knowing I was going to run at least 4.1 and then if I felt up to it, I was going to add on a mile loop in my neighborhood. I got back home in 4.1 miles and felt really good so off I went! 

The extra mile actually felt better than some of the other miles, believe it or not. Below, is my YouTube post about my experience today.

So why was I so excited about 5 miles? Well, back in January, I weighed 197 lbs. I could not even run 1 mile without several walk breaks and even then I had really bad foot pain. Plantar Fasciitis is nothing to play with, let me tell you. Don't even get me started on the hip pain!

So what Changed?

A lot has changed! Instead of going out and trying to run like the old me that could roll out of bed and run 13.1 with no training, I decided to be my own client. That's right! I wrote myself a training plan for a former runner, overweight, over 50 with no flexibility, hip pain, foot pain and a major loss of motivation. It was a real wakeup call to see it on paper. 

I started out with just a 1.5 mile loop that I would walk/run and gradually I ran more and more. I started warming up and cooling down, adding some strength training to the mix and stretches for my hip and foot. As that got easier, I added in a long run and then each week or two, I'd increase slightly.  And here I am today, running 5+ miles non-stop, with no pain!

I'm also down to 171 lbs. which I know has made a huge difference. Keep following my journey. Now that I'm back to being able to run a 5K, I'm on a quest to run one faster than 30 minutes! Wish me luck!

Running & Weight Loss Success Story

Yesterday was the end of my 12 week Weight Watcher's Challenge. As I mentioned in my last post, I started 2020 at 197 lbs. It just seemed to creep up over an 8 year period when I went back to work after being a stay-at-home dad for almost a decade. I lost some weight thanks to a Gym Challenge I participated in and got down to 177 at one point, but thanks to Covid, finished at 185. After the challenge, I went back up to 191, and said enough is enough. 

I Needed Accountability

I started running again and even joined Weight Watchers so I felt I'd have some accountability. I can do exercise no problem, but I needed to really eat better. I love fast food, ice cream, chips, beer, etc...So I joined Weight Watchers. I signed up for a 12 Week discounted plan and figured I'd see what I could do in 12 weeks. Long story short, I started at 191 lbs. and ended at 174.8. 

Visible Results in 12 Weeks!

I have to say that my stomach is so much flatter. I even have some abs if I flex. I feel and look so much better now. An added benefit of the weight loss is that my times are getting much better too. Just the other day, I took 24 seconds off my two mile time! 

I am now 6 weeks out from my birthday so I'm going to continue with Weight Watchers and of course running and see if I can down to 160 lbs. which is what I was before i went back to work in 2012.  My ideal weight would be 150, but I think almost 25 lbs in 6 weeks is too much to lose in that period of time. The general rule of thumb is 1-2 lbs per week, so even getting to 160 (a 15lb loss) is going to be tough in 12 weeks without losing muscle.