Sunday, February 2, 2014

A cold streak in january

January 2014 was a very cold month. It started off with a nasty Nor'easter on its second day and then a longer arctic plunge just a few days after. After the arctic plunge finally subsided, it didn't get any worse, but the colder streak continued through the end of the month.

Throughout the United States, the first 6 days of January saw the coldest temperatures recorded in a little more than a decade. But it did not break any historical records. Temperatures around us dipped to 1° F while the windchill pushed the temperatures were well below 0° F.

Niagara Falls froze!

With temperatures this low throughout January, running was generally the last thing on people's mind. This was not true with me.

I started off the year with an agreement with my buddies that I would run at least a mile a day in January. We decided on this run streak in late December. When we were agreeing to this streak, we didn't realize that the month of January would be one of the coldest. Rahul created a Facebook event to record our daily runs in January.

I ran 5.4 miles on New Years Day. I ran 8 miles on the 2nd. 1.15 miles on the 3rd when it was 3° F and a blizzard outside.

The streak was on. Weather or its elements could not stop the streak.

I had signed up for a marathon in the first week of May and an ultra marathon in last week of May. My goal for the months leading up to May was to weight train and run. I wanted to build up endurance and strength. But I went about it a wrong way. I ran 8 miles on January 2nd and then did an enduring heavy weight training the next day, and then ran again for the next two days. My routine did not have a good form and I did not give my body any rest. The consequences of my actions were that I hurt my lower back really bad. My lower back started to bother me on January 4th and then became worse progressively. I couldn't walk properly and needed a back support and Advil to calm the pain. I did not run for 5 days because of this bad lower back pain. I made up my 1 mile by doing elliptical for 15 minutes during those days. Even though I could not run a mile, I figured that If I can do elliptical for 15 minutes, I can simulate a 1 mile run. After 5 days of limited motion, continuous cold packs attached to the lower back, Advil and rest, I finally was good to go on January 10th.

We only had to run a mile to stay true to the streak. That was easy. The body generally heats up when I run with enough layers, a hat to cover the head, gloves for the fingers and thicker socks for the feet. Thus it would be an excuse to use the cold weather as the reason for not going out for a run. In the month of January, I ran 20 days outside, 9 elliptical days and 2 days of no activity due to extreme lower back pain.

Those elliptical days were the days when I had lower back pain or my work and life not give me 15 minutes to run outside. Those were the days, when I came home really late from work and had to choose between dinner or a run. A relaxing dinner was always my choice after a full day of hard work.

January run streak helped me add miles to my body when the code temperatures could have easily forced a relaxing and sedentary lifestyle. January streak is now over and I miss the struggle to find 15 minutes for a run and the joy of finishing that 15 minutes or a longer run when I had the time.

A streak for the month of February is already setup. By living in the Northeast, I know that February is always milder than January. So the chances of us seeing another polar vortex is low, but the chances of us running through a blizzard is high. I enjoy running in any condition so I am sure February will also be a fun month.