Weather Fatigue

Thursday Workout: 7 miles, 5 tempo (9:44), Pace Gloves
Friday Workout: 4 miles, 10:52 average, Connects

I work over there-ish. And run over there-ish. And live up there-ish.

Thursday was tempo day! My second tempo effort. It went really well. The snow on the trail was packed down (unlike last week) so I didn't have to spend the whole time unsuccessfully searching for ice-free sidewalk. My one complaint is about my stupid garmin (love you, garmin). I had it set to display current lap pace so I could include my warm-up mile as part of the same workout but also make sure I was sticking to my goal pace once I started the tempo miles. For some reason, though, it seemed like my garmin's satellite signal reset with every mile. It would be right at 9:44 but then jump to 12:xx once the next lap started. I would then spend the next 3-4 minutes running what I believe to be much faster than 9:44 to "catch up." Frustrating indeed. I know I shouldn't be such a slave to a stupid watch, but part of me thought it was accurate and wanted to make sure I did the workout as prescribed. I finished the workout feeling great but likely more spent than I would have had I kept a more consistent pace.

At least it looks reasonably consistent

Yesterday was a boring 4 miles after work. I had forgotten how much I enjoy running at that time. It's now light until around 8:30 (how did that happen?!), so I can run pretty much whenever I want. It's annoying to have to monitor your food intake all day to make sure you're properly fed (but not over-fed) for your run, but I feel like I have more energy that time of day. "Energy" shouldn't be confused with "alertness" or "awakeness" (that's not a word). I just mean that my legs seem to move better than time of day. It always surprised me in New York how, after a long, tiresome day at work with quite a few miles on my legs (walking 3 miles to work and running around campus all day once I got there), my runs actually felt easier than they did when I did them in the morning. Running is funny.

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And now, because things have been entirely too peppy 'round these parts recently, and because I need to live up to the "Mean Jean" moniker given to me in college (it was a joke, I swear!), I present you with a rant (you've been warned!):

Guys, I've got some pretty intense weather-complaining fatigue. The interblogs have been awash with "OMG IT'S SNOWING COULD LIFE BE ANY WORSE" and it's more than a little tiresome at this point. I'm looking at you, East Coast. I don't want to get too bitchy about this (it's just the weather, after all!), but I think it's worth a paragraph or two (or twelve; brevity is not my specialty).

[updated to add: when I say East Coasters, I'm really just referring to Northeasterners: New Englanders + their friends immediately to the south. My bad]

Here's the thing: East Coasters talk incessantly about how hardy they are, but I don't think I've met a group of people that whines more about the weather. From what I can remember (which, admittedly, may be wrong), most of the East Coast didn't have any snow on the ground until at least the end of December, if not later. Remember when everyone was moaning about not being able to ski? Well, now you've got snow. It's sticking around later than usual. Snow can make life difficult, especially if you're a runner. But guys, this isn't your first time 'round the block. You seem to forget where you live. As you're always reminding the rest of us, you live on the East Coast, land of crazy weather. So when you experience that crazy weather, chill out. Two months from now you're all going to be complaining about how it's too damn hot. My theory is that East Coasters hate 90% of the weather they're given.

I am most definitely not exempt from this. I complain a lot about certain kinds of weather. Or, more specifically, certain temperatures. I don't really mind what's happening with precipitation, as long as it's cooler than 65 degrees. I am SO MEAN when it's hot out, not to mention the least productive member of society ever. But at least I'm consistent with what I don't like. Cool temperatures = great. Hot temperatures = hell. It's that simple. Find what you like and stick with it. If you can't stand the East Coast's weather, maybe you should make a long-term plan to hightail it out of there.

I should probably take the time to say that I'm not actually "angry" about this. I guess I'm more puzzled than anything else (and, as I mentioned, a little fatigued). Most of the blogs I read are written by East Coasters, and they're great. Some of their writers have occasionally complained about the weather. That's fine. I still think you're awesome people. Think of this as anthropological examination of a foreign culture (does that even make sense? I'm going to go with no). Or think of me as a mega-bitch - whatever floats your boat!

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Speaking of weather, our insane sun streak is over. OMG COULD LIFE BE ANY WORSE?! Just kidding. We all knew that wasn't going to last. It was pretty fantastic, though. Now we've got some fat snowflakes coming down. In the continued spirit of putting my training plan above my desire to run outside in conditions that won't allow me to hit my desired paces (longest link ever!), I think today's 6 miles will be done on the treadmill. I've got 10 miles tomorrow which literally have to be done outside (because when it comes to treadmills, and maybe life in general, I've got the mental fortitude of an amoeba), so hopefully my new flat happy place will come through for me.

Have a wonderful weekend, y'all!

Let's talk:

• Is there something you find yourself complaining about incessantly? I'll go first: I need to stop complaining so much about sleep. 
• Am I being too hard on East Coasters? Lay it on me, I can take it.
• Have you ever had issues with using the current lap pace function on your garmin? Have you had issues with the satellites possibly resetting with each lap?
• TELL ME ABOUT YOUR WEATHER, if you dare!