Winter running - and Florida

Within my relatively short running history (most of it up north in the mitten state), winter was a period where I dialed down the miles but I would still get out there and run. After a year of training, struggling through injuries and scrambled recoveries, and running a few events, winter was almost a welcome relief. No pressure. Run for the sheer whim and fun of it.

I would run outside as long as there wasn't any ice. And if there was I'd find a treadmill or do the stairs in my house. I learned how to dress for various temperatures (thin layers), that a windbreaker is a godsend, and something for my bald head was essential. I've run in snow, while it's snowing (a very cool experience - no pun intended), sleet, and in temps as low as 8 degrees F (that was a coooold experience...).

I am now in FL, where it seems the "running season" is reversed: winter is the time to run, summer is the time to recover. And I've had an interesting time adapting. My body is saying "back off - we had a tough year last year" but the weather has, for the most part, been phenomenal. Perfect running weather. Some mornings it is as cool as 40 degrees, warming relatively quickly to 60, others it just starts out around mid 60's and tops out at maybe 75. Low humidity, sunny... In other words, perfect.

And yes, I do get out and run, knowing full well that in a few months the hot, sticky, humid weather will set in, making running a tad more difficult. If it is chilly out I'll wear a long sleeve something over my running shirt, knowing full well that as soon as the sun pops over the trees that I'll be shedding the long sleeves and tying it around my waist. This morning it was mid 40's at my start, and I had a long sleeve, a windbreaker, plus I wore gloves - within 30 minutes, as the sun got high enough over the tree tops, I was down to my running shirt with everything else tied around my waist.

What is also interesting about FL running is that unless I get to run over a bridge, most of my running territory is flat as a pancake. Absolutely zip for vertical climbs. No hills. And honestly, I kind of miss hills. Hills were (are) a challenge as they engaged different muscle groups which I think was (is) helpful overall in endurance conditioning. I can't even do the stairs in my house, simply because I don't have any.... (single story house).

So that is yet another challenge to handle... all good ;-)