Day 27: 6.03 miles today, Miles to go: 805.22… Not a ton of miles, but inching closer to my 200 milestone as well as my 100 mile in two week mini-goal (that one has 8 miles to go and is running ahead of schedule). Chilly afternoon, and even colder evening. With that being said, I thought I would share some cold weather walking tips that I looked up. I bring up this topic because of an injury I sustained a few years ago. After a few years away from running, I decided to try and train for the spring half marathon. I started JAN 1 that year with walking a few miles and worked up eventually to six mile morning runs by APR of that year. What I didn’t realize that because I was not stretching well enough for the cold weather, I was actually damaging my right hip. Eight months, one surgery, and a lot of physical therapy later, we finally had an answer to what was causing all of my pelvic/abdominal area pain. So this topic is near and dear to my heart, and with the flux of cold weather still peppered into the warmer temps we are experiencing, I just want to make sure anyone attempting to reach their spring fitness goals is “walking into” their exercise routines with both eyes open!!! So here is what I found that I hope might help all of us…
“• Allow at least 10 minutes to warm up. When it’s cold, your heart and muscles need more time to get ready.
• Wear a scarf or mask loosely over your nose and mouth to prevent the sting of icy cold air when you inhale. This is especially important if you have asthma or heart problems.
• Choose shoes with lugged soles for traction, and buy an inexpensive pair of ski or walking poles to help keep your balance. (The poles will also help you burn extra calories because your upper body is getting a workout too.)
• Take your workout indoors if you’d be risking frostbite (temperatures around -20 degrees F, including any windchill), if it’s icy, or if you’d encounter dangerous traffic.
Dress for success When you step outside, you should feel slightly chilled but not cold. During your workout, you want to feel warm, not hot and sweaty. That means you need to dress in layers so that you can take them off or put more on as needed. Here are the basics of layering: An inner layer made of synthetic fabric such as CoolMax to wick sweat away so you stay dry A middle, or insulating, layer (or two) of light-weight fleece fabric such as Polartec to keep you warm An outer layer of waterproof, breathable fabric such as Gore-Tex to buffer you from the elements and let sweat escape; and Don’t forget a hat, gloves, and sunscreen!”
From: http://www.prevention.com/term/cold-weather-and-winter-walking
You can also find cold weather stretching tips at: http://www.runningincoldweather.com/stretching-for-cold-weather-running
On a different note, last night’s run left me famished this morning, but I knew that I had a BNI 1-to-1 at 11:30 at Panera, so I was determined to hold off until then. In the meantime, it was apples and and almonds and a great big Diet Coke from McDonalds. With that being said, walking into McDonalds with its yummy smells this morning was challenging. So in lieu of ordering the biscuits and gravy that I was coveting, I thought I would share what you can get at McDonalds for under 400 calories… my favorite of which is the two apple packets for $1. At 15 calories a packet, you can’t go wrong!!!
http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/meal_bundles/favoritesunder400.html
p.s. Kudos to McDonalds for adding their calorie count to their menu board!!! As they say, “I’m lovin’ it!”
1000 Mile Mom 
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