Running in Canadian winters... sigh

  I woke up this morning after a Sunday "Rest Day" ready to go for a nice 5-km run to loosen up and start my week out right and was faced with 4 inches of snow that had come down through the night and now had freezing rain coming down to just finish it off. Lovely.

  Running outside is off today, at least for now. I am pretty stubborn and tempted to just throw my running stuff on and try to beat the elements, but I know better (and it only took me two years of training to learn!). The sidewalks are currently covered in a melting 2 inches of thick heavy snow, hidden patches of ice are lurking underneath and a slow steady rain is coming down. With just under three weeks to go before my next fight there is no point risking injury and sickness just to get in one run. Plus I can always wait it out and see if the sidewalks are cleared by tonight and run after training.

  Normally I run 4-5 times a week, almost always outside. While some boxers love their long winding 15-km runs each day, after getting some excellent advice from a world-class boxer, my runs have been narrowed down to two 5 km runs a week at a comfortable pace, a shorter run that ends with forwards and backwards sprints, and one run with hill-sprints or stairs in the middle. These are sufficient for keeping my weight in check, working my cardio and also building the explosive fast-twitch muscles that are so important in a fight. Since I live in Canada and I HATE being cold, I do all these runs in about 14 layers of clothing with basically only my eyes exposed to the elements when I'm out there. I look insane, I can accept this. The only time I look more insane is when I run with Horace... and he is dressed exactly the same (right down to matching running jackets). We have gotten quite used to people stopping whatever they are doing to watch us run by or jump off the sidewalk in fear as we sprint past. Getting used to all the layers takes a while but once you're used to it, boxing in simply a tanktop and shorts is great, your body recovers really well between rounds.

  When I started boxing, running was the last thing to be added. I hated running, and I mean HATED it. I grew up with very little sports in my life and now I'm being asked to strap some shoes on and go outside in all kinds of weather to be alone with just the road and my thoughts for 40 minutes every day? This was worse than torture to me. But when my coach explained how necessary boxing was to fighting, I knew there was no way around it, if I wanted to box seriously it had to happen. I started out slowly, 2-km runs with just "normal" running clothes, music blasting in my ears to keep me distracted from how much pain my knees were in. After getting my body accustomed to a better pace, more layers and adding orthotics, I graduated to "Horace's running buddy". This meant 8 am runs for longer distances, repeat sets of hills, explosive track runs and constantly trying to keep up with a man who has been running regularly for the most part of his life. But before long I noticed something - I would actually look forward to it! Once my work schedule changed, running by myself became more of a necessity. Waking up at 6:30 to head out on my own was refreshing. Music was abandoned, it was was now down to my feet, nature, and my own thoughts out there day after day. I love it. The fact that today my run has eluded me is frustrating. I sit here at my desk with a bag of running clothes staring at me and I feel lazy. Old man winter has done his best to thwart me, but I'm ready. After my boxing training tonight the layers are going on and I'm doing stair sprints in my apartment building.   There's no substitute for running outside. Treadmills cannot replicate the conditioning running outside with fresh air, mixed terrains and natural inclines. But it also means being adaptable, especially in Canada where the weather is completely unpredictable. For instance, Wednesday is set to hit a high of 10 degrees and by Friday it will drop back down to -14. So this means planning accordingly, get my running in every day it's deemed nice enough to do so, can't have any "I just don't feel like it" days. Because you never know when you'll wake up to a surprise 4 inches of snow.



P.S. - That run just became non-negotiable after finishing a piece of cake a co-worker brought in for my birthday. Damn it.