Friday Ramble 12/11/20

Each week, the Friday Ramble offers a training snapshot along with other things that are floating around in my brain. This week: cold weather running, an ode to oats, reader questions, book recs, trail wisdom, and … a challenge. 

I have a confession to make. After talking a big game in last week’s Ramble about running in bad weather, I took a day off on Sunday because of the weather. We didn’t get much snow, but there was enough wintry mix to make things icy. In addition, we had extremely high winds that raised the possibility of falling tree limbs. 

Given the conditions, skipping the run wasn’t a particularly hard decision to make. My wife generally has the right of first refusal over things like this, and while I was considering my options, she was giving me that look that says, “Dude. Really?” 

That said, she has confidence that I won’t do anything reckless. We have an agreement that we trust each other in these situations, whether it’s my running or her outdoor adventures. (One of us almost got swept out to sea on a standup paddleboard, and it wasn’t me!) Still, she was relieved when I told her I was bagging the run. 

At this point in my running journey, I don’t have anything to prove to myself about my ability to handle inclement weather. That wasn’t always the case. I used to fall to pieces if the weather was anything but just exactly perfect. I’d whine and moan about the conditions and invariably have a lousy run because I had already psyched myself out. 

Dealing with weather was one of the key early steps in developing my mental toughness as a runner. It took some time, but I gradually began to re-frame difficult conditions as an opportunity to prepare myself for whatever comes my way on race day. I now have confidence that I can handle pretty much anything mother nature has in store for me. 

Besides, the worse the weather, the fewer people there are on the trails. That’s no small consideration in this era of COVID. I design my runs specifically to minimize human interaction as much as possible, but nothing keeps people away quite like a little cold rain and snow.

The hearty ones I do see on the trail in these conditions are invariably awesome. We wave and smile beneath our masks, knowing that we’re out here kicking ass while everyone else is warm and cozy under their covers. Damn, now I’m bummed I skipped that run. 

It does me no good to have regrets, however, because I’ve learned to not look back once I’ve made a decision to take a rest day. Trying to wedge those miles back into the plan tends to lead me down the road to injury. So, I'm cool with skipping the run even though I didn’t quite meet my goals for the week. 

Truth be told, my training has been a little more inconsistent than I’d like. Without races on the horizon, I’m searching for motivation as the year comes to a close. As I begin thinking about goals for next year and beyond, it’s time to get creative. 

With that in mind, I threw out a challenge to RP readers, and myself, at the end of this Ramble.   

What I’m eating: Off day oats 

Most mornings before I go out for my run, I eat a pretty standard runners’ breakfast: banana, toasted whole wheat english muffin, Greek yogurt, and a small cup of coffee. The yogurt’s a little weird. Most runners avoid dairy or anything that might upset their stomach, but I’ve been doing it for so long that my body knows it’s time to run when I take in those specific calories. It’s fuel. No more, no less. 

(I also do some runs on an empty stomach, but that’s a rabbit hole for another day.) 

On days when I don’t run, I like to take my time and make a big bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. The great thing about oats is you can make them pretty much any way you want and they’re generally nutritious. Still, switching from instant to steel cut was like stepping up in weight class. The extra prep time always seemed like a major hassle, but Trader Joe’s makes a version that takes less than 10 minutes to cook. 

On their own, oats are depressingly blah, so I like to think of them as a canvas on which I can paint my nutritional masterpiece. I start with a dash or two of cinnamon and add in a spoonful of hemp hearts and chia seeds. A half scoop of pea protein plays nicely with the other ingredients, providing plenty of fiber, protein, and healthy fat. 

Now that I have the base, it’s time for toppings. I’d rather go with fresh berries, but not at winter prices. Dry fruit does just fine in a pinch. Just go easy, those little bastards are sugar bombs. A handful of almonds make everything better. To top things off, I’ll drizzle some agave over top of everything. 

Voila. In 10-15 minutes I’ve made a hearty breakfast and met a bunch of nutritional needs. Not a bad way to start the morning. 

Reader question: Little help on the watch front

This week’s post on running watches prompted a number of great comments and suggestions, along with this question from Dave, who writes: 

So I'm very new to the running thing. Really started getting serious about 15 months ago - run about 3-5 times a week miles per run between 3-8 and I'm looking into getting a watch -- (I run with an iphone) I'm debating between the garmin 245 and the Apple watch series 5 gps, anyone have any suggestions? I see pros and cons for both like with the apple watch I can transfer all my data from the nike run app that I've been using (which may not be the greatest but it's got everything in there already) and it looks nice. Whereas the Garmin may be a bit bulkier but seems to have more bells and whistles. What do you think? What's the better way to go?    

First off, big ups to Dave for getting serious about his running. Having never used an Apple watch, I hesitate to offer any advice on this. If you have any thoughts, help our guy out in the comments. 

RP recommends: Good to Go by Christie Aschwanden 

Published in 2019, but new to me this year, Good to Go is hands down my favorite running book of 2020. A top-notch science writer and accomplished athlete, Aschwanden challenged many of my assumptions about the nature and science of recovery, which has become a multi-billion dollar industry. 

It turns out that most of the high-priced gimmicks and gizmos we associate with recovery are basically bunk. Whether it’s infrared pajamas or compression (one of my favorites, honestly) there’s a lot to be said for having a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to recovery tools. 

One of the most provocative claims in the book is that stretching is basically useless for runners. I wrote about the role stretching plays in my own life earlier this week. I won’t belabor the points I made in the piece, except to say that reading Good to Go caused me to reevaluate why and how I stretch. 

By the way, as Aschwanden makes clear, the most powerful recovery method we have at our disposal is sleep. No wonder tech companies are trying to find ways to monetize, and monitor, our sleeping habits. 

You can follow Aschanden on Twitter @cragcrest. Her pieces for Medium are always interesting and informative. 

Trail wisdom

I was deep into a run on Monday, enjoying one of those days when everything falls into place when I encountered a man walking with his dog on the trail. No big deal, but I’ve made an extra effort during the pandemic to be as chill as possible whenever I run up on someone in the woods. 

I called out my presence so I didn’t startle them, and slowed down so we could pass each other comfortably while maintaining our physical distance. I’ve found that simple acts of kindness go an awful long way toward building positive trail karma. 

As I took a step off trail to let them pass, the man’s dog meandered over to see what I was all about. “Hey dog,” I said. “I’m not that interesting.” 

Without missing a beat, the man turned and said in a big booming Boston accent, “Yes you aahhhhhh!” 

Felt pretty good. 

A challenge for RP readers 

As I mentioned earlier, motivation is hard to find right now. It’s getting colder, the days are shorter, and the possibility of a race-less 2021 is hitting me kind of hard. It’s time to change the energy. 

Here’s what I’m proposing: challenge yourself to do something you’ve been meaning to do, whether it’s running that extra mile, exploring that new loop, or charging up that hill you always avoid. It can be as simple as remembering to take a few deep breaths or as badass as trying to set an FKT on the Backbone Trail in the Malibu mountains (Go get it, Avery.)  

Knock it out, post it in the comments, or tweet me at @pflanns. Or just keep it to yourself and be proud of the effort. Have a great weekend and stay safe on your runs.