What amazes me is when you look up race results and there are those women 60 and older who ran faster than a lot of 20-50 year olds, its just so inspiring. I want to be one of those old people at the race.

Ran 8 miles outside today. It is now blizzard conditions. For some reason I had the urge to wake up early turns out that was good, I got in most of it before things got really rough. This just is reinforcement that maybe just maybe I'll make it through without having to go back to the TM.

I have ice and snow on the street and I really want to run in the early am.
I am planning to call local running store for those yak tracks but I am looking for any tips regarding safety and running ease.

One of the things I will do is run on local neighborhood roads instead of the busier more traffic roads b/c the shoulders have snow plowed onto them. If I stay in my neighborhood, and go early enough I can run in the middle of the roads where they've been sanded and salted.

Just a comment on races and age groups... I noted that the times for women age 30-35 are slower than 35-40. Think it's childbearing??

As far as running in the streets, I do it in patches where the sidewalks haven't been cleared I just run facing traffic and wear visible clothing but the streets aren't busy so I have yet to encounter a car .

I read the boards on runnersworld and there have been a few threads related to running after pregnancy. The general consensus seems to be its all in how hard you train, some women regain their previous speed others surpass it. It might just be that women in 30-35 age range are more likely to have smaller children and have less time to train.

But there is also an alternate explanation I read in the New York times that seems to suggest there is a psychological difference (i.e. more belief in one's ability to improve performance) between older and younger women that causes the former to be faster.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/health/nutrition/30Fitness.html?scp=1&sq=older%20women%20and%20runn ing&st=cse

Thanks Jackie! So it could be that ol' brain/body connection, yet again
For me, it could be either/or. -- in that i have 1 toddler, 2 nursery school age children and 1 first grader and I never really thought I'd ever be able to run fast. I'm happy to be running at all.

I'm getting in on this thread a little late!

Jackie - how long does it take you to do the 8 miles?

I did 5 miles today and try to split up 20-25 miles throughout the week. Hoping to start training for a half marathon around March and then run it in October

Typically I'm running distances longer than 5 miles at a 8:30-9:30 minutes per mile pace. I time myself and that day it took me 71 minutes to cover 8 miles and the weather was pretty bad towards the end so I was more than pleased.

Whew, I started *last night* trying to rationalize no run this morning - but I did it anyway. Whew. Thank goodness. Just my usual 3 miles.

It was interesting as I don't think I was ever so out of breath on one of my runs. I kept up my pace faster on the first half. That is definitely thanks to the effects of the past couple weeks running informal intervals on the last half. But it wore me out! Which actually felt pretty cool .

I'm thankful it didn't start to rain today until *after* my run!

OK, it was -10 with wind chill at 6a when I wanted to run today.

did 3 miles of HIIT on treadmill instead. followed by upper body weight and resistance. and 4 separate holiday shows at two different schools

s'alright with me.

I did my most miserable 5 mile run outside today. I've never been so exhausted, the extra effort or running on packed snow/ice made it feel like running on sand. Oh why do i hear that treadmill calling my name.

did 1 mile. 8.5 min/mile.
did not have too much time. but I was happy to have done that.

Happy Holidays 3fc runners

I love running, and it's going good right now, but I find myself looking forward to non-running days - just because I don't have to go out in the cold!

I did 3 miles of hill repeats in slush which was a lot better than packed snow and ice. This is my first winter in Canada and I thought 15 Michigan winters were preparation enough but I was wrong. Snow is on a whole another level here. I think the next time I see pavement, I will kiss it.

Jackie, you go girl

Thanks. Today was wonderful it was 44 deg F outside and most of the snow and ice was off the pavement. It made for the best 5 mile run I've had in a week.

FOr the first day in a long while the temperature was above freezing and I ran in rain, sleet and slush. I was so happy to be running outside I had this big jacka$$ smile on my face.

I did this run leaving Penn station NYC en route to my job about 5 miles from the train. Commuters, in general, are not necessarily a cheery bunch.

Yesterday in the rain and sleet they were almost growling. And there I was with my backpack strapped and running with my big happy smile. Well, at least for the first mile. Then I navigated some insanely slippery ice and then about 3.5 miles in I stepped into a 7inch puddle and soaked my foot, sock, and sneaker in icy cold water.

But I persevered and got to work feeling mighty darn proud of myself. We had a short day and I did the run again, reverse back to the train station. wet sock and all!

Have a wonderful day everyone