Remarkably, I don’t regret it.  Moreover, I feel it was worth it, because it was that cold.  The thermometer and the weather station say it’s warmer today than yesterday, but they lie.  Even now, after changing every article of clothing right down to my underwear, using a hair dryer to warm my head and hands, and two steaming mugs of tea later, I’m convinced I’ll never train for a spring marathon, not even Boston.

Okay, maybe Boston.

However, until that day comes I’m going to explore the value of doing doubles vs. long runs, if I have to stay here in TO much longer.

Just this morning I was looking at all the Torontonians who had posted 10+K runs, wearing that suspicious bravado Canadians seem to fall back on as a kinder, gentler form of nationalism. It didn’t seem credible that running in single-digit temps with a stiff wind could possibly be fun. But damn if it isn’t true. In spite of no footing at all and tight hamstrings, it was a great feeling to be outside.

I didn’t bring the Nike Sportband with me, so that review will have to wait. The only Nike shoes I have with me right now are the Lunarglides which I haven’t run in before. I don’t like taking new equipment out in uncertain conditions. Especially with the snow, I couldn’t tell if they’d aggravate the ITBS I just coaxed out of my right leg, but guess what? After all that crying and moaning I’ve been doing the last 2 days, I found my Polar do-hickey! See? Whining works.

I’ve been tempted by the Nike+ system ever since it came out, but never plunked down my money. (That’s roughly 5 years of resistance.) At first it was because I had already bought one of the classic iPods and didn’t need a nano, and then it was because I really preferred my tiny iPod shuffle. I still do. However last summer, Nike produced what is essentially a thumb drive on a bracelet that will collect the signal from the shoe transmitter. Having lost that Polar do-hickey, I was in a vulnerable condition and was finally parted with my money.

I wish I could put it on my favourite things list, because I really want to like it. It’s simple, and satisfies the minimalist in me. Although I love data, and always want more of it, I also have periods when I just want to run without thinking, without analysing and without having any particular goal. Usually, I feel this way when my running is in the toilet. Looking at the data evokes a sense of despair, which I try to avoid confronting when it’s 9*F and blowing snow outside.

The Nike Sportband would fit perfectly with my current mood. At the moment, I try to log runs without looking at the data at all. I just leave it collecting until I feel ready for judgment day. Well, I haven’t taken it for a run yet, but the Sportband already feels clumsy and temperamental. The software is horribly, tragically bad. The setup was confusing, required installing other components, and poorly documented.

In an attempt to make it seem simple, Nike describes the steps with stick-figure drawings only. No words. A picture is worth a thousand words, but they skipped the drawing of the runner wading through molasses as they try to sync the Sportband. I don’t know how well the software works if you use an iPod instead but if it’s anything like this, it’s an embarrassment to Apple.

I had a fantastic run today! I just love being able to start a new year like that. I used to schedule a long run + a mile or two on new year’s day, so that it would stand as my longest run for the month, season or whatever. This year, I couldn’t do that thanks to my injury, but it was a great feeling — all 50 minutes of it. I’m so glad I let myself skip yesterday’s run in the rain.

It was windy, and cold and snowing, but it was awesome. My hip and knees were absolutely silky the entire time. The only thing I could have asked for was a little more speed, but that’s okay. I can wait. For now, I’m basking in the golden sun of the best run I’ve had in 3 weeks.

I’m not shy about getting wet, but when it’s between 30 – 40 degrees, I try to keep it short. Currently, short equals about 2 miles, which is how I got to my verdict about a waste of running clothes. I’m rehabbing a stubborn ITB, and I’m not training for anything, but I was just forced to take 10 days off. I just had a day off yesterday. If I keep running, this would be my first full week of running mostly pain-free.

However, I realised I didn’t expect, and probably wouldn’t get much joy out of this run. Even in the best of conditions, 2 miles is really too short to get into a groove. It’s mostly a placeholder for a running day which I intend to grow into more serious mileage later.

It’s amazing how much ruminating it takes me to skip a run.

Currently my standard practice for rehabilitating my injury is to ice my hip and knee with something that’s meant to chill a lunch suitable for a brick layer. It’s colder than my meagre vocabulary can describe, and yet it’s infinitely more palatable than sitting in a bathtub with two trays of ice, so I count myself lucky. I do this three times a day, and I still maintain I have it pretty good.

So it occurs to me, at what point do you finally relent to pharmacological or other medical interventions? Two advil would silken my hip and knees nicely in just 30 minutes. A cortisone shot would fix me up for all of 2010. Compare that to my icing-stretching-roller-contorting routine that soaks up no less than an hour and a half every day. I spend more time rehabbing than I do running. I’ve been doing this for 2 weeks and will probably have to keep doing it for two more.

What, stop running? Who said that?!