The first half of the holiday season has passed, and this week, the second half will be celebrated. With runners, it is fun to try out the new outfits or shoes that they got for Christmas. It is fun to wear new clothes or shoes whether it is a Christmas present or a gift you bought yourself out of needing new shoes. The problem with the weather this past week was that it was on the warm side. That new running outfit will be too warm to wear, and cooler weather might not arrive until next week – or next year. A friend bought a rain suit for running when it rains. He couldn’t wait to try it out. This was in the early fall, and the temperatures were on the warm side. The first good rain he had was out on the road in his new rain suit. A rain suit is water proof and also wind proof to keep you dry on a cool, windy day. He ran about a block and that rain suit became a sweat box. The rain suit kept the rain off of him, but the build-up of sweat had him soaked anyway. From experience, I found that when you break in a new pair of running shoes it is best to take a short run. It takes time for the shoe to “fit” your foot and not have a spot that will rub a blister on your toes or heel from not adjusting to the shape of your foot. If the shoe is a brand that is not the same brand you run in normally, it may take a few runs to adjust to the different foot plant this shoe follows. When you have runners that are pronators, supinators, heel strikers, toe strikers or neutral foot strikers, a new brand can lead to problems. Christmas gifts for your running friend are a very nice gift, but hopefully the friend is a runner that knows how to use the new gift.
The second half of the holiday season is New Year’s Day, and one of the traditions for many is the welcoming in of the New Year. Did you stay home and watch the fall of the ball in New York’s Times Square with people cheering, or did you attend a party with friends? My early recollection of being the oldest sibling in the family meant I was the designated baby sitter for my two younger sisters. I felt that I should do something special to welcome the New Year in. My first several times participating in the welcoming in of the New Year involved standing on my hands as the New Year came in. I would watch the television or listen to the countdown on the radio, and just about two minutes before the stroke of midnight, I would do a handstand in the living room. Nobody saw me as my sisters were already asleep, and I had the house to myself.
For a runner the way to welcome the New Year is to run the year in. What a great way to enjoy the New Year — with a running start. You can put on new running shoes and clothes and go for a run after midnight. The start of the run may be at 11:30 p.m., and it can continue until 12:30 for a healthy running start to the New Year. This sounds like a great way to start the New Year, but it is not without its consequences. A majority of people celebrating the start of the New Year are not runners and celebrate in a different way at a party with friends. For the runner trying to get a few miles in with the stroke of midnight, they will have to deal with the other people who celebrated. Several things need to be considered. One, it is dark outside, so a runner will need some reflective clothes and a flashing light. Whether it is a flashing red light on your hat or a flashlight in your hand, a light is a necessity. The flashlight serves two purposes. One is visibility to any oncoming traffic, and the other purpose is to check the road ahead of you for potholes, objects in the road or a crack that can turn an ankle. And it is better to wear as much reflective clothes as you can. A simple belt around the waist is not sufficient for having a driver see you in their headlights. A vest like the one that road crew members wear is a much better option. A very important consideration is to understand that there are a few Page 11A • drivers that have had too much to drink at the party and have slower reaction time. Pick your running route where there are sidewalks or very little traffic to contend with. This might be a good time to put your welcome run to the New Year on a high school track and put your miles running around a circle with no traffic.
The best part of this time of year, for many people, is looking forward to newer and better things ahead. Many friends from out of state may show up to visit and catch up on old times. People seem to be in a happier mood between the celebrations for Christmas and the positive outlook for the New Year, which means they are generally nicer to be around. And if you need something to think about on that welcoming run for the New Year, you can always start by listing your resolutions for the coming year.
Moe Johnson Running with Moe
