Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Weather

I grew up in Northwest Ohio and moved to central New Mexico as a young adult. One of the things I had to learn when I moved was how to plan for high desert weather. Two important points:

1) The coldest part of the day is actually the half hour just as the sun goes up. This is due to thermal conditions. I observed this today. It was ~31 when I woke up, and dipped down to 29 as the sun started to rise. Brrrrr.

2) The combination of high altitude and sunny skies means more heat loss when then sun sets than what I grew up with. There simply isn't anything to hold the warm air to the earth, and we experience ~30 deg difference between the low and high temp for the day. This is useful for knowing how to dress for the day. Also useful for deciding whether to run morning or evening.

With that in mind, here is the forcast for the week.


I would like to begin by saying that they LIED when saying the low for today would be 35. It was much colder than that when I woke up. I suspect the high won't quite make 60 deg. I wasn't quite ready to don my winter gear and head out in the cold, so I decided to postpone until the evening. At that time it will probably mid 50s and falling. I plan to wear capris and probably a long sleeve over a sleeveless shirt. I wouldn't be surprised if I find that I've over dressed once I start moving.

Thursday I will try to run in the morning. It is supposed to be low forties and rising. To me that is more palatable than low thirties like today. More importantly it is supposed to be same in the morning as race day (trust me on this even though I'm not showing Sunday in the snip above). That means I may get a chance to test my race day outfit (which is still tbd) to see how it works with the weather.

Of course weather predictions are always subject to change, so we'll see what really happens...

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Note to self: I ended up wearing my Lotta Breeze Capris and teal long sleeve Nike shirt this evening. It was perfect for starting temp ~55, ending temp ~50

17 comments:

  1. ahhh, the challenges of weather and light. This is the most volume I've done this late in the year. It's proving to be complicated :-)

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  2. Who knew there was so much to consider when it comes to the weather? Your lows are actually lower than ours this week!

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  3. Yes you are way colder than we are too. We're dealing with uber strong winds.

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  4. I had quite the experience when I moved from always hot Arizona to seasons unpredictable Ohio. Still getting use to it. Though I prefer Ohio weather

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  5. That is interesting about the huge difference between the lows and highs for you!

    I still think I would prefer experience all the weather changes of North Dakota. I know, crazy.

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  6. Other than cool mornings, that weather looks great! I hope I don't freeze at MCM!

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  7. Weird weather lately! Think we're getting some of the craziness now ;)

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  8. I'm jealous of your weather. It was downright HUMID here today.

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  9. I ran in Rapid City SD today in 40 mph wind. It was about 45 degrees out and I thought I was going to freeze to death.

    Good post.

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  10. Well, at least the sun appears to be out. We are having rain ... and plenty of it! Enjoy your runs. As they always say: There is no bad weather, only bad dress choices.

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  11. I knew factoid #1. It is tough to dress for fall/winter running because you don't want to be too hot or too cold. And then I am extra picky and I also dont want to strip off layers ad have to carry them ;) As for weather reports, they are rarely believable :)

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  12. Wow those are pretty big swings in temperatures in one day. I struggle with fall attire too because the temperatures can be chilly one day and warm the next. Like today...it's pushing 80...wth DC weather?

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  13. So that means I would be a lunchtime runner!

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  14. I grew up in NW Ohio too!

    Ohio weather is equally silly this time of year. For a few days, the temperature ranged from 31 to 77 degrees. I wake up and walk outside in my pj's before I decide what to wear for my run.

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  15. That is very interesting about the weather that you have in New Mexico. It is so much colder than I would of expected it to be. I know that I will be whining once I have to bundle up and run in the snow and cold. It usually takes me a few weeks to get used to it. Come January I will be running in below zero temps:)

    Have a wonderful day Lisa!

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  16. I grew up in Texas and then moved to the Midwest then to Spain then back to the Midwest and now to the upper Midwest. I don't know if I will be able to hack the below zero temps here. And that's part of the reason why I have a 'mill.

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