And it was cold!
Well, I went out and ran my 5.5 miles anyway. It was darn windy and the second I stepped onto the road, I regretted going. The wind cut right through my clothes and even my chest was cold. Next time I’m adding a heavy sweatshirt under my windbreaker. My wrists were cold too. The Forerunner was cold. Even the display was moving slowly. And my ankles were cold. My legs were cold. Wind went right through my sweats and the lycra I was wearing under them. And I’m not mentioning what else was cold but you can just guess how cold it was.
Enough whining?
I wore my HeadSokz hat thing. If you don’t have one but live in a cold climate, this is the thing to have. Wears like a hat that has a built-in scarf. Very warm, and I needed every bit of it today. The wind out there was just brutal.
There was 4 miles on the plan but I wanted to do 5. I went a little farther at the end of the run and then added a small detour through a closed neighborhood to finish the last mile. A small miscalculation added extra distance. At one point through this neighborhood, the wind was really strong and I tightened the strings on my Headsokz so that just one eye was peeking out. I need some skiing goggles.
At one point while I was on the main road, I realized that I was not running alone. I looked to my left and saw this big black dog with a red collar running along beside me. Just jogging along. I think he runs with his owner and got caught up in some kind of pavlovian conditioning thing and just started running with me. He gave up after a little while and headed home where it was warm. Wierd.
The last mile was pretty warm because the wind was at my back and the sun was in my face. I was able to pull the scarf back and have my face exposed. I found that opening and closing my hands as I ran, kept them warm, but I think I should wear mittens instead of gloves for the very cold days like this one.
Total time 51:11, 5.51 miles. 9:17 pace, which is just about where I wanted to be. I doubt it was very steady throughout the run because I was real slow going into the wind.
My poor wife has to work tonight and being the awful husband that I am, I forgot to warm up her car for her. She has asthma and its real rough for her when its cold. I’m not good about these things. I wanted to buy her a remote starter but since she parks in the garage it would be kinda stinky by the time she walked out to get in the car. I need one of those snorkels for the exhaust like they do at the repair shops.
Last thing. Last night at church, a bat was flying around inside. Its a very small church and only holds about 350 people when every seat is full and we’re all snug and cozy together, so a bat flying around is really obvious. The thing was swooping and dive bombing the congregation. It was tough not to laugh. I think they are pretty near-sighted so he would come within about 2 or 3 feet of you before veering away. The darn thing just couldn’t seem to find the open doors and windows. I think it took it about 30 minutes before someone was able to “guide” it out the door with their coat when it came close. Funny.
December 19th, 2004 20:49
Windchill? Minus temperatures? And you’re out running?
You’re a better man than I, Jon in Michigan.
One of your previous commenters mentioned hamster wheels . . . my old hamster had a clear plastic globe that it would run about the house in, bashing into doors, tripping up my dad, chipping the G-Plan furniture. Forget yr HeadSokz thing - I need one of those.
December 19th, 2004 21:15
Well for a change it was warm here. But silly me, dressed all wrong and nearly froze. I am still trying to warm up. Heh, we ran the same pace….well not exactly. Mine is 9:17/km yours was 9:17/mile. But heh, I did run a tad longer, just shy of 9 miles.
December 19th, 2004 22:04
{applauding} Woohoo, Jon! Way to get OUT THERE!
Handy headgear, there. I’ve seen runners show up at cold, windy XCs with ski goggles. Me, I just run in short loops and keep blinking so the lashes don’t freeze together :P
Sounds like you might need a pair of wind pants (perhaps lined ones).
December 20th, 2004 07:16
He did it! And weren’t you really glad (really, aside from the freezing ass weather?) Ok, maybe not. But I’m impressed! I want one of the headsokz things. I laughed at your description of one eye…there’s a novel in there somewhere.
December 20th, 2004 08:34
Excellent run Jon, even with the cold. After taking a week off, I think it’s time for me to jump back on this running thing. Walked out the door this morning to 12 degree weather (0 degree windchill). I live in NC for goodness sake. Must not be far enough south huh. Guess it’s time for some cold weather running clothes.
Great run and what a thought, just one eye peaking out.
December 20th, 2004 10:30
Sound like a pretty great workout running with all that resistance. Definitely time for you to get some running tights. Funny about the bat.
December 20th, 2004 10:45
Ok, I vote no more running until Spring. I’m too cold just reading about it.
December 20th, 2004 12:35
i call it weiner-bite.
you know, frost-bite, but on the weiner. you get interesting looks when you talk about it in public.
made the mistake of running the london half marathon this year in february in just shorts. arctic blasts and a sweatty crotch don’t make for a happy member.
okay, too much information, i’m sure, but it’s these running ‘joys’ that bring us closer together.
i hope you’re reading the humor in all of this…