Today's Run

I woke up a 4:50am this morning, was out the door by 5:25am, and proceeded to run 16.36 very hilly miles. If that ain't inherently bad enough, the real idiocy was the 18 degrees F temp when I left my house in the dark. And it was breezy. No, windy. Quite windy! I don't own a gaiter, though I think I know what one is, so I wasn't wearing one. And no scarf. Bareface.

I was fine for about a mile and a half, then it became apparent that I was in for an extended period of time running into the stiff wind. No idea what that wind chill was, but it was bad. That was the first time I contemplated turning around. But I'd touch my face frequently and could tell I really hadn't reached the so-cold-it-hurts stage, much less the more dangerous so-cold-I-no-longer-have-feeling stage, so I trudged on. By mile 3 the battery on my Ipod had conked out (serious bummer), and the stiff headwind changed to a stiff crosswind. I had that for about a mile or two before gaining some tree cover. Wheew! The cover was much appreciated! Without wind, not a bad run when properly dressed. Unfortunately, by this point my Camelbak's water hose was frozen solid. No more water this run!

Around mile 6 I had my last real opportunity to cut the run short (make it just a 11.5 miler), and I seriously considered this, but again didn't. No. Instead, more headwind! Now I was frequently trying to use my gloved hand to shield different parts of my face from the wind. Not real effective, that. This was the first point where I started brief stints of actually running backwards to get my face out of the wind!

Needless to say, this was not a particularly fast run for me. After about 6 miles I was already falling behind a 10 min/mile pace. At least the sky was starting to brighten!

A few more miles of crosswind and then I had a blissful repreive from the wind for about 3 miles. I enjoyed this part! But the worst was yet to come...

Around mile 11 or 12 I turned off of Glissan's Mill Rd and onto Jessie Smith Rd. After a long, steady climb Jessie Smith follows along parts of a ridge, where there are long sections that are utterly exposed to the 20+ mph sustained winds out of the northwest. This was brutal! I knew that in that wind it wouldn't take much to get frostbite. Most of it was blowing against my right cheek. I alternately turned my head left (imploring the newly risen sun to lend me some heat), held up my fleeced hand against my face, and ran backwards. My winter hat, once actually drenched in sweat if you can believe it, had now frozen into something resembling those motorcycle helmets that offer minimal protection to the rider -- you know, the ones the riders seem to be wearing as a protest to being made to wear a helmet. I could feel it bouncing up and down on my head at times. I was a bit worried now.

Well, after what seemed like forever, I made it to another valley and some relative shelter. The last few miles were in and out of the wind, and up and down various hills. In the end, I made it the full 16.36 miles at just under a 10:30 pace. The temp had DROPPED TO 14.7 degrees F! Amazingly, I was without frostbite!

I usually consider myself to be a relatively wise person. I wear my seat belt, don't smoke, don't drink, eat well, and stay fit. But really I'm just another dumb ass. Today proved it.