Friday, January 16, 2009

I'm in da club!!

No, not that club. The club I'm referring to is the "More Miles than Degrees" Club. It basically means that the number of miles you run is more than the number of degrees Fahrenheit at the time. So yesterday, I ran 11 miles outside in the 0-degree temps. It would have been 12, but I passed the gym with a mile to go, and saw that Mark was parked there. So I went inside and finished up on the track and then rode home with him. I'm actually really glad I did it that way...I shucked off a few layers to run the mile inside, but still had on tights, loose running pants, and two shirts. So it warmed me back up pretty efficiently and I didn't have to worry about much finger numbness and general inability to do things like manipulate my apartment keys and type out RWOL posts.

The run itself was surprisingly manageable. My nose and cheeks got pretty cold, but I would just put my gloved hand over my mouth and use my breath to warm the area up. My core was pretty toasty with all the clothing I had on, so overall I was good to go. I didn't worry about my pace at all. Stopping my watch at traffic lights and crossings was too much work, so I didn't bother. It was a medium long run, so it was more about aerobic conditioning and time on my feet anyway. I got a lot of surprised looks!

I once equaled the temperature with a 6-mile run a couple years ago, and honestly that seemed much worse than yesterday. Yesterday I wore the following: one hat, one earwarmer, one scarf, two sports bras, one long-sleeve mock turtleneck compression shirt, one long-sleeve shirt, one 3/4 zip top, one fleece pullover, two pairs of gloves, one pair of underwear, one pair of tights, one pair of loose running pants, two pairs of socks, and a pair of shoes. So yeah, a lot. The wind wasn't too bad, fortunately, but there was a wind chill of -14, which did make itself felt at times.

We don't often get such weather around here. I would like to point out that it was/is actually colder here than in Alaska! This morning I somehow got the car started in the bone-chilling temp of -9 (that's NOT the wind chill). Things will go back to normal tomorrow, it sounds like. Back to highs in the mid-20s to mid-30s with the famous "wintry mix" continually expected.

4 comments:

Mr. Petes said...

Wow, I love this concept! I am always looking for ways to make my run more interesting and this certainly is a great way. I read your blog a lot and find it very interesting and full of good running stories. I have also created a running blog and hope that you check it out!

www.RunnersWrite.com

Keep up the good runs!

jen said...

Wow!! Congratulations on joining what I call the extremely crazy and hard core club. :O You are awesome!! Stay warm! :)

Van 1- Hall said...

Congrats,
It took me about 4 miles to regain feeling in my fingers on my run yesterday. it was bitter today, thank god its an SRD for me!

Susan said...

Yikes! Awesome job! Good thing the cold isn't supposed to keep up, or you would have a massive amount of laundry on your hands...