Close escape

I narrowly avoided a potentially frightful event during my very cold run this morning.  The temperature was 10 degrees as I embarked on a 7 mile run in the darkness and a strong, cold wind was blowing out of the north with the first half of the workout into its teeth.  With the wind chill down below zero, I labored to the 3.5 mile mark for the turnaround and the return trip was faster and more pleasant with a rather cold tailwind.  I didn’t realize my good luck until I was driving off the island this morning and onto to the first causeway which happens to be just beyond where I turned around this morning.  With the sun now rising behind me, there was light enough to see that the cold wind I had battled earlier was blowing a squall of sea smoke across the causeway - icing the wires, poles, guardrails and road.  The ¼ mile across was a swirling arctic tempest.  As I drove through, I could only think that if 8 miles was on the schedule this morning it would have meant a good dousing of super cooled moisture – and in the darkness I would not have known what was happening until it was too late.

 

I shiver just thinking about it.  In fact, I’m shivering anyway as I haven’t quite recovered from this morning’s chill.

 

7 miles @ 8:12 pace.