The First Cold is the Freezest
We were not 5000 feet into today's run when only the prospect of hot coffee and chocolate balls at the finish line kept my spirits from sinking. It was just 10 degrees at the start and except for some bright sun rays to warm the face now and then it remained cold throughout the run - particularly in the dips and valleys where the cold air had gathered to test our fortitude.
It will get colder as the season progresses but the first bite of old man winter certainly stings. At mile 8 I had the scarf up over my face as the pain was just too new to deal with. Add my stomach discomfort and a slight bonk near the end and what you have, in Mike's words, is a run "that ended with a whimper."
Whimper or no, we logged the 17 miles in 2:27:38 which included several woods stops for me. Too much coffee and no breakfast was not a recipe for a comfortable long run. Also, my stashed water at mile 7 had turned to ice. So beyond a few drops I ran the course sans hydration. This I am sure added to my trouble. Any winter running requires preparation but how short the memory is! The solution to the water issue is, of course, parking a car at the half-way mark with water inside. This also serves as a necessary safety measure. We discussed this and we will probably re-institute this measure on our next Sunday run.
And so ends my vacation. I've been off for a week here at home relaxing. Back to the pressure pit tomorrow - which reminds me of the following:
There were three young snakes hissing in a pit. All were quite happy hissing in their pit when their mom came to the door and said, "I'm going to the store - I'll be right back!" "Aww, Mom! What are we going to do while you are gone?" cried the snakes. "Just stay and hiss in your pit. And if you get tired of hissing in your own pit, go next door to Mrs. Pott's pit and hiss." So the snakes hissed in their pit and were quite happy hissing in their own pit but eventually got bored and decided to go to Mrs. Pott's pit and hiss. But while they were hissing in Mrs. Pott's pit, Mrs. Pott came out and said, "What are you doing hissing in my pit? If you want to hiss in a pit, go to your own pit and hiss!" Dejected, the young snakes slithered back to their own pit to hiss. And they were hissing in their pit when their Mom came home. She inquired, "Did you have a nice time while I was gone?" "No!" they all cried at once. "We did what you said and hissed in our pit but then we got bored of hissing in our own pit so we went to Mrs. Pott's pit to hiss. But while we were hissing in Mrs. Pott's pit, Mrs. Pott came out and said, 'If you want to hiss in a pit, go to your own pit and hiss!'" "Well I'll be!" exclaimed their mother. "I can remember when Mrs. Pott didn't have a pit to hiss in!"
47 miles was week's mileage total - right on schedule.
It will get colder as the season progresses but the first bite of old man winter certainly stings. At mile 8 I had the scarf up over my face as the pain was just too new to deal with. Add my stomach discomfort and a slight bonk near the end and what you have, in Mike's words, is a run "that ended with a whimper."
Whimper or no, we logged the 17 miles in 2:27:38 which included several woods stops for me. Too much coffee and no breakfast was not a recipe for a comfortable long run. Also, my stashed water at mile 7 had turned to ice. So beyond a few drops I ran the course sans hydration. This I am sure added to my trouble. Any winter running requires preparation but how short the memory is! The solution to the water issue is, of course, parking a car at the half-way mark with water inside. This also serves as a necessary safety measure. We discussed this and we will probably re-institute this measure on our next Sunday run.
And so ends my vacation. I've been off for a week here at home relaxing. Back to the pressure pit tomorrow - which reminds me of the following:
There were three young snakes hissing in a pit. All were quite happy hissing in their pit when their mom came to the door and said, "I'm going to the store - I'll be right back!" "Aww, Mom! What are we going to do while you are gone?" cried the snakes. "Just stay and hiss in your pit. And if you get tired of hissing in your own pit, go next door to Mrs. Pott's pit and hiss." So the snakes hissed in their pit and were quite happy hissing in their own pit but eventually got bored and decided to go to Mrs. Pott's pit and hiss. But while they were hissing in Mrs. Pott's pit, Mrs. Pott came out and said, "What are you doing hissing in my pit? If you want to hiss in a pit, go to your own pit and hiss!" Dejected, the young snakes slithered back to their own pit to hiss. And they were hissing in their pit when their Mom came home. She inquired, "Did you have a nice time while I was gone?" "No!" they all cried at once. "We did what you said and hissed in our pit but then we got bored of hissing in our own pit so we went to Mrs. Pott's pit to hiss. But while we were hissing in Mrs. Pott's pit, Mrs. Pott came out and said, 'If you want to hiss in a pit, go to your own pit and hiss!'" "Well I'll be!" exclaimed their mother. "I can remember when Mrs. Pott didn't have a pit to hiss in!"
47 miles was week's mileage total - right on schedule.
posted by Andrew at 3:37 PM
3 Comments:
Good run Andrew. The only thing that kept me going was you! (and of course the warm van at the end)
Imagine the number of woods stops if your water stash hadn't frozen. Certainly cold at 10 degrees - you wouldn't want to spend too long in the woods.
Is that one of the jokes that Mike keeps warning us about?
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