Hail stones cripple unprepared runner...

Thursday, April 25, 2013

I don’t think I’m jinxed or anything, but let me tell you how my run went.

I started by heading for my car from work.  It had been raining off and on throughout the afternoon, but at the particular moment I headed out the door, it started coming down like I’d just loaded two of every kind of animal in the world on a big, wooden boat.  It continued to pour as I drove towards the park where I wasn’t sure what I was going to do about the run I’d been planning.  As I got closer though, the downpour became a drizzle and by the time I changed my clothes and drove to the trailhead, the sun was actually shining.

I took it as a good omen and began my run on a trail that was now more mud than dirt.  I’d reached about the mid-point in what I’d planned to be a 30-minute run when the rain started again.  At first, it was just a teaser, but then it got serious again and the temperature, which had been in the middle forties when I’d started was dropping rapidly.  When something sharp and icy cold whacked me on the top of my bald head, I began to wish I was back in my car.  I’ve been in hailstorms before, but this one was becoming a doozy.  I continued on…what choice did I have…being painfully pelted on my bare, freezing arms as I ran.  My shirt was soaked through and since I was wearing only a short-sleeved t-shirt and shorts, I was cooling off quickly.  If I’d been in the Adirondacks dressed so foolishly, someone would be telling me that ‘cotton kills’ and I’d be worried about hypothermia.  I was within 10 minutes of my car though, and figured I could handle about any discomfort for that period of time.

I was wrong, of course. 

I made it to the car whining like a little girl as I stripped out of my freezing wet clothes and into a long-sleeved, dry t-shirt over which I pulled a jersey.  I came prepared…provided I never left the car.  As I placed a towel on the front seat to absorb some of my wetness, the hail suddenly stopped and, miraculously, the sun reappeared.  I climbed in the car and stared up in wonder.

I’m not complaining about the weather or whining about my misfortune with it, though it might sound that way.  I’m simply pointing out that again, I’m a bad weather magnet and that anyone who is considering ever doing any kind of workout with me should take this into consideration when planning their workout apparel.  That’s all.

Run duration:  35 minutes.

Training Heart Rate:  140 bpm.

Calories burned:  625.