Brutally Cold...

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Many, many years ago, I considered myself a runner.  It was my primary form of exercise and I did to not only to stay in shape, but to be competitive.  There was a time back then…and I’m talking about the mid-90’s…when I would run regardless of the weather.  In fact, I was on a kick for one stretch that covered about five years where, regardless of the temperature, I ran without covering my legs.  It wasn’t particularly smart as there were days when I found the thermometer hovering near zero, but I was manly and determined and manly.

I drove to the park to do a 30-minute run, I thought.  I stepped out of the car and heard that crunch of snow under my shoe; that sound it makes ONLY when it’s like…way below zero.  I was there though, manly and determined.  I did have running pants on, as well.

I started the run on the snow-covered bridle trail, slipping and dipping as my feet tried to find something level on which to run.  Frozen foot tracks and cross country ski grooves make that quite impossible.  My real problem though, was breathing.  Never…and I mean NEVER…have I ever had so much trouble catching my breath.  The air was simply too cold and I was completely unacclimatized.  I’d spent a winter exercising indoors and here I was on one of the coldest days in the history of Northeast Ohio trying to suck in enough air to run, which is much greater than the demand for simple walking, and my throat and lungs were having none of it.  I realized I was heading into the wind, which meant the chill factor was probably about 200 below, and figured if I could just make it into the shelter of the trees and out of the wind, I’d be okay.

To some degree, that worked.  I continued to have problems with the footing though, and about 11 minutes into the run, decided to turn and head back for the car.  I was running with socks covering my hands, as I normally would, but could feel the tips of my fingers beginning to freeze, so by the time I made it back to the car with advanced pain in the digits, realized I’d made my turn-around at the appropriate time.

It was only 22 minutes of running, but I got through it.  I think my determination is turning an important corner.  I’ve made it three days in a row doing something, which is more than I can say about my exercise patterns since the beginning of the year.  Let’s see how the week and month plays out before I get to excited about myself.

Run duration:  22 minutes.

Training Heart Rate:  140 bpm.

Calories burned:  350.