Woke up at 2 a.m.
Nope, not time yet.
Woke up again at 4 a.m.
Still not time yet.
I dream about being at work and saying “Yeah I ran in the cold this morning.”
I wake up around 6:30 a.m.
Damnit, I haven’t run yet.
I guess I was excited about it.
I hit snooze until about damn near 8. There’s lots of noise outside, so I’m thinking I better wait until 8 when there’s less traffic. With all of the cold weather, running is going to be tricky enough. Did you know that the lower the temperature, the worse it is for some shoes?
“Before heading out, you carefully layer your clothing, then grab a pair of running shoes with little thought. Big mistake, says Jay Smith, M.D., associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Mayo Clinic, who recently studied how temperature affects the cushioning of running shoes. “As temperatures get colder, the shock absorption of shoes decreases,” he says. “A loss of shock absorption may result in a higher injury risk.” Dr. Smith evaluated four different cushioning systems and found that shoes with a polyurethane midsole were impacted the most by cold weather.”
So, I’d planned it out last night. I knew it was going to be below freezing, around 18 degrees. I started off with my Cherry Adidas long-sleeved wicking shirt I’ve never gotten to wear, layered on my “running ninja” Adidas suit I bought for the Turkey Trot (also wicking) and layered that under my black and purple-ish tracksuit I bought last year. I then (should have put on two) put on my socks, scarf, borrowed gloves, hat, and went to my driveway to warm up. As I was stretching a bit in my driveway, I could feel the thoughts coming from passing cars…
“What?? She’s not going to… Is she?! She’s CRAZY!! My neighbor is CRAZY!!”
Screw ’em. I can’t say I’ve done it all if I don’t get my ass out there and do it. I started off strong around the corner, my scarf flopping around until I fastened it under my outermost layer. Half a mile later, and my eyes are watering, I’m wondering how much Softlips and Burt’s Bees I’ll need to come back from this. I’ve also thought about Steven McGee’s tweet about how, last night, his dog pee’d on a tree and it already froze. I can feel the snot running down my nose, and I’m dreading the thought of snotcicles.
My favorite part? Around the three-quarter mile mark, I lap the corner and come upon some construction workers, one with that camera/tripod thing, another driving a digger. They both make a point to look me directly in the eye and shake their head. As in disbelief I’m out there, in THEIR misery, NOT being miserable.
I gave them a Gig’Em as I ran by. Screw them. It’s cold and I love it.
Jogged by an eskimo in my neighborhood checking her mail. She smiled at me. She probably thought I was nuts, too.
The goal was really to make just a mile, and I fell a little short. I came back upon my driveway 200 meters away from the goal, but I was already running late as it was. I opened the door to our house set for 65 degrees and had to immediately run back outside, because it felt like a fucking oasis.
Weirdest part? After a cold run, I usually get the worst, worst, worst pain in my jaw. It kinda feels like the recurring skit on Family Guy where Peter falls down and hurts his knee. And it aches. The last time it happened really badly was in November, and I think I cried a little bit. Today? No pain, whatsoever.
But, hey, I got up this morning and ran in below freezing weather. How about that.
