Well, Mother Nature definitely fulfilled my wishes of a real winter…and then some! After a balmy November and December, I found myself falling asleep each night, wishing for a snow fall and some winter weather. Now, as we approach the end of January I find myself wishing for spring: birds singing in the morning, green lawns and most importantly weather warm enough to comfortably run in shorts (or at least less than 2 pairs of tights)!
Mother Nature finally answered my wintery wishes. We have boatloads of snow, a permanent layer of ice down the driveway and as far as I’m concerned, we’ve had our annual requirement of cold days. Last Sunday we experienced an “extreme cold alert” which usually happens anytime the mercury drops below -15 or so. Usually it means you add an extra layer and pull out the mittens in lieu of the gloves but this time it was more serious. The temperature last Sunday morning was -23, but it doesn’t stop there. Here in Ontario we have humidity and wind which causes the weatherman to declare what the temperature “feels like”. On this particular morning, all factors considered, it felt like -33 out there. Brrrrrr!
When I awoke on that morning and saw the morning forecast on my Blackberry app I was terrified! I still have vivid memories of long run I did one January morning while I was in University. It was -25 degrees as I headed out the door that morning. I was probably not dressed properly for the weather that day and about 45 minutes into my run I began to get very cold. I was so cold that I was counting lamp posts, just trying to make my way back to my dorm room. I finally made it, chilled to the bone. After that run, I promised myself that I wouldn’t put my mind and body through that experience again…colder than -20 = treadmill!
So, back to last Sunday morning. I coach a half marathon run clinic out of the Oakville Running Room and we do our long runs every Sunday morning. As the coach, I am there each week, despite the weather, so as I’m sure you can appreciate, this nasty cold weather had me in a bit of a panic. I contemplated my running attire and finally decided on 2 pairs of pants (long underwear and a windproof top layer), wool socks, a thermal top and my trusty Nike windproof jacket. I grabbed my mittens, a warm, windproof toque and a face mask and off I went.
When I arrived at the Running Room I was amazed and so proud to see a huge group of runners out for their weekly long run! Everyone was bundled up and ready to hit the roads! Despite the frost-bite inducing weather, everyone came out to show their dedication and hit the snow covered roads with their weekly running buddies.
We set out on the roads and I had the opportunity to run with a gentleman from Edmonton who was in town visiting some family. Now, I’m pretty sure he thought we were all crazy to be commiserating about the cold because in Edmonton this weather is very common. It was a good reality check to chat with him and understand how lucky we are here in Ontario to have “mild” winters (relative to those on the prairies) and to have the opportunity to pound the pavement with 100 like-minded individuals every Sunday morning! Although at times I thought my toes were going to detach themselves from my feet and I was worried about frost bite on the small triangle of exposed skin on my face, I enjoyed every minute of my run! I can’t think of a better way to have spent my wintery Sunday morning…good friends, good company and icicles on my eyelashes!
