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September 10, 2006
A Short Long Run in SNOW!
My recovery is going really well. I did a very short long run, only 90 minutes on forest service logging roads, and almost felt like myself again.
I was very much looking forward to this run. Previous to this, I had gone a few days with little sleep due to work emergencies and coaching responsibilities (Try about 4 hours of sleep in a 44-hour time period. Ouch.). I got off work at 6 am this morning and shut off everything that could interrupt my sleep, including pagers, phones, and alarms, so that I could sleep until I was well-rested. When I woke up this afternoon, I felt great, and I headed out to run.
This run was an out-and-back, all uphill on the way out, all downhill on the way back. I felt solid and strong from the get-go on the way uphill. I was a little pokey on the downhill return, as I was feeling still a bit stiff and creaky. Excepting this stiffness, I felt nearly recovered.
Possibly only slightly more interesting than my bantering about the level of leg creakiness that I'm still feeling might be a paragraph or two of bantering about the weather and how I felt about it. As I parked my car, some gray clouds were organizing themselves and a few drops of rain were falling. The temperatures were hovering at perhaps 65 degrees. I assessed my clothing, running shorts, sports bra, and a cotton t-shirt, and decided to ditch the t-shirt. I decided it would make me wetter and colder whenever the skies decided to burst open, which I knew they shortly would.
As time went by, the raindrops grew more frequent. It was officially raining at this point, and I was officially soaked to the bone. As I climbed higher, it got colder and sleet pellets were being integrated into the mess. Still higher, snow flurries (Yes, I did write that, there was snow falling from the sky.)! I was elated when it was time to turn around and head downhill, as I had no desire to see what was going on with the weather even higher. However, I was warm on the ascent, working hard, and it didn't feel that bad. Going downhill was painfully cold, my thighs got numb, my hands got stiff, the skin on my arms tingled with chilliness. This was apparently just a little taste of what the next 7+++ months of my running life are going to be like.
I got back to my car and turned on the heater! It felt so good! Then I drove back downhill to 5300 feet elevation in Gardiner where it was warm, sunny, and it hadn't even rained! There, I went into my favorite coffee shop and my friends looked strangely at my drowned-rat appearance. Most of these folks are long-time locals, and they weren't at all surprised to hear about the snow up high. Instead, they were more surprised at my lack of preparedness to deal with the elements. They are definitely right. It ain't summer around here anymore.
Posted by Meghan at September 10, 2006 7:22 PM
Comments
this is hilarious. i'm sitting here in a sweater-i'm trying on clothes for tomorrow and i got distracted. september 10? sweater? but...you win!!!
september + snow + sports bra makes you the winner in weird weather!
Posted by: Audrey at September 10, 2006 9:25 PM
Congrats on your recent marathon - I just read the report. What a remarkable race you ran.
Posted by: D. at September 11, 2006 8:37 AM
SNOW?!?! What the ?(*#$^@???? Man...I don't live anywhere near you but just "hearing" that word muttered is frightening! :)
Hope you have a great day! :)
Posted by: Beth at September 11, 2006 12:56 PM