Saturday, January 30, 2010

Running on the coldest day this winter (so far)

Today was the coldest day this winter in our town. When I went out for the long run—22 km—it was -20 C. Since I check the weather channel before each run, I dressed for the cold: warm(er) tights and three layers under the jacket, plus balaclava on the head, to keep the face warm. That was the problem—I couldn't breathe through it. My breath was freezing on the fabric; ice pulled the balaclava down from my face. I kept pulling it up, it kept sticking to my lips every time I try to breathe in, then I'd pull it away from the lips and the ice would pull it down—it was an exhausting experience.

The breath and tears were also freezing on my eyelashes. When I tried to wipe it away with my gloved fingers, it scratched the skin on the eyelids.

A Mars bar froze in my pocket and became a sort of chocolate-bar-ice-cream, which I had to melt in mouth before chewing. The only positive thing was that the new water-belt worked as it was supposed to and didn't bounce at every step. I kept it under the jacket and Gatorade didn't freeze. Also, iPhone's GPS worked like a charm, giving me audio updates every kilometer through the headphones. All in all, minor inconveniences on the road to Boston marathon.

No comments:

Post a Comment