snowmageddon

I'm often asked what Edmonton winters are like. "Cold. But it doesn't snow very much", is my usual response, which is usually the case. Not this year. It's still cold enough to freeze your eyelids shut but now we have all this snow to trip over, too. We've more than doubled the monthly average and the month is barely half over. This has added an extra challenge to running.

Much of this month's snow fell during one night two weekends ago. My intent was to formally kick off this year's training with a long Sunday run in the river valley. I wasn't expecting 25 cm of fresh snow and a wind chill warning but sometimes the unexpected can be a positive, right? I tend to disregard the voice of reason (i.e., my wife) when it comes to such things but I wasn't about to let some snow and colder temperatures change my running plans. I like to think of myself as adventurous and persistent, which I see as admirable qualities, but I'm probably in the minority here.

After 3.5 hours I was dead tired and very cold. The new snow and poor footing required much more effort than I anticipated. A hard workout is always a good thing but perspiring that heavily in -30C was not anticipated. Thanks to some poor clothing choices, I literally froze my butt - my coat vented all the moisture out the bottom and a solid block of ice formed on my backside where my jacket met my pants. Ouch! Chalk that up as a learning experience.