Saturday, February 16, 2013

It was so cold my water froze.

Saturday morning I woke up and the sun was shining brightly through my windows. I thought- this is going to be an awesome day for a run! Until I saw this:


Feels like 3!?! I seriously considered not leaving my warm cozy bed and doing my longish run on the running machine... Then I got dressed for the outdoor run and took the Churro Dog out. Sh*t, it was really cold only after 5 minutes (he's efficient at potty).


Have fun mom, I'm staying here in the sunny spot

After last weeks run where I felt really hot, I decided to wear a thinner (paper thin) windbreaker because I really thought I'd warm up. I was wrong. (Plus it was easily 15 degrees cooler this week) The headwinds felt like something straight out of Antarctica and chilled me to the bone.


Thankfully there was no ice around - ok a very small amount on the south portion. This made my run 100% better than last week. I could get into a nice rhythm and cruise the lakefront.(I don't run with music) Last week was so mentally and physically exhausting dodging all the icy patches.


Ice in the harbor. Thank goodness not on the path!

While I was a tad underdressed for this run, I also felt pretty damn good once I warmed up after a few miles and could actually feel my fingers and toes again.


the Geese walking on ice

The miles flew by even faster than I anticipated. According to my schedule, miles 6-7 and 8-9 were to be at 8:00-8:10 pace- something a little quicker than marathon pace, but at a manageable sustainable effort.


The "steady" miles felt really good. Might have also helped that the piercing cold wind was at my back. This workout gave me a lot of confidence regarding my current level of fitness which has been a huge question mark lately.


I was so cold and possibly delirious that I thought I saw a penguin. Haha


I sported my owl head hat which kept my head and ears nice and toasty. I also took a Gatorade prime before which I believe contributed to the success of this run. (And maybe the 10 servings of leftover spaghetti i had last night- i usually dont carb load for training runs.) I only drank water during the run. No Gu or anything.


Midway through the run I took a sip of water and was surprised to feel a chunk of something. I then realized my water was starting to freeze! By the end of the run it was turning into slush. I've never experienced that before!


I don't run outside during the week because it still gets dark early, the path is not well lit with very uneven pavement, and I don't pick up my feet high enough while running so my odds of tripping go way up. I run on the tread for 3/4 of my workouts. Running outside is something I look forward to on the weekends and while I wasn't fancying running in this weather- what benefit can one gain from sub freezing temps? I was so happy to be out on the path enjoying life and seeing the area north of Navy pier which I haven't seen in a long time!


I LOVE THIS VIEW!

Post run and shivering, I had one thing on my mind.


A huge steaming bowl of ramen with pork belly!!! Which was exactly what I needed after this cold run.

Happy weekend!

--Xaar

11 comments:

  1. Haha, wish I'd see you in your crazy owl hat this morning! My water turned to slush too. At least we don't have to worry about hot water in the winter months?? P.S. Gimme dat ramen! (Where's it from?)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I went for a run a couple weekends ago, and I guess the top of my handheld wasn't screwed on or something because the water kept leaking out of it, and a few miles in the bottle was empty but there was ice all on the outside of it. So useful, haha. Also during F^3, the water from the water stations had a layer of ice on the top.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dang that is cold!!!! I would have stuck to my TM because I am such a pansy in cold weather. I ran 17 yesterday and it was 33 outside. I wanted to die, lol.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nice run! Especially in the cold. I was a total wimp on Saturday and kept in indoors. Ventured out today though, felt so good to get outside. Only problem my water froze. Cold weather running problems. Love your owl hat. I have one similar. You take such awesome photos!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I need to come to the lakeshore so we can go for a run! It was only 7 degrees here yesterday, so I wimped out! Great job lady!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nice pics. I want to run by the lake again! :-(

    ReplyDelete
  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sorry, typo on my first post above so I am reposting. =)

    Wow, you are really hard core to go for a lakefront run in temps like those!!! LOL about CB being very efficient in cold weather. =) The owl hat is adorable and I am in love with those Mizunos and those tights. Way to bring a much-needed splash of color to winter landscape!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. UGH! Frozen water bottles are ANNOYING! But funny :) You kicked this long run's butt! It's great you were able to get out there and enjoy that outdoor run despite the temps :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love your last picture of the city. I am so in love with this city, and I especially love that you can always capture its beauty differently every day.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Crazy that your water froze! Be careful out there on the trails, don't want you to fall out there. Nice that it is empty though? And that ramen looks fantastic! Second to last picture looks awesome.

    And thanks for the tips on Brazil world cup, maybe I'll just make Rio my home base and see as many games as possible there over a week or so. I am definitely nervous about crime in Brazil. We'll see if I end up going on the trip - otherwise I'll likely go to the French Open next year which would be fun too.

    ReplyDelete