Cool Running!

I have been off the streets for about 6 weeks due to a slight knee injury. I won’t bore you with the details, but it has been very frustrating not being able to go running. This has been amplified by the timing – when I had to stop it was just starting to get a little cold. Having never run in sub-zero temperatures before, I was hoping for a gradual transition from one season to the next. Unfortunately I have skipped autumn, and now I am trying to get back into a routine in the middle of winter. This is not easy!

The photo is me returning from a run just the other morning where the temperature was -7 degrees, but with the wind chill it was actually -13 degrees Celsius. During the first 5 minutes of the run my eyeballs were aching, and my lips contracted so tightly that I thought they may actually rip away from the sides of my mouth! Getting ready to go running now is often harder work than the actual run. I have to wear shorts, track pants, 2 pairs of socks, t-shirt, windbreaker long sleeve shirt, wind proof jacket, gloves, and a beanie. Running in these conditions is more about mental fitness than physical – perhaps it’s more about just being mental.