Frozen Long Run

>> Monday, January 24, 2011

On Thursday, we heard that Thursday night / Friday morning had potential to be the coldest night in 15 years! Sooooooo.... P-E-R-F-E-C-T timing for my last long run before the "Securian Winter Run" half marathon this Saturday. Yay Winter! (FML)

It was 16 below zero (air temp) when I got up on Friday, so I put off my run until after my meetings for the day. (At that same moment, it was 46 below [AIR TEMP!] in northern MN!) When it was time to run, this is what I saw:



I "layered up." I WON'T list all the layers, but I WILL say that I came up with a new idea that worked WONDERS. Over my Under Armor and tights (but under my pants), I put on a pair of tighty-whities. I stuffed a sock down the front to help keep "junior" warm:



AND IT WORKED SO WELL!!

Here's how I looked as I was headed out:



Early in my run, I saw a can of Coors that was frozen to the sidewalk:



BUT, we all know that Coors is technically thinner that water, so it's no surprise that it was frozen....

The trail along the Mississippi was in pretty good shape. It was a thin layer of hard-packed snow:



I snapped a photo of myself 1.5 miles into the run:



Here's a close-up of the frost starting to form on my lashes in that photo:



I pulled the ski-mask up and down as I needed to - sometimes I needed to cool down my face from all of the hot air I was exhaling.


A failed snot-rocket all over my glove.


Running past the U of M around mile 3.

My camera started freezing up, and I learned that I needed to shield the lens from the wind. If I didn't, the lens cover wouldn't open up, and the resulting photo would look like this:




Just past the Greenway Trail (around mile 6).


Looks very similar to the last photo, but it's about another mile farther.


Crossing the Ford Bridge around mile 9.

I think that ended up being the most "epic" photo from the run. Here's a close-up of my eye and hat:



After that photo, my lens got a little smudged, so the rest of the photos had a bit of a streak through them. Here's one from around mile 11 that's a little "streaked:"



I did another loop through a residential area to turn the 12 mile route into a 14 mile run. This tweet that I tweeted just after my run says the story:

Numbers: 14 mile run, 1:44:01 total time, 7:25 pace, 3 below air temp, 19 below windchill, 8.4 lbs of clothes, 0 frozen body parts!

I snapped a photo when I got back to our yard:



And then I snapped a photo after I had been in the house for a minute and all of the ice had started melting:



Even though I got in a decent 14 miles in sub-par conditions, I'm STILL not super confident going into this weekend's half marathon. I'm not looking to PR - just looking to finish another race. I MIGHT be able to "winter PR," so I might shoot for that. (My 13.1 PR is 1:22, but my "winter" 13.1 PR is 1:28.) We'll just have to see what this weekend holds!!

15 comments:

Jeff Vanis 8:19 AM, January 24, 2011  

Love the pics, it has been crazy cold out up here! I had someone convince me to run the half as well. Looks like it will be somewhat warmer, to what degree... who knows! Good luck to you! If I run into you before the race I will say hello as a local follower!

Kittee 8:44 AM, January 24, 2011  

WOW You are much braver then me. Or maybe just a little insane. How long did it take you to unfreeze?

Unknown 9:42 AM, January 24, 2011  

I wouldn't even leave my house if it was that cold, let alone run! :)

SteveQ 10:42 AM, January 24, 2011  

7 1/2 minute miles in that weather's pretty impressive! You should do great Saturday (it's supposed to be windy); I may or may not spectate this year.

Unknown 11:43 AM, January 24, 2011  

One word, Thermajock!
http://www.thermajock.com/

K 2:31 PM, January 24, 2011  

That's nuts. I'll stop complaining about 28 degree weather.

Unknown 3:06 PM, January 24, 2011  

That second to last pic is awesome--your hard core and will rock your run!!

B. Kramer 3:48 PM, January 24, 2011  

I'm sad to say I look here to feel like it's warm. Nice jock insulation. I actually have a ThermaJock, and it does work well. I bet you could entice them to send you one for review. Keep your junk warm. Cheers!

Pretend this is real 6:43 PM, January 24, 2011  

I got a good laugh off of your "new idea." The failed snot rocket was also a nice touch.

Jamie,  6:59 PM, January 24, 2011  

Couldn't be more impressed. Thanks for the reminder of why I moved from the midwest to FL.

Ironman By Thirty 7:30 PM, January 24, 2011  

Nice homemade thermajock!

And I thought my -7 wind chill run was bad. At least the air temperature was above 0 on my run.

Anonymous,  9:15 PM, January 24, 2011  

Congrats to a fellow true cold weather runner!
I ran in -23 for my Sunday long run, and I developed an icicle unibrow, perfectly thick white eyelashes, and everything in my FuelBelt seemed to flash freeze.
Loved the pics!

Richelle 9:28 PM, January 24, 2011  

You are hard core! I don't go running outside if it's below zero. Enjoyed the pics! We Minnesotans are crazy, aren't we?

Joanne 2:55 PM, January 25, 2011  

I can't believe you ran in those temps! Half or not, I would have opted for the T/M.
Maybe next year, you should pick a race that's in warmer weather then the treadmill would be a great excuse to stay in doors.

I can't stand this winter training this year. But hey! 20 deg. tomorrow - a regular heat wave here in NY. Good for a long run anyway.

Adrienne 11:07 PM, January 31, 2011  

You're completely nuts. I would never do that. Love how you kept "junior" warm. Pharmie will appreciate that. :)

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