December 16th, 2010. Feeling somewhat redeemed over my grousing about cold weather. Another road trip to Dayton this week and it was bitter cold. Last week my wife was already shivering because the daily lows in North Carolina were forecast to plummet to the low twenties (which happens in North Carolina, but not quite so early in the season). Her observation prompted me to check out the Ohio weather and there the high temps were only low twenties!
So I was braced for the full winter experience, and witnessing the country sides blanketed in snow as my flight touched down Monday provided a boost of Christmas spirit. But it was bitter, bitter cold and with wind chill hovering about zero, running wasn’t appealing. Since I only needed to get in one run of fifty minutes during my trip I pushed it out a day until Wednesday. The other option would have been to use the treadmills in my company’s excellent gym facility…but for some reason I refuse to do that.
I have used treadmills before, but I need to be outside and experience progress by changing scenery. Digital readouts advising me of how far I’ve ventured just doesn’t hold much satisfaction. And despite all of the unplowed sidewalks, heading outdoors yielded a nice shot of motivation.
Plodding down snowy paths helped me recognize the need to train on rough terrain. After all, Le Grand Raid is a demanding ultra-marathon by virtue of rolling up and down volcanic cones rather than paved roadways. Paying careful attention to each footfall in the snow was probably excellent preparation.
In addition, it is just so darn beautiful running through the snow. Once I warmed up, the blanket of white became a wonderful change of scenery for familiar routes. None of my earlier training runs in Dayton exceeded forty minutes, so I aimlessly zig-zagged and wound up running for fifty-five minutes because I strayed a bit too far from the office.
But a great run. Some days this challenge reveals really cool wonders.
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