First 20-miler. On a hell of a morning. Temp -10C by the thermometer outside our kitchen window. Winds gusting to 70 km/h. Wind chill in the -16C range. That's about -2F if you're keeping score in Utah.
I had a really hard time on the out- part of the out-and-back route. After getting out of the treed residential areas of central Etobicoke, it was really really cold. Not one stick of a wind break along Eglinton Ave W or on Matheson Blvd up by Hwy 401. Low rise industrial zones don't to much to keep the wind off. I guess it's a saving grace that I wasn't running downtown. Wind tunnel effect would have put me airborne.
This was a scouting trip for the first 1/3 of the RSR marathon and relay on January 18. I'll be hoping for a calm day. I knew the route would be desolate - up through Mississauga and Brampton - to my parent's house for a well deserved breakfast. I'm not sure my pacers have any idea of the pain that they may be in for. Oh well, I'm thinking they'll each do 1/4 of the route while I'll have to do the whole thing. Makes me think that I am the one who doesn't realize the pain I'm in for. :-)
Today was a good dry run. Dressed well. Fully hydrated. Nearly broke some teeth trying to bite into my Luna bars. They were frozen solid.
If you can believe it, the toughest part was right near the end near home, on a little side street that had not been plowed overnight. Only about three blocks, but really slippery and felt like I was not getting any grip and momentum going forward. I cruised through a stop sign and these young guys rolled down their window and said I'd missed it! I said, "If I had stopped, I would have never started up again." They laughed at the crazy runner out on the coldest, snowiest day of the year so far . . .
The french toast for breakfast makes me think of the cold quite a bit less!
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