Michigan Prepares for Hiberation

Time of departure: 7:00am
Time home: 8:32am
Sunrise: 7:05am (woo-hoo! Days are getting longer, folks!)
Temperature: 8°F (-13°C)
Wind Chill: -8°F (-22°C)
Water temp: 33°F
Route: The usual
Running buddy: Matt, of course. Who else?

Sky cover/ environmental observations: Described as "A Few Clouds" on the National Weather Service site, that's where I get my weather stats.

The sky was light blue above with some gray-ish clouds around the horizon. The sun was a pink-ish orange. The color of the sun is different on a morning like today; the rays that reflected off the lake reminded me of Arctic photographs. The lake was noticeably sluggish. The waves rolled slower across its body and without purpose or direction. When the waves did break on the shore, there was a spray, but it was not a spray with passion. Lake Michigan looked as though it was loosing energy and slowing down for hibernation. I wonder if the difference in the way the sunlight is reflected off the lake is not a function of the air temperature or the angle of the sun (because in the morning, it's always low, any time of year), but of the presumably colder temperature of the water.

I need to start keeping track of the water temp! (Okay, see above). Yes, at 33°F, I would think the lake would be slowing down some. I think it's about time for a Polar Plunge. (ERIC!) Eric, Mr. Water Dude, what do you think? Re: water temperature and reflection of light?

On the trail: I don't recall encountering any ice. There was some snow on the ground and on the path left over from yesterday's dusting. The wind was noticeable throughout the run which meant that only when we were directly down wind of the Christmas Tree pile were we able to enjoy it, which was only 1 1/2 inhalations for me. Scents are hard to come by in weather like this.

Lake Shore Drive: Full of cars but not too smelly. Noise was a noticeable but not a huge deal.
Clothing: Basically the usual. shoes, socks, army pants, wicker, t-shirt, GORTEX!, hat, gator, gloves. I was fine. When I got in all my skin was bright red. I could have used a pair of thin tights under my army pants. Or long sleeve t-shirt. Or a vest under the gortex. Or mittens instead of my knit gloves. Or warmer socks. But I was fine. Everything stayed on, of course. The gator was used more today than ever before. I think I need to buy Matt a be-lated birthday present...he's too stubborn to buy one himself, me thinks. And when that wind blows--man! You can really feel it all up in your brain, even without having sensory receptors in your brain. Matt added a second layer of pants, the first time he's made a clothing addition. The funny thing is that cold as it is, when I get home, I'm still drenched in sweat. Thank you, science, for sweat wicking material!

How did I feel? Quite fantastic, actually. Until we got back to about Foster and then I start to feel like my cells are empty. I have to start eating something before I go out, I think. I think West African Dance has really made me a stronger runner. All that jumping and twisting and landing really strengthens all the stabilizing muscles and stretches what tends to get concentric from running. The Bikram is awesome too, of course.

People spotted from the hill: Oh, hell no! Are you kidding??
Other runners: This is easy: 6 runners. 2 walkers, one with sticks. This was the same friendly man we saw last Thursday with walking sticks. I like him. 2 people playing with/walking dogs. This is, aside from the times we've run at night and it's been wicked cold and windy (before I started blogging), the most sparsely populated run so far. Interesting to note: We were the only couplet. Everyone else was solitary.
Bike commuters: 3 (These are the people of whom I'm in awe. It's wicked cold and windy and then you get a bike?!) But that's cool.
Grand total people: 13 humans. 2 dogs.
Dog Beach: 0
Destination: home, couch, dry clothes with hood, under a heavy blanket, with heat producing laptop

What do I like about running? This is deserving of a longer response today.

A friend of mine was saying to me yesterday that she's having a hard time living in this city because she's a "nature girl" and likes to camp and hike and whatnot. I feel the same way about myself, and I used to feel the same way about living in the city. It is, in part, in response to these nature cravings that I like running outside and especially running in conditions such as these.

Yes, I'm running on the border of a huge metropolitan area. Yes, the shoreline has been carefully engineered. Yes, I'm running on a tenderly sculpted running path. Much of the "nature" I typically see is trees, plants, grasses that have been selected by a landscape architect for their aesthetic value. Yes, much of the "wild life" I see is dependent on the trash of the human population. But when the wind blows and it bites you, when the snow crunches under your feet, when you slip on some ice that the salt couldn't conquer...You have that sense of being with the elements. On a day like today, Mother Nature wins, she won't be manicured.

Inside your apartment you can control the temperature, the wind, the wild critters. But outside, it is, again, as it has been for millions of years, one creature versus the environment. There is something liberating and powerful about choosing to be outside in these conditions, about bearing witness to this age old struggle. There is something about it that reminds me that I am alive. That I am choosing to be alive. That I'm choosing the life I am living.

We Saw Deer!

Time of departure: Left the car at 9:15am.
Got back: 11:05am.
Temperature: 28°F
Wind Chill: 20°F
Route: At the Forest Preserve by Devon and Milwaukee. Up the running/bike path past Dempster til we lost the path, or maybe it was the end of the path, then back to our car.
Running buddy: Matt and Eric. Peter, Paula, & Diana.

Sky cover/ environmental observations: It was gray-ish. The weather site described it as Fog/Mist, though I don't recall any mist, per se. The path started off mostly clear, but then much of it turned out to be quite ICY! We sure could have used the YAK-TRAC but we didn't have them with us. It made for an extra-intense Adductor workout. There was a bridge, perhaps it was crossing Touhy or Howard (? I didn't pay attention?), that was covered in ice and sup-slick. Eric and I held onto the chain link fence to get up it and down it. Eric gave up on that after awhile and just scooted down on his butt. If I had a picture, I'd post it. What a goof, he can be! Matt just baby stepped it the whole way. How patient he can be! Also, we saw two deer! This was very cool; I don't see many large non-dog mammals anymore. When they stick their tails up, their butts sure are white! They didn't seem to mind us at all, which was both fun and a little unsettling.

Clothing: The usual. Good choice.
How did I feel? Fantastic. I was doing a fare amount of jumps and kicks. That really gets your heart rate up fast! Till I crashed (I hadn't had any breakfast) when we still had about a mile to go. I need to eat breakfast when we're running this long...or start thinking about clif shots or something.
Other runners: There were other runners. One of whom warned us about the bridge, "watch out for the bridge," he had said.

Destination: Amitabul for brunch. But they didn't open til NOON! So we had to come up with a different plan. We went to Blind Faith in Evanston. Many of us got the Aztec hash, which was sup-delicious with the salsa. And our server was cute and friendly, despite our sweaty appearances.
What do I like about running? It's play.

Friendly Path of Walking Sticks

Time of departure: 7:00 am Return: 8:35 am
Sunrise: 7:10 am. It's still dark when I wake up, but bright when I leave the house.
Temperature: 15°F
Wind Chill: 4°F (yikes!)
Route: The usual. On the lakefront path.
Running buddy: Matt

Sky cover/ environmental observations: Today is very sunny and very blue with just a few clouds in the sky. There is still some snow on the ground, but you can see the tops of the blades of grass peaking at you. There were big ice cubes in the lake (which made me really happy and reminded me of icy water kayaking). The lake was blue and talkative today while breaking some waves on the shore. The pine tree pile is still smelling yum. Most significant observation: When the wind would blow, it would hurt in the bones of my face, even with the gator pulled up.

Lake Shore Drive: Mildly distasteful in scent and taste and noise, but not overwhelming.

Clothing: I walked the dogs in my usual windbreaker pre-run, and felt the wind a bit more than I prefer. I opted to wear my dad's Frank Shorter Gortex jacket, a significantly warmer option. A good choice. I would have probably even been comfortable in a long-sleeve t-shirt as well. But the clothing was: shoes, socks, army pants, wicker, t-shirt, gortex, gator, gloves, hat. All stayed on all the time. Note: Matt wears the same thing, and not very much, I think, all the time up to like, what, 40°F, and then he wears shorts? He's hardcore like that. But even he admitted it was cold today.
How did I feel? From the hips down I felt good. But my abs, of all things, were the problem area today. I think they are super sore and trigger point ridden from west african dancing Tuesday night. It felt like my rectus abdominis was stuck to my obliques, and the pulling from the running seemed to activate the trigger points.

People spotted from the hill: Nope!
Other runners: Yes. There were quite a few runners. Walkers too. I want to attribute it to the sunniness of today. It really was a beautiful morning. One interesting piece was the contagious friendliness that existed on the path today. A few people said "hello" and "good morning" to us, and then we started being friendly to other people too! There were two or three people who were walking with walking sticks, a good idea since there is still some ice on the path. A few running buddies. A few people running with dogs. A few solo runners, some with fancy gear, some old sweatpants. Someone "of an older generation" was doing push-ups on against a park bench. It makes me happy to see people outside being active.
Bike commuters: Yes! By no means was there a constant flow of bike traffic, but there were quite a few out! They appeared well-equipped and bundled for the weather, hardcore veterans, they knew what to wear. My hat's off to them.
Dog Beach: Too chilly to go look. Presumably, some of the dogs we saw took a romp on the beach.

What do I like about running? Running is an aperture through which you can see the world and experience your body.

It seems that the cold temperature is not enough to keep people indoors. A sunny day will draw people out despite the cold, or perhaps in spite of the cold. It seems to encourage some extra friendliness as well. We'll have to watch for that. I do remember when we were running in the rain the few people we would encounter were friendly. (Friendly: a smile and a nod, or "good morning," or even a "hello" or "mornin'" with no smile, or even eye contact with a recognition of another's humanity). What is the bond between people when everyone realizes there is a degree of absurdity to their willing participation in a given situation. Mutual validation of a absurd experience? Today was different than that though, I think, this was more honest friendliness for the sake of friendliness because the sun is shining. Today was smiles and nods and "good mornin's."

I also find it interesting that I hear a lot of people complaining about the cold. Not while running, obviously, but in the rest of my life. And I have to say that I really don't feel the same thing, and I'm always suprised that they're complaining. Of course, I recognize it's cold, but it doesn't feel cooooooold. Certainly nothing to complain about, just something to observe. I think that running in the cold has helped me acclimate so it is never much of a shock. I'm looking forward to seeing how I will feel on those days when you walk out and your eyelashes and snot freeze immediately. I wonder if you acclimate to that? I suppose there will come a time when it really isn't safe to run. But wait! There are people who run marathons on the south pole, so... Matt, there is no wussing here. :) Besides, with this whole global warming thing going on, we may not get anymore of those super cold snot-freezing days.

An Average Winter Run

Time of departure: 7:00am
Sunrise: 7:12 am
Temperature: 26°F
Wind Chill: 17°F
Route: The usual: down, over, over, up.
Running buddy: Matt

Sky cover/ environmental observations: Cloudy, but there was some pink light peeking through the clouds which was kind of pretty. There was still snow on the path from yesterday's snowfall, maybe 1/4 - 1/2 inch or so. It was pretty light and dry. The pile of groundup xmas trees continues to smell heavenly, it's piney aroma being a treat to the senses. Especially because there aren't very many aromas in the winter. The air was crisp and cold in that good-winter-day kind of way.

Clothing: Army pants, neon, T-shirt, wind, hat, gloves, gator remained on all the time. Perfect clothing choice.
How did I feel? Good. You know, it's 7:00 in the morning, which means waking up in the 6's. My arches are sore from running a bit the other day while NOT in athletic shoes (silly, silly).

People spotted from the hill: Not a whole lot going on. Two people looked like they were working by the salt pile and there was one person on a bicycle, but he didn't appear to be a recreational biker. No one out recreationally.
Destination: Home. Arrived: 8:35am
What do I like about running? I like that I don't have to think about it. Like breathing. I can think about breathing, but I don't have to. It's liberating.

First Saturday Run to ANF

Time of departure: 10:30am
Temperature: 22°F
Wind Chill: 14°F
Sky Cover: Beautifully blue, sunny, and cloudless.

Route: Down the lakefront path, extra hill runs at Montrose
Running buddy(ies): Matt, Eric, Paula, & Pete
Clothing: Army pants, neon green sweat wicker, T-shirt, wind breaker. Ended up wearing hat all of the time, gator not so much, gloves sometimes. Good choice on clothing.

How did I feel? Awesome! It's days like this that running is really fun.
Other people spotted: Soccer players at Montrose Hill (interesting to note, one player was in SHORTS!), a few people & dogs at dog beach. Quite a few people out today.
Destination: Alice & Friends Restaurant. Arrived: 12:10pm. Bi Bim Bop and the salads were delicious, but some of our food was cold (and it should not have been) when it arrived.

What do I like about running? It reminds me I'm alive.

The Point

Questions come up like:

It's 42 degrees or 22 degrees with a windchill of 12, it's 7am or 10pm. What do I wear?

The sun is not yet up and it's below freezing. We're out running. Why??

How much does the weather affect the other runners out there. How many runners would run at the same time, same day, same route when the weather is idyllic versus when the weather turns running into an extreme adventure sport. And it's not just runners, who else is out there? Let's pay attention.

When there are runners under these more extreme conditions, are they in pairs or in groups, do they have dogs, are they alone? How do they get out the door?! Because without a buddy I know will be waiting for me, I could not guarantee I'd be out of bed and out the door.