Lansing 12 Miles. Make that 8 Miles.

Run date: January 31, 2010
Run time: Dusk.

It happens to the best of us. We all experience the occasional run that does not go exactly as planned. Nearly two years ago, as I began the running phase of my life, the failed training run hit my pride hard and in the face. Now I accept it as a fact of life....

....Who am I kidding? It still knocks me down a little when I don't complete a training run at the proper speed or distance. However, when the reason for the failed run is the total and utter death cold wind of the upper United States, at least I have something other than my body to blame.

Late this afternoon, before the sun set, I set off on my weekly long run. This week it was 12 miles. The weather was beautiful--a sunny 30 degrees. I dawned the appropriate gear to stay warm under such conditions: long sleeve Smart Wool, long sleeve tech shirt, gloves, pants, merino wool balaclava.

Unfortunately, I failed to realize the possibility that the temperature might actually drop after the sun went down. Stupid enough. But okay that will be a little cold.

When you run, you sweat. It doesn't matter how cold it is outside--your body produces heat to the point that it thinks that sweating will help you out. The idea is to wear running gear in the cold that will wick this sweat away from your skin or block the wind from finding that moisture.

Ergo, when you set out to run in beautiful and sunny 30 degree weather, dressed appropriately, you sweat. Then the sun goes down. Then the wind starts gusting. Then you realize that the brilliant piece of Smart Wool that is the balaclava dividing your wet head from the wind gust is a lot thinner than you think.

As I felt my head rapidly lose heat, I, like any idiotic prideful runner, continued to run for a few more miles, doing the best I could to dry off my face and hair with my gloves. Then my gloves became quite wet as well.

As the cold Michigan wind clamped its massive jaw down on the sides of my head and the tips of my fingers, it soon found a way to cut through the two shirts I had protecting my torso. Had I begun my run in these weather conditions, I would have dressed more appropriately and been perfectly fine. Instead of the long sleeve tech, my outer layer would have been a thick #3 capilene, perhaps even an additional windbreaker. I would have worn a thicker hat in addition to the balaclava. I wouldn't have needed to dry my face and head off with my gloves that became unbearably wet.

One more mile.

Excruciating pain. This is not the pain of the sore hamstring or the nagging ankle. This is the pain of standing out at the bus stop in the fourth grade with wet hair. This is the pain of walking down the driveway to get the newspaper in the morning without putting on a jacket or pants. However, instead of having the bus pull up beside me or my front door and breakfast table nearby to save me, I still had four miles to go.

Luckily, I am a huge nerd, and I happen to carry around my new phone so that I can log my runs on GPS (who knew??). I stopped in the vestibule of a university-owned inn on the secluded southwest corner of campus. Because the balaclava made me look like a bank robber, they didn't really want to let me in all the way. I used my phone to call my friend Megan. And she came to pick me up. I was defeated.

Here is a map of the incomplete journey. I made it 8 out of the 12 miles. Not so bad for such a life threatening ordeal.


View 1/31/2010 - First 8 Miles in a larger map

Total Distance: 13.27 km (8.2 mi)
Total Time: 1:11:32
Moving Time: 1:09:00
Average Pace: 5.35 min/km (8.6 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 5.20 min/km (8.4 min/mi)
Min Pace: 3.17 min/km (5.1 min/mi)
Min Elevation: 205 m (671 ft)
Max Elevation: 236 m (775 ft)
Elevation Gain: 221 m (726 ft)
Max Grade: 9 %
Min Grade: -7 %
Recorded: Sun Jan 31 16:27:26 EDT 2010

After contacting Megan, I decided to keep running until she passed by in her car to pick me up. At this point, my body had cooled down, and the cold was even more excruciating. GPS still running, here is a map of the jaunt outwards. The turnaround point indicates where I decided it was way too cold to do anymore, and I turned right back around and into the vestibule.


View 1/31/2010 - Whoops Too Cold in a larger map

Total Distance: 0.67 km (0.4 mi)
Total Time: 3:50
Moving Time: 3:23
Average Pace: 5.35 min/km (8.6 min/mi)
Average Moving Pace: 5.06 min/km (8.2 min/mi)
Min Pace: 3.89 min/km (6.3 min/mi)
Min Elevation: 230 m (753 ft)
Max Elevation: 242 m (793 ft)
Elevation Gain: 6 m (19 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Sun Jan 31 17:42:12 EDT 2010

To pay Megan back, I told her I would buy her dinner. Too bad we went to YaYa's. The chicken was surprisingly good. Everything else was as disgusting as you have always imagined. At least it was warm...kind of.