Wednesday, December 16, 2009

The Big Chill

It's been a challenging week to be a runner. I missed a few midweek runs with the cold weather descending on the valley and dipping into dangerously cold. By Friday, things had warmed up to a balmy -19c and I was desparate to get outside. I ran up Sulfur Mountain and then headed back down to the Fenland Trail. By that time the wind had picked up and it was c-c-cold again. I hid in the forest, resurrected the IPod which I haven't used since last winter and did laps of the 2km forest trail. In summertime, this would be the most boring of boring runs, but in wintertime everything gets transformed into a magical winter wonderland! That's good because I did 6 laps. I ran for 5 hours and felt pretty good about it.



For the weekend, we were looking forward to skiing in to Egypt Lake Shelter, but when the weather was forecast to be below -30c we thought it was best and safest to NOT wake up in a little cabin in the woods. Instead, we skiied up Healy Pass and then returned to the comfort of home. It was a cold day and I was having difficulty staying warm despite a ski that climbed for 8km!! It was the right decision for us. It was a beautiful day and you could see and feel the cold all around us. Stu and Anna continued up and over the pass and enjoyed a night at the shelter, while we scurried home to the hot tub. :)




On Sunday morning it was -30c in town and Keith and I were glad to enjoy a lazy morning. By mid-afternoon it was -25C, practically tropical so we headed into the forest behind our house and up the hill to try and get warm! We did a kick-ass short but sweet run of 1 hour with some tough climbing and I couldn't believe how strong Keith is. He hasn't lost any of his fitness and he's so excited to be back running. He was giddy to be ripping around in the woods, even in the -25C.



Last night, things had warmed up to a most enjoyable -10c, which was aaaaawesome so we jumped back on the Tuesday night program, the Sulfur Mountain night run. There were big smiles and sounds of "Weeeeeeeee!" in the woods. Yay for a week of normal temperatures in the forecast!

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey Girl, let me know if you want to come South to thaw out. ;-)

Lily on the Road said...

We are going to get your temps (well maybe not SO cold) starting tonight....

Looks like it was a beautiful weekend none the less.

Paige said...

WOW, COLD! Good for you, getting out there and running!

Gretchen said...

I love your concept of "normal" temps. Now I remember why I moved out of Minnesota.
Enjoy the skiing. Cold temps make for light fluffy pow at least! :)

Leslie said...

Hi Sue! I AM coming to visit...
This girl has signed up for your little crazy race. Coyote 2 Moons here I come!

Hi Lily, Hope all is well out East!

Howdy Paige, I'm soothing myself with a few warmer weather adventures in Feb and March....
Something to look forward to in the dark/cold months!

Hi Gretchen, Oh yeah, it's dry and fluffy here. I have had quite a few good days, but I'm waiting for the super-mega-big-dump soon!
I love big dumps!

Deanna Stoppler said...

I hear you girl! The cold was on my mind last week too. We had a pretty good wind chill and -20C, which was a bit toasty compared to your -35C.

Anonymous said...

Merry Xmas to you and say Hi to your Mom. Christel

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