Running in the Snow

It is the day after what the Philadelphia Inquirer has rated the 17th heaviest snowfall in the city’s history, and man, I really need to go for a run.

Thirty-five degrees, bright and sunny, but a foot or so of snow just isn’t going to go away that quickly. Vibrams for traction, Injinji socks for warmth, by the end of the block my feet are soaked, my toes going numb. I push it out for a mile before I decide to cut back, give it up before hurting myself. But then my feet begin to warm up from the exercise, feeling floods back into my toes. I keep going, up and down the narrow streets of my neighborhood, figuring if I stick close to home I’ll be alright.

Mountains of snow, seas of slush, but I manage to pull out five miles. Good as long as I keep going. But as soon as I finish the run, stand outside my door and fumble for the keys, the cold slams in.

My First 10 Mile Run Without Shoes

My 10 mile run through Philadelphia's Roxborough neighborhood.

A major milepost for me last week -- I completed my first 10 mile run in my huaraches. A typical December afternoon in Philadelphia – overcast, cold (35 degrees), snow flurries. Ice along the banks of the canal in Manayunk.

I seem to be acclimating to the winter weather. My feet were cold throughout the run, but not enough to shut me down. Heeding advice I picked up from barefoot running blogs, I carried a pair of thermal socks (didn’t need them), and chose a route that in the last half provided the opportunity to bail out and grab a bus if I ran into problems.

Here’s a link to my route on Run.com, if you happen to live in the Philadelphia area. Please note that there is a significant climb about midway.

Yesterday it was my birthday ...

Cormac Clancy and yours truly, Dublin, December 2001, just before my 40th.
Say what you will about these guys, they do take their pints quite seriously.

Yesterday it was my birthday
I hung one more year on the line
I should be depressed
My life's a mess
But I'm having a good time

-- Have a Good Time, Paul Simon

How I Hate the Indoor Track

5 miles today on the indoor track.

Gallery

Fusilier's Arch, St. Stephen's Green, Winter 1984-85

No run today. Instead a bike ride to Chestnut Hill, where I met Donna for a drink. Road home as it was getting dark, beautiful Christmas lights on Germantown Avenue. Biting cold.

Today I have begun the daunting task of uploading photos to Flickr to create a Gallery for this site. Most of these photos were taken close to thirty years ago,  so I may have gotten some things wrong. Old friends, if I have left out anything important, please let me know. Also, please let me know if you have your own photos or memories to lend to the effort.

Cold Weather

The view from my apartment, Herbert Place, winter 84-85

Ran into work yesterday, 8 miles. The temperature was around freezing when I started, and according to the scrolling banner atop the PECO Building, 34 degrees when I hit Center City. I wore a pair of Injinji socks with my huaraches to help protect my feet from the cold. They helped, but were not enough. My toes were numb for much of the way. Not a good thing, considering how important it is to receive feedback through your feet when running barefoot or with minimalist footwear. Either my feet will have to toughen up to the cold, or I will have to come up with an other solution.

I've been reading in the news, and in Facebook postings from friends in Ireland, about how bad the weather has been this past week. Lots of snow and ice.

Cold ducks, St. Stephen's Green

And so I have been remembering another patch of icy, cold weather in Dublin -- late December, early January 1984-85. I awoke one morning to heavy snow coming down, trimming the roofs and chimney pots outside my apartment window. I grabbed my camera and made for St. Stephen's Green, where I snapped this photo of the ducks floating in the snow lined pond. All of the color had been bleached out of the day, rendering everything in black and white and gray. Somewhere I have a photo of the Fusilier's Arch at the top of Grafton Street, faded out in the swirling snow. When I find it, I will post it.