But, How Cold is it Inside My Own Head?

OK, I don’t get it.

I grew up in New York City, I did my undergraduate work in Montreal, Canada, and lived in Boston for 15 years. Heck, I was even born in February. So, you’d think I love the cold. Right? Wrong.

I hate being cold. To me, a perfect winter day is one spent inside, drinking lots of hot coffee, buried under several blankets, and maybe even a cat. When I woke up this morning, it was 16 degrees. Did I crank up the heat, gather all the blankets and cats in my house and hunker down for a nice day spent indoors with a hot pot of coffee and a few good books? No, I went for a run.

I know; running in the winter is crazy. It’s insane! So why I was doing it? Well, two reasons. First, I have started training for my first race in 2011, which will be the New York City Half Marathon in March. And second, I’m meeting my neighbor, Karen.

Karen and I have daughters who go to school together. One afternoon at school pick up we got to talking and found out we were both runners. And though we both run, we’re very different. Karen completed the 2010 New York Marathon as a “run/walker”. This means that the woman knows how to go the distance, and to do it in a way that doesn’t send her body towards ridiculous amounts of physical therapy. I generally only run, allowing myself to walk only if I feel like it will be the last steps I ever take in my life because I’m about to die. Since I’m sitting here writing this, I’ve obviously never had a run that dire.

Karen and I started running together a few weeks ago. In my opinion, we’re a pretty good combination (though you might want to ask her how she feels about it). When Karen runs, her pace is faster than my normal one, and I love that extra push. But, Karen did all her marathon training without a coach, so now I can pass on my little pearls of Peter K wisdom to her. I’ve taught her about nutrition before and after a big workout (it’s mostly all about complex carbs; my deepest apologies to all you Atkins Dieters). On the first cold day we ran together, I taught her about layering to keep warm, and the 3 Ws of winter running (Wicking, Warmth, Wind. The first layer should wick sweat from your body, the second should keep you warm and toasty, and that last layer should take those wind gusts you run into and tell them where to go). Now, Karen and I have been running together throughout the winter, but it has finally gotten super cold.

This morning my alarm went off, and I quickly assessed my physical situation. I was ensconced in flannel sheets topped with a fleece blanket and quilt, wedged between a furnace (my husband) and a heating pad (my cat). Yeah, it could have been June and I couldn’t have been any more warm or comfortable. And all I thought was, “Get your [rear body part] out of bed.” Eventually, I complied.

I pulled on all my running gear, laughing at how much clothing it was physically possible to wear at one time. I threw on my warmest running tights, and 4 layers on top instead of 3 (and wondered if that extra middle layer would serve as “wicking” or “warm”). I went downstairs, and checked the thermometer outside our kitchen window, hoping against hope that the temperature had increased about 20 degrees or so. Nope. I tied up my sneakers, cursing the tiny ventilation holes in them that would suck in all the cold air in Pelham and turn my feet to blocks of ice within a few minutes. I put on my running hat, running gloves, and then running mittens over my gloves. I finally took a deep breath and stepped outside.

I started running immediately, for fear that I’d freeze on the spot. Karen and I meet midpoint between our houses, about a ½ mile away. I ran to our meeting point, and jogged in place until Karen arrived. Then we started running together, and after a minute or two I started to giggle, realizing that it was about 20 degrees colder in my own head than it was outside. I was completely fine, and even unzipped my windbreaker – about 2 inches (hey, it’s New York in January, not Atlanta in August. I was warm, not crazy).

I turned to Karen and thanked her for meeting with me. I told her that I had built up the cold so much in my own mind that if I wasn’t going to meet her for our run, I never would have gone outside. She said that she told her husband the exact same thing when she was leaving her own comfortably warm and well insulated house this morning.

Karen and I had a great run. We had a nice chat, got in a great workout, and knew full well that accountability to the other person is the only thing that got our [rear body parts] out the door this morning. And yes, we’re running together again next weekend. It’s supposed to be below freezing again; I can’t wait.