It was after a snowstorm hit the Phladelphia area a couple days ago that Elizabeth and I went for a run. We’d heard the trails in Valley Forge National Park were plowed (NOT!), so we set out to do 7.36 miles in the very, very windy weather. It was 31 degrees but I think the wind chill was around 8 degrees. Here are the deets:
This morning’s run was quite hilly. The hills in Valley Forge are generally of the “rolling” variety to Elizabeth, but to me they’re a bit long and gradual. To compare with NC, we fluctuated about 150 feet here in Valley Forge, while I fluctuated about 200 feet in Clemmons, NC.
The challenge was evident to our bodies, though. The hills were understandably tough, but they were made tougher but the snow that had usually drifted into the path. While sometimes we were running on pavement, we usually were running on snow, whether it be a thin layer, packed snow, chunky snow, or ankle-deep powder. When we were in the ankle-deep snow, running was a lot like running on a moving walkway but in the wrong direction; you feet would sometimes travel farther back than your footfall as you tried to lift them back up to stride forward, leaving you with almost no forward movement. That kind of running really taxed our breath. We averaged 9:25s–that’s just how tough the experience was. Add to that that we stopped maybe 3 times for a few minutes a time.
Clothingwise, I feared being too underdressed. I set out with a Christmas present from my brother–a windproof, waterproof jacket that is so lightweight and thin that it fits into its own pocket–and only a long-sleeve base technical layer (with Breath Thermo) and I was just fine. Some Breath Thermo fleece running gloves were also perfect, leaving my hands not the least bit cold. My feet didn’t get nearly as cold as I thought they would in the snow. Instead, the wicking socks (sorry, they were Nikes) maybe kept the water away from me, but my new Wave Rider 14s didn’t seem to let in too much of the show (which probably wasn’t melting much). I wore running tights, too, and while my legs were amoung the colder parts of my body, they weren’t really that bad. But, man, the windproof jacket seemed to work really well. We had some major gusts to endure!
I didn’t have my YakTrax with me to aid in the run, which would have been nice to have. Instead, we had the thrill of being among 5 runners in this barren park flanked with log cabins from the days of George Washington. I like little fun adventures in running like this.