The weather: -12C
It wasn't a terrible "long slow run" on Sunday. It was just unpleasant. The day was colder than I had anticipated, and I was anxious how my 3-layer technique would hold. My hamstrings were extremely sore after some deadlifts a few days before, meaning I started out a lot slower. I couldn't go the full 11k due to time constraints, so I instead opted to go for "50 minutes" with the plan to turn around at 25min.
Because I was slower, I stayed with the middle/back group. I wasn't in a chatty mood, which was fine, as nobody else was in a strong chatty mood either. What was not so fine is that we reached a point where we weren't sure where the front group had gone. Straight, or right? Of the four of us, one thought right, the other thought straight. I wasn't sure, but some runners that were coming from the other direction said they'd run past our group. So we trusted them and went straight.
As it turns out, the helpful runners had mistaken another group for ours, as we realized a km later it should have been right! I didn't mind so much, but the person who had wanted to go right was rather grumpy/frustrated about the mistake. The silence went from comfortable to mildly awkward.
At the 25min mark I turned around. This was two minutes after I realized I had to use the facilities. By the time I turned around, the urgency to go kicked up to alarming levels. Alarming especially because there were absolutely zero public restrooms in the area.
I grew desperate enough that I strongly considered veering into the bush. The only thing that really stopped me was that it was freezing cold and the bush was not thick enough to hide me - especially in the bright yellow gear I was wearing. Having no desire to bear my bottom to the community (especially in an age of prolific smart phone usage), I decided to grit through it.
I made it back to the store without an accident, whereupon I coughed and coughed and coughed. Apparently, the cold was catching up with my body now that it was in warmth, and my body was strongly protesting the temperature change. Not only that, but I caught a chill that stayed with me long after my shower.
There are some people who talk about how much they love running in winter.
Those people be CRAZY.
Or perhaps just immune to the cold.
