A spectacular, frozen run

I had mentioned in an earlier blog that I have targeted the upcoming Malta marathon on 1 March to be my tenth full marathon. The date is now fast approaching, and it's time to carry out the Very Long Runs, i.e. 20 miles or more, three of them at least. Otherwise, my marathon on the big day will end at a crawl, which is certainly not my aim.

The problem in this corner of Europe is that we're experiencing the coldest weather since many years, and the past week it was already an achievement to run an ordinary 10km. So how was I to notch up a full three-hour run with most pedestrian paths covered with packed snow? A reconaissance by car yesterday revealed that some footpaths have actually been de-snowed, so this dawn, with the temperature a cool minus 5 Celsius, I hoped for the best as I put on cycling shorts, long trousers, long-sleeved shirt, sweat shirt, reflective bib, woollen cap, woollen gloves plus ski gloves, and hit the silent, frozen road.

Soon enough, in spite of two sets of gloves, it was my hands that started to feel the freeze. Forgetting about the act of running, which was going well on auto-pilot, I concentrated on keeping my fingers warm by kneading, rolling, gripping, and trying in any way to get blood to circulate to the fingertips.

After a while, the discomfort eased away and I could take a look around. I had by this time reached the Chateau de la Hulpe - always a pleasant place to go to, let alone this morning under a white blanket lit by a rising sun. It was a fantastic spectacle! I had the time of my life running aimlessly from one end to various others and back for several times around this large and beautiful park, the soft snow crunching under my feet. It helped me forget the passage of time, which was a good thing given that I had to run for 3 hours.

Eventually, the cold started to bite - my face was feeling numb, almost the way it feels after a visit to the dentist... Worse, I couldn't feel the tips of my fingers, and I re-started the finger-kneading process. Auto-pilot once again, and the minutes flew by as I tried to re-establish the circulation in my hands. Mission eventually accomplished, and 20 minutes to go to a deserved hot bath - and the knowledge that now I've reached the point of no return. A run of 3 hours, without too much trouble apart from the cold, is a huge step towards accomplishing my target.

In this blog, I only register those runs that deserve special mention. This was in every way one of them.