Many of us who run marathons do so some time in spring. This means that at the peak of winter we are busy building up our training distances to approach that of the real thing. There's no escaping this - no long runs, no marathon, which means that whenever winter lives up to its reputation, we could postpone going out for our long runs, but only for one week, otherwise we won't reach the level of fitness needed to run 42km on the fast approaching date of the big event.
Which was why, when it started to snow a couple of Sundays back, I didn't even consider not going out for my long training run. I had scheduled a 2h45m run for that day, and that's what I set out to do, even though it had snowed during the night and it was still snowing as I set out.
The ground was soft and silent. Traffic was almost non-existent. It was wonderful, especially in the forest. I ran out towards the lovely Tervuren Park, where I had to face the first real difficulty as I approached the half way mark, before turning back 1h22m into the run. The bitter cold wind was biting into my exposed cheeks, my face became almost numb and I certainly looked forward to turning back to run along with the wind!
A second hurdle I had to overcome was just as difficult. It had been snowing all along, and while on my way out it was quite pleasant to tread on a thin layer of soft white stuff, this had by now become a much thicker layer of white stuff rendered uneven by lots of other joggers, people who enjoy a wintry walk in the forest, and even cross-country skiers. It was like running on sand, and the only way home was to run back...
Icicles had formed under my eyebrows. My hair was covered in a layer of ice, which possibly served as a cap, trapping a layer of insulating air that kept my scalp warm. But the ground was very uneven and progress on it was much slower than on my way out. Luckily, I had had the good sense to allow the possibility of a short cut for my way back, but the slower pace resulted in the 2h45m duration that I had been aiming for.
If I manage to make it to Rotterdam in April, this will be one of the main milestones of my way there. It was certainly a run that I won't forget very easily. The pictures up above, taken exactly at the end of my run, will serve as a good reminder...
