Friends don't let friends run cold

My "friend" Annie suggested that we do a morning run sometime. (I use the "quotes" because anybody who makes you get up early to go running can't possibly have your best interests in mind.) The plan was Wednesday morning, 6:30 am, Griffith Park. Now to be honest I was a little intimidated; not necessarily by her running (although she is a multi-marathoner and half-ironmanner), but rather by the hour. Could I really get up THAT early for a run? So I did a practice Tuesday morning.

When I stepped outside at about 6:20, it was chilly but not bitterly cold. This was a good sign. My car thermometer said it was 55 degrees. Not bad, but I was still in a covered parking structure. By the time I drove down a few levels, it was 53 degrees. Fine.

It is literally a 2 mile drive to Griffith Park, and the entire trip I watched the digital thermometer like a ticking time bomb: 53 degrees... 51...49...47... I could not believe the temperature was dropping that quickly, but there probably is a real difference between being surrounded by concrete and asphalt and being surrounded by wide-open fields of dirt. By the time I arrived at Griffith it was 41 degrees.

41 Degrees! I don't care where you live, 41 is still cold weather to go running in. But, I had to drudge through it so Annie wouldn't think I was a wimp the next day. I wound up running at a pace almost 80 seconds per mile faster than I usually do, just to get out of the cold sooner. I survived, numb ears and all.

I checked in with Annie later in the day to see if we were still good to go for Wednesday, and warned her that it's 41 degrees in Griffith Park in the morning. Her response? "That sounds cold. We should run at night when it's much warmer." See, that's the wisdom of experience right there. I, the novice, think "it's too cold! I better run faster!". The veteran thinks "it's too cold! I should run when it's warmer."

I have so much to learn.