Arctic Blast

Me and a couple trail gangstas

With a predicted low of -2 and wind chill values plunging as low as -25 tonight, my brother, sister, and I accepted the challenge and headed over to the Boston Store for a trail run. When we started our run around 7:00 pm the temperature was 6 and the wind chill factor was -15, with gusts as high as 40 mph! Luckily the valley and the trees along the way provide some protection, but it was still frigid. Since Jamie and Jeff both did not have a balaclava to wear I gave each of them a bandana to cover their faces from the harsh conditions.

We then hopped onto the Buckeye Trail and headed towards Pine Lane with the intention of turning around there and running back. About halfway in though, Jamie said her feet were really cold. Since she was only wearing cotton socks and I didn't know exactly how cold her feet were, I decided it might be best for us to peel off down this paved downhill that leads to Lock 29 and run the Towpath back to the Boston Store for a total of 6+ miles in approx. an hour & 15 minutes. It was extremely cold in the open sections of the Towpath and I found my eye lashes getting heavy and beginning to freeze whenever the winds were steady. We knew it was cold when we ran over the boardwalk section and the wooden boards cracked like a gunshot after each of our steps. Jamie commented that it sounded like the 4th of July.

A couple other amusing things that happened on our run was watching Jamie get startled by a deer running through the woods, listening to a large tree limb that was close to breaking and falling on us, and seeing how Jamie and Jeff's bandanas were frozen solid after getting back to my car. Overall, it was an awesome night run and I found that it really wasn't too bad if you dressed and prepared properly. It's supposed to stay cold Monday and Tuesday but then on Wednesday they're calling for rain and a high in the mid 40s. Crazy Ohio weather!