The Ice Age Cometh

It is February and it is cold. The big freeze is tightening its grip on the country and here where I am, it is very cold indeed. It is -3°C tonight, and although I only really understand temperature on the Fahrenheit scale, I am reliably informed that -3°C is extremely cold. Not quite as bad as the extreme cold weather they've been getting on the continent, but still very cold.

I was in London at the weekend and did a 15-mile run on Saturday. A few hours later, it started snowing. A few hours after that, we had several inches of snow. It disrupted my journey home from Central London that night. The Central Line on the London Underground was suspended because of the snowy conditions and I had to take a bus home, a journey that took at least two and a half hours. Then, when I got off at the nearest bus stop to me (a mile-and-a-half away from where I live), I approached the taxi office to book a taxi for the rest of the journey home, only to be told that there wouldn't be any taxis available for 90 minutes. Frustrated, I walked home, trudging through the snow. So I'm exceptionally annoyed that my evening was disrupted by the snow. The snow also inconvenienced me on my journey back to Manchester the next day, which seemingly took forever and a day. 

The snow has also hampered my running progress because a similar amount of snow fell up in Manchester too, and it still has not completely melted away. In fact, some parts of the pavement where I live up here are still icy and snow-covered. Even if there were no snow, the sub-zero temperatures alone are enough to discourage me from venturing out for a short run.

After waiting (im)patiently for a few days, I decided to brave the cold and the ice and go for a run after work. I did six-and-a-quarter miles, making sure to watch where I was going, so that I didn't slip on any icy patches on the pavement. Fortunately the conditions weren't as icy as I thought they would be. It was still freezing though, absolutely frostbite and pneumonia-inducing cold. Wearing two layers of clothing while out running made absolutely no difference whatsoever. I cannot wait until the month of March comes along and temperatures begin to rise again. Not too much, mind you. I can't run in sweltering hot weather. I just need a happy medium. Lukewarm temperatures. No rain, no snow, only a modicum of sun.