Ambush!

By the weather, that is. Man did that turn nasty! When I left work, it was windy, but not too bad. I got home, changed to shorts and a tee, double checked the weather and temp and decided to wear a vest, because of the wind.

It had been pretty grey all afternoon, so wasn't expecting it to be all that nice out. I ran along the bluff and turned the hairpin onto the top of The Path. That's when I noticed a squall coming down the river valley. It was slightly obscuring Spruce Cliff, but I wasn't too concerned. It was still quite decent out.

About halfway down The Path, the snow started, the kind that would probably be called snow grains. And the wind too. It was coming from the northwest, and The Path is well sheltered from that direction.

After crossing to the trail along Memorial Drive, I was in the full brunt of the wind. Still it wasn't too bad, and the snow seemed to peter out. The pavement wasn't even wet. But that wind had a chill to it. It seemed to get colder as I ran and my hands were cold, enough that my fingers and wrists ached a little. I was hoping they would warm up from the exertion, but the wind was slowing that.

Just past the Louise Bridge, the snow squall intensified and so did the wind, like, a lot! But again, it let up by the time I reached the Metawa Bridge at 14th Street. I briefly thought of ending the outbound leg there and settling for a 7 km run, but my hands felt better. My bare arms and legs were fine.

The next kilometre was just plowing into the wind until I reached Crowchild. The snow was barely enough to dampen the pavement on the path, while the wind continued to coldly bite.

I crossed a bouncing footbridge under Crowchild, the wind strong enough to set up some resonance. It was a relief to get to the south side of the river and be running with the wind, and also to be in the lee of the trees and bush along the edge of the river.

Just past the Pumphouse, the snow began in earnest. No more snow grains, this was big fluffy stuff, and wet and heavy too. It was actually kinda nice, and would have been delightful if not for the wind. I noticed then that my bare legs and arms were cold at the skin. My hands were fine though, with the wind behind.

And then the wind wasn't behind. The snow began to thicken. Along Bow Trail, nearly a parking lot at that point, probably from some accident or maybe all the construction for the new C-Train leg, the wind really started to drive the snow hard. There is little shelter along that stretch, all the way to 14th Street.

It was better after than with more trees, but the snow continued to intensify and so did the wind. By the time I reached the C-Train bridge, I was feeling soaked through, and the wind started to suck the heat out of my body. I took the detour around the Peace Bridge construction, at the far side turning fully into the wind, and I got the full brunt of the driving wet snow.

The rest of the promenade, I don't know what it was. I was thinking of the suspension bridge from Prince's Island to the curling club, how exposed it was, and how I'd be running straight into the wind, and how wet and cold my shirt and vest were. It wasn't all that bad, though.

On The Path Under The Stairs I had the wind behind me. I pushed hard all the way up, not so much to be fast or because I felt strong, but just to try and generate some body heat. I ran the top of the bluff head down and into the wind, and finished strong.

At home, I skipped most of the post-run stretching, took a couple of pictures out the front window including this one, and went straight to a long and very hot shower.

Yesterday's run:
Distance: 10.10 Time: 57:27
Average speed: 5:35 min/km. (10.41 kph)

Shoes: New Balance 769 (Blue).
Today's earworm: Get me home L n K!
Weather: Cloudy and 10C with winds about 30 kph gusting to 45 kph at the start; an hour later it was snow and -1 with winds 45 kph gusting to 60 kph. Yikes!