OWL-DRAGON

Cold Weather Running

The talking heads like to call this area the I95 Corridor. In fact that highway does mirror a real topographical and hence weather pattern. We are often on the in between and it is notoriously difficult to get the weather forecast since a small fluctuation is the difference between rain and snow; a storm and a near miss.

The Valentine’s Day storm that trapped so many on I78 was one of those. Here in Delaware County we saw rain, snow, sleet. Mostly we escaped the worst but it left an icy remnant I was still getting rid today.

Since my oak has fallen I have often chosen to begin my trail run in the Park instead of the Arboretum. This means I can avoid crossing Rt 352 and a long swampy area before the woods…I start on the multiuse trail and have several choices of where to enter the woods. Friday I chose to enter almost immediately on the yellow trail. It is a slight uphill. The snow cover in crusted over but each step I break thru. There is a single set of human tracks where someone walked yesterday and of course lots of animal prints. Later I would see the bloody remaina of a hunter – hunted encounter.

The going is difficult but doable. At the top of the hill I enter the arboretum property. Here I am breaking trail for a while and then a stream crossing. It looks tricky but I see one safe stepping and make it across dry shod. On the other side I join up with one of the main trails and this has more human traffic and surprisingly snowmobile tracks but the advantage is that by following the tracks I have better purchase. When the tracks lead off in another direction I am breaking trail again but after a few hundreds another set of tracks. Skis – tough trail for and later I can see the marks are the skier made their way uphill. Then more fresh trail but mostly downhill so the going is easier. I need to make my way across the stream – this time I am not so luck or skillful and my left foot goes in. I am about a mile from my car and figure I will be fine if I keep moving. A short climb and I know at the top of the next hill I take a short cut to the multi use trail and figure I better use it and get to asphalt. A short run downhill and I’m done – man that foot is cold. Now I know why in the wilderness it is so dangerous to get wet.

Saturday I got my long run early and found the going pretty easy. Saturday afternoon I volunteered to help out with the Fila The Love 5K . It was held in the Coopertown section of Haverford Township. This is a brand new run invented by Bob Schwelm owner of the Bryn Mawr Running Company. This has to be one of the most challenging ideas for a brand new run I ever heard of. The idea was to run teams in five categories (blood related, lovers, mixed couple, same sex couple, and individual). Each team would start together but after 100 yards separate each running the course in a separate direction. Seeing each other in passing on the course.

I worked registration which was complicated because you had to capture all the usual information plus the team info. Some the of couples were comical – they hadn’t chosen whether they were lovers or just mixed couple. One couple went back and forth before finally settling on lover. I felt like a match maker.

Despite the complications of running two courses and the icy streets the race went very well. The timers did a great jump of getting the results quickly. I think a great tradition was started.