Well, everybody, I did it. I ran ten miles through snow and over ice. I got up before 6 a.m. on a Sunday. And I did it twice.
And it was actually great.
Last Sunday, unsure what would await us at Schenley Park, Rich and I set off along the trail. It had snowed off and on throughout the day Saturday, and the trail was coated with soft, fresh snow. I’ve since debated whether this made it easier or harder to run—easier because the ground was softer and caused less impact on the knees and feet; harder in the way that running on sand can be tough going, because the ground kind of absorbs the force of your footfalls—but have concluded it didn’t make too much difference either way.
I’ve written before about running on the trail, and more to the point, Rich has posted some nice photos of it. Basically it’s a two-mile route, so our runs called for five full circuits of it. My experience of these two long runs (which are the longest I’ve ever done; I can think of one or two five- to six-mile runs I did as a younger man, but that’s it as far as distance running in my past) is filtered through running Schenley Park a couple years ago. I lived in the Greenfield section of Pittsburgh and I’d run down along Greenfield Avenue to the park (which is about a mile or a mile and a half) and then do just a part of one of these loops, and run back. It was probably about 3 1/2 miles all told. Anyway, that’s something I thought about when I got to one end of the trail, jogged in place for a second, took a drink of water, and then started back the way I’d come: this is already farther than I used to run, and I’m only 20% done. It wasn’t a despairing thought, though, that I had 80% left to do, because I could feel I had it in me.
In fact, the running was—I definitely don’t want to say “easy,” since it wasn’t—just fine. There was something about knowing it was such a long run, and also knowing the terrain—knowing, for instance, that I’d be climbing up this hill once more, and going down it twice more—that calmed me down and made me very much aware that yes, this was a long, long run, but I’d get through it.
It was also quite beautiful out. The whole city seemed quiet, more especially silent than usual because of the muffling effect that snow can have. It didn’t even feel dark running the trail, because the trail itself was snow-white, and the trees and woods were covered in it. I barely noticed when the sun began to come up, except for the sky turning orangeish. It was a great feeling to see the first morning jogger and say “Good morning” as we passed each other, and think (a little smugly, I’ll admit) that this lazybones had actually waited until dawn to rise and hit the trail. Also, I saw a family of deer during my run, which was eerie and quite nice.
There’s not too much to add regarding the second 10-mile run, which was yesterday, the 14th. The trail wasn’t quite as pristine, since it had snowed off and on throughout the week and the snow that remained was that special Pittsburgh wintry mix of powder, trodded-down hardened snow, and ice. On top of that the temperature was climbing and there were lots of spots where you stepped from a long hard patch of dangerous-seeming slick snow to the trail itself, clear and dry. Despite the seemingly hazardous condition of the trail, I only slipped once, and that was only for a frightening half-second before I caught myself and kept on going.
Anyway, I was quite proud of myself both times, and felt I’d earned a leisurely day of watching football. Two strange things about the aftermath of the run, though, one pleasant and one kind of unpleasant: one, I seemed to have white salt deposits all over my face following the run, the result of a lot of sweat and (maybe) insufficient hydration. (This is actually the “pleasant” thing, because it makes me feel kind of tough and extreme to note these salt deposits, which I’ve never encountered before.) The other thing is that I could not get to sleep afterwards, either time; I expected to be exhausted afterwards and to nap easily, but no. Instead I went through both Sundays feeling kind of lethargic and sleepy, but not enough to actually drift off. I’m beginning to wonder how many miles I’d need to run to really put myself out. I’m sure I will find out.
Here ends my report on two weeks’ long runs. Rich and I will go out next Sunday, but then I suppose I will be on my own the following Sunday, as I’ll be visiting family for the holidays.
