Finally a break in the weather has occurred and so I did not have to resign myself to the treadmill. The last two or three runs have been on the treadmill because of the minus 30 degree cold and a wind chill to minus 45 degrees C. Today was a nice -2 degree high with a very light wind. I started out low in the river valley by the boat launch area and made one long climb out of the valley on the access road. That hill is 1 kilometer. Then I ran along the paved but still snow covered paths in the Town of Devon. Once I climbed out of the valley, the course was pretty flat with only an occasional tiny hill. I ran 5 km out then back again so the last kilometer was all downhill. I made that 10 km run in my VFFs in about 1:19. I wore my VFFs with toe socks and before I went out I also donned extra layers of protection from my ankles to my knees in the hopes of keeping my toes from freezing. That consisted of wrapping a Velcro Tensor knee braces loosely around my ankles then a pair of gaiters over top of that.
My muscles were too stiff on the initial climb out of the valley and I wish I had rolled before starting out. I had to walk most of that hill. I was worried too that my toes would freeze, especially the middle toe on each foot since I was feeling a little frostbite burn on those. I just kept running and flexing my toes to make sure I could still feel them. It wasn’t until I passed the 3 kilometer mark that my worries about toe frostbite disappeared as they were now nice and toasty warm. I will have to think about better ways to keep my toes warm.
That’s about it. Expect perhaps to say that as long as I can tolerate the cold toes somehow, I can’t imagine myself ever wearing running shoes again for a run. But it is too early to know that for sure. I do not know if there will be a problem if I become really used to the VFFs then suddenly switch back to shoes for a race.
Sometimes, I hate having to figure this stuff out.
