9/24/2019 0 Comments WHO IS THE HYPOTHERMIC RUNNER?When I first started running, I had no idea it was unusual to spend half the year training in temperatures of -10C to -30C (that’s 14F to -22F to you Americans). Those temperatures were just a part of Canadian life. But as I began to have issues from frozen feet to frozen water bottles to frozen sports watches, I discovered that most of the cold-weather running tips I could find were for temperatures at which I wouldn’t even throw on a jacket. When you’re running in one of the coldest cities on earth, you need better advice than “when it’s icy or snowy, run on the treadmill.” Run inside for 6 months out of the year? Get outta here! Not that I don’t occasionally use a treadmill, but the vast majority of the time, my running buddies and I are outside, skidding along ice and stomping through snow. And over the past twenty years, I’ve built up a good deal of experience about real cold weather running through trial and (many) error(s). Now, I want to pay it forward, to be the resource I wish I’d had years ago. In this blog, I’ll give you tips on:
And much more, with the occasional jaunt into other topics such as transitioning from cold-weather running to running in the heat of a tropical vacay or destination race, running book reviews, and pre-run foods for sensitive stomachs. A bit about me: I’m the adoptive mother of three amazing school-age kids, and share my life with a hockey-loving, rarely-running husband. I work part-time as a veterinary technologist and part-time as a nanny for my best friend’s toddler; grew up in a chilly city that has what most of the world considers to be the funniest name ever: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; and have lived most of my adult life in equally frigid Edmonton, Alberta, known (if you know it at all) as the home of North America’s largest mall and the former home of hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky. In the early 2000's, I was an instructor for the 10K Running Clinic at Edmonton's Kinsmen Running Room store. I don’t particularly like the cold. In fact, I hate it, mostly because I have a condition called Raynaud’s Syndrome, which means I have extremely poor circulation in my hands and feet. My fingers and toes go numb, turn all sorts of funky colours, and I’ve suffered frostbite numerous times. This happens not only in cold weather, but whenever I open the fridge, go swimming, or walk by the frozen section of the supermarket. There’s no treatment or cure for Raynaud’s: the best suggestion any physician ever gave me was to move somewhere warm. Great life if I could get it, but between finances, family, and my husband’s firmly-planted skates, I’m not going anywhere. When I peel off my mitts at the end of a run and people see my red, white, blue and sickly yellow fingers despite the HotShots hand warmers I’ve diligently stuffed into said mitts, they think I’m crazy for running outdoors. They’re probably right. But... I don’t just run for my physical health or competition, but for my mental health. I might be crazy for running, but trust me, I’d be crazier if I didn’t. Maybe you recall the part where I mentioned I’m an adoptive mother? The decade-long struggle with infertility and the road to building our family was longer and slipperier and more arduous than any -40C middle-of-February half marathon I’ve ever run. Throughout the past 10+ years, I’ve experienced depression, suicidal thoughts, and severe anxiety. No one in my immediate circle understood what I was going through, and many insensitive, though well-meaning remarks were made (and some not so well-meaning remarks, too). I thank the gods I had running to fall back on, and in, and through. Even now that I’m blessed to finally have the family I spent so many years fighting for, I find I just have to run away from everyone at least a few times a week. And trust me, a treadmill doesn’t cut it. So join me, fellow Hypothermic Runners (Runners of the North? Team Toque? Arctic Foxes?) and let’s go for a run. -Kathy Istace
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AuthorKathy Istace runs and races in one of the coldest cities on earth. Archives
December 2020
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