Frostbite

Saturday morning training had been organised by the club for those who were entering the cross-country races over the next few weeks. Nick had rung me up to organise the transport to Marly where it was taking place, but as I got up that morning I beagn to feel that it was a bad idea.

I hadn't been feeling well all week and my cold was still hanging around like a bad memory. To make matters worse, it was early on a Saturday and I felt as though I could do with a good lie-in. And to cap ita ll, having made my way down to the kitchen I looked at the thermometer and it was reading -11°C. Marvellous.

I put on some running tights, 3 tops, a hat, a buff for my neck and some gloves. That should see me through the ordeal I thought. I picked Nick up and drove to Marly park where we got out and met the others. There were a surprisingly good number of runners that had turned up, at least 20. Miguel, Jean-Marc, Thierry, Bruno, Mireille, Regis and Fabrice were there so I didn't have the excuse of taking it easy either. As we set off on the warm-up jog around the course, I could feel the chill around my legs and the cold on my face. My gloves were as good as useless at this temperature too.

The warm-up lap involved a flat stretch through the park and then a long pull of about 500m up a steep slope before going back down and then attacking a steeper slope for about 250m of uphill. We then ran back down before a 1.5 km stretch around the lake running through some powder snow on the far side along an uneven surface. That was the warm-up lap - we now had to run this 3 times pushing the uphills and the last stretch around the lake.

I managed the first lap in an approximate fashion trying to hold on to the leaders. The second 3.75km lap was a lot harder and the uphills were agony. My face was freezing and I lacked the willpower and the strength to stay with them drifting off the back only to catch them on the faster stretch around the lake. The third lap was the killer though: drifting off the back up the hills and losing touch completely, having to run by myself around the lake.

I was spent as I stood at the top of the slope waiting for Nick and their group to finish before heading back to the car. The cold was unbearable once you stopped and I could feel (or rather not) in some areas of my body, most noticeably my crotch. The pain became intense and I was almost doubled up with agony as the blood started flowing to all the extremeties once I got back into the car. It was like being hit in the testicles but permanently.

Laurence refused to help in any way, shape or form despite my pleading once I got home. So much for body warmth. I won't be going on a Himalayan expedition with her in the near future.

Asked Dad for some thermal running tights for my birthday instead !