A Weekend of Extremes - Am I Crazy?

It's been a very interesting weekend. Extremely cold temps, a great deal of intense workouts, and fun. It started Friday morning with Matt's class (aerobic endurance). Then carried over to Jody's 2 hr. class on Saturday (aerobic endurance). It concluded with Matt's class this morning at Chanhassen (aerobic endurance). When asked, "What is in store for us on this Sunday's religious experience?" Matt's replied, "Pain and suffering." Along with all of this I mixed in some outdoor cycling and running.

So, I hit the workouts hard this weekend. They are so short as it is, I feel like I need to take advantage of it as much as possible, so this weekend I did. Patti happened to be out with friends last night, so of course I had to take advantage of it and go for a ride outdoors. I didn't leave the house until about 10:00 PM. The windchill temps at the time were -40 degrees. I rode for 1 hr. and 15 minutes. Not very long, but it was still fun, and it was a workout. While riding the trail on the south side of Eagle Lake I encountered 7 deer. One was hobbling with what appeared to be a broken right rear leg (ankle). I'm sure this deer will not survive the winter.

I was impressed at how warm I was able to stay despite the cold. I wore several light layers and I was fine aside from my toes. If I do the AH 135 next February, this will be a major concern. The ride went well until I decided to leave the roads and streets to hit the trails. I found them very difficult to ride because of the drifting snow. It was the consistency of wet concrete, and when you hit a drift it would stop you dead. I arrived back home at approximately 11:15 PM. I was happy to see that Patti's car was not in the garage. She was out with friends. I hauled the bike in the basement and proceeded to get out of my many layers of clothing. Suddenly I heard the garage door and knew Patti was home. She entered the house heard me downstairs and came down. "Don't even tell me you were outside," she said. She saw my frosted bike and clothes on the floor...one word said it all. IDIOT! Patti is very straight forward and tends to not mince words. That's why I love her. I smiled and said, "I had a blast!" Her response, after looking at me in dismay, "I'm going to bed and I suppose you are planning on going out and running in this shit tomorrow?" Absolutely! Why not?.........Silence

I awoke at 5:30 AM and was out running by 6:00. Temps at the time were -42 degrees (windchill) I believe the air temp was approx. -17. The run went well and felt great. It reminded me of the 80's when I used to run the "Freeze Yer Gizzard Blizzard 10K Run" in International Falls. This race was part of their "Ice Box Days Celebration." It was often run in temps of -40 to -60 degrees. One year when the windchill was -60 they actually shortened it to 5K.

Anyway, I really enjoyed getting out in the cold. If you dress smart, the temp really doesn't matter. At times like these I find myself the most relaxed. I forget about everything else that's going on in the world and my life, particularly all the bull&%$# at work. I got 40 minutes in which was plenty and then changed, and drove down to Chanhassen for 2 hrs. on the bike.
It was fun to spend time with Matt and Madonna. I thought Kenny would be there, but apparently he had better things to do today, like stay in a nice warm bed. After class we were talking about me being crazy and Matt said, "I really don't think so. I did at first, but after thinking about it. What's the difference if your riding when it's 102 degrees or -42? At least you don't dehydrate as fast." I love that kind of thinking and I feel much better. It's all relative.
It's nice to know that some people don't view me as NUTS! I love being outside and actually love the extreme cold much better than the extreme heat. I guess I'm a true Minnesotan.

The Weekend Stats:
Friday: Total Ride Time 1 hr. 32 minutes Total Calories Burned: 929
Saturday: Total Ride Time: (spin) 2:25:00 Total Calories Burned: 1014
Saturday: Mtn. Bike 1 hr. 15 minutes (-40 degrees) Calories Burned: 583
Sunday: Running-40 minutes (-42 degrees) Calories Burned: 388
Sunday: Total Ride Time: (spin) 2 hrs. Total Calories Burned: 1095
Time for a rest day.