Freezing - Depends on Your Perspective

I just got back from Phoenix, where my husband and I were in the Rock 'N' Roll 1/2 Marathon. He ran, I walked. As you've probably read here and there from me, I have been training for this. Nothing, however, could have prepared me for the sub-freezing temperatures a so-called arctic blast has hurled upon the sunbelt states.

When we were dropped at the starting line yesterday, it was 7:30 a.m. and TWENTY NINE DEGREES. We were supposed to start at 8:30, but that was delayed. I immediately ran to the port-a-potty line thinking I would hide out in one and get warm. That line was 30 minutes long, though, and once inside, I quickly discovered, not a place I would want to stay long.

As I approached the starting line, I found a filthy sweatshirt on the ground dropped by an earlier marathon runner and put it on. I was already wearing 4 layers, 2 hats, 2 pairs of gloves and 2 pairs of socks. I couldn't feel my toes. By the time I crossed the starting line at 9:30, I had already cried 3 times. I don't do well in cold weather. Fortunately, my husband was in a different starting group and was not subjected to my melt-downs.

Long story short, I made it. I was sure I would never walk again, but even though I'm a little sore today, my recovery has been pretty good. Bill, on the other hand, did great. Cold weather doesn't seem to bother him - he routinely trains at the crack of dawn when it's high 30's to low 40's.

As I read the LA Times article today about the deep freeze's effects on Jim Churchill's Ojai farm, I realized that while I was grumbling and whining my way from downtown Phoenix to Sun Devil stadium in Tempe, this man was fighting to save his crops. He's lost 5 acres in avocados alone and I hate to think what's become of the Pixies, my absolute favorite fruit. It put it all in perspective.