Hypothermia.  According to the Mayo Clinic, hypothermia is a medical emergency that occurs when your body loses heat faster than it can produce heat, causing a dangerously low body temperature.

Symptoms:

Shivering
Clumsiness or lack of coordination
Slurred speech or mumbling
Stumbling
Confusion or difficulty thinking
Poor decision making, such as trying to remove warm clothes
Drowsiness or very low energy
Apathy, or lack of concern about one’s condition
Progressive loss of consciousness
Weak pulse
Shallow breathing

So yeah, that pretty much describes me at the end of my run on Saturday.  I was set to do 26.2 miles.  My friend Alex was good enough to not only plot out the course but agreed to run it with me.  We met up at 8:30 a.m.  At that time it was around 28 degrees…with windchill around 12.  Right away I knew it was gonna be rough…I ended up throwing on a third layer that I don’t normally wear.  Even then I was cold.  However, as you can see from the below picture, I was still in good spirits.  So off we set.

The first 10 miles were actually pretty good.  The wind was either at our backs or to our sides, so it wasn’t too bad.  Especially since the sun was out.  Granted, I had to have my first experience with a port-a-potty…which we found on a home construction site…and I found out that they do have toilet paper…who knew?  Ha ha.  The splits for miles 1 – 10 were good:  9:53, 9:29, 9:25, 10:03, 9:56, 10:05, 9:57, 9:54, 9:39, 9:48

Around mile 11 is where the wind started hitting us in the face…hard.  No lie, it was like a constant 15-20 mph, with gusts in the 30+ range.  It was EXTREMELY cold.  Around 13.1 I was miserable.  I didn’t want to go on anymore, but I thought that maybe we’d hit a road where the wind would be at our backs.  It would never be at our backs apparently. 11-15: 10:33, 10:34, 11:03, 10:32, 11:10

At around mile 15 is when all the above symptoms really started to kick in.  During my runs I could barely keep my eyes open, and my vision was getting blurry.  I couldn’t think straight, and everything seemed in slow motion.  During my walk breaks I was rambling on about nothing in slow motion, and had trouble staying up straight.  I just wanted to lay down and shut down.

Near 16 miles, we came upon a strip mall, and luckily I had enough sense to say that it was time to stop.  I confusedly made my way into a supermarket.  I stumbled around the aisles looking for a place to sit, but I couldn’t find any.  I was afraid if I sat on the ground someone would call an ambulance and there would be a big scene…so I managed to stay standing.  Alex bought me a bag of pretzels to get some salt in me, then I got a cup of hot chocolate which helped warm me up some.  Still, all I wanted to do was sit and sleep.

Needless to say we did not finish the full 26.2.  I was going to try to make up the 10.2 the following day, but it was even colder and windier, so I think I correctly decided to stay inside.  I did learn a few lessons though:  wear a hat, wear something to cover your ears, and get a windproof top level.  Those plus really paying attention to how cold is really is could have kept me from almost collapsing on the side of the road.  Oh, and most importantly, bring a friend…especially one who has a cell phone to call for a $30 cab ride back to our cars.

The weather all week will still be frigid, so today I hit the gym for 5 miles, which I finished in 44:20.  Really good run.  This weekend the forecast calls for 20s again, with windchills near 0.  So, it looks like the dreadmill for me for my two long runs of 17 and 10.  Fun stuff.

So…stay warm everyone and Run on Friends!