Right now, I just got home, and it is -33F/-36C. Brrr! But yes, I have to admit that what all the locals say is true... a dry cold is SO much more tolerable than the raw, damp cold that some places get. 0F/-18C was quite comfortable. I still did not wear long underwear then. Nor a heavy coat (the coat I was wearing then is one of those soft-shell "windstopper" thingies that seem to have taken outdoor clothing manufacturers by storm lately). -40/-40 is the coldest it will get for any extended period of time. Every year, it goes below that only for a few days at most.
NOW I have quit running... Yes, I have! This morning was my last run for the Winter, and it was so damned unpleasant... I was getting cold in the most clothing I am willing to wear running. Wool leggings under shell pants, and two thermal shirts under a light jacket, plus gloves, neck gaitor thingy, and hat. Plus reflective vests and blinking lights on both Autumn and me. It's TOO DAMNED MUCH clothes for a morning run that I have to cut short because there is a chunk of ice accumulating on my neck gaitor thingy where I have it pulled over my nose and mouth. So, ten minutes getting dressed, thirty minutes running, ten minutes getting undressed... hardly a worthwhile ratio.
Autumn and I are switching to walking. Walking is nice because I can wear as much clothes as I want without feeling uncomfortable, and I can therefore walk as long as I want without feeling cold. Plus, no wind! There is no wind here at all, so your walking speed is proportional to how cold you get! When we were out walking last weekend, I stopped several times to adjust my scarf and hat (I pull my scarf over my nose and mouth, and it accumulates ice as my breath freezes on it, and so I have to adjust it regularly, and then I have to adjust my hat, too, because the strings on my hat tangle with it), and when I take them off to re-align--no problem! It doesn't feel cold when the air is not moving at all!
I now feel qualified to list my Favorite Cold Weather Items. For anyone who is new to a cold climate:
* Merino wool base layers. Seriously. Da bomb. Did I mention I ran this morning at -33F/-36C with just lightweight wool leggings under light nylon pants? My legs were not cold at all. They're the best.
* Smartwool socks. Been hiking in them for years. Turns out they go well for insulation against cold, too.
* Silk long underwear. Again, been hiking in them for years, because they are so lightweight and so warm, and a whole pair of pants or shirt squishes down to the size of a softball. But they are amazingly warm, and fit nicely under jeans without making you feel like you can't bend your knees.
* Fleece-lined wool hat with ear flaps and strings that tie under your chin. Only I don't tie it under my chin. I keep it tied loosely so as soon as I step into an overheated building, I can push it off my head and it just hangs behind me.
* Cheese. Potatoes. Haha. Yeah, seriously, I eat more now. :)
* Lots of water. Yeah, it's easy to forget to drink water here, because you don't FEEL thirsty. But you still need lots of water, even more than usual because the air is dry, and also I heard that dehydration exacerbates Seasonal Affective Disorder.
BTW, I'm really not feeling any different, physically, with the small amount of daylight. I don't have less energy. I'm not depressed. I do crave carbs, but yeah, no difference there from normal. Maybe I'm not susceptible, or maybe it just hasn't hit yet? But the solstice is in a few days, and then the days will start getting longer again, so maybe I'm just not susceptible...
8 comments:
congrats on the good grades! I did not know hydration affects SAD, which I claimed I had to get out of Ann Arbor for a god-forsaken year. Thanks for the tip!
I demand photos of Autumn wearing your hat. :)
I ski in silk long underwear. No matter how cold it gets (and how many times I find myself on my tookas), I never need more than one pair of those and my powder pants. Life is warm and good. Love them!
And oh yeah, more pics of the pooch, please! ;)
So does Autumn ever wear anything? Little boots? A jacket? Aaaanything?
Congratulations on doing so well in your classes. Betcha you ruined the curve for everyone!
I love your stories of the cold north. So foreign.
I like the idea of silk long underwear. Sounds like it would feel nice on your skin.
Oh, and I thought of you yesterday. Because I opted to run in the garage, on my treadmill, to avoid the rain in the 49F weather. I thought, "Man, Arvay would run in this. But not me, no way, I'm a wuss."
I dislike running in the rain, too! Which is odd, because I love rain in general. I don't mind walking in the rain, but running? Then droplets fall in my eyes, my feet get wet and squishy and heavy, no thanks!
Nope, Autumn doesn't wear a blessed thing! She is used to life outdoors. Prior to living with me, she lived in a dog yard, *exactly* like the drawings in the book I sent. Sled dogs live outside, chained to their houses. I know that by city standards, that is a cruel way to keep a dog, but sled dogs actually are comfortable like that, and usually sit on TOP of their houses rather than inside them! They seldom get cold, even to -40. Autumn has a house outside, but I've been keeping her inside just because we enjoy each other's company. But she'd be physically comfortable out there, though bored and lonely. :)
And those little booties are mostly to protect their feet against abrasion when they are sledding, but not against cold, which sled dogs are apparently mostly immune to. :)
Hey Ms. Not-So-Anonymous! I just tried, but she would not cooperate. It's funny, because she cooperates with everything else. I guess public humiliation is not her thing! :)
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