February frolics

[Bierzo Baggie]

Right, I’ve done it before, but not very often and I’ll avoid it if I can, but....I'm seriously pushed for time this week and I'm faced with only one alternative....a spot of pre-dawn running. Sun-rise is nearly 8am in this time zone and at 7am it’s still pitch black, putting farmers and runners at a distinct disadvantage. It’s also freezing cold. I could see a smattering of snow on the hills this morning and when the low cloud lifted later on it was clear that the snow-line had come down considerably. Saw a couple of cars entering Ponferrada coated with the stuff. The proximity of snow makes itself felt in the air...especially in the hours immediately before sun-rise. All this adds to the disincentive of climbing out of a warm bed and donning woolly hat and gloves in sub-zero temperatures. In fact running is seen by many of my colleagues as a strictly Spring/Summer activity. Pedro the lumberjack goes into virtual hibernation in the winter months and only starts running again when the daylight hours are longer.

So, runner’s dilemma; Bed or run? Warm or cold? An hour more or an hour less? Does anybody actually partake in murky early morning manoeuvres or is this an eccentricity on a par with fell running?