RX: "Look at that!"
Me: "That dude is crazy."
RX: "He seems to have the ruddy glow of health..."
Me: "He doesn't have the ruddy glow of mental health."
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Overheard in the Car:
Roomie points at a guy jogging down the Monon through the middle of downtown Broad Ripple who is wearing a knit cap, teeny shorts, socks, shoes, and a smile. The outside air temp is ~24°F:
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32 comments:
Just sit back and enjoy the view.
I was getting contact frostbite just watching him.
Are we sure he wasn't showing the ruddy glow of incipient frost bite? One tends to get that "one toke over the line" dreamy smile as the CNS begins to shut down.
Will,
The "one toke over the line" dreamy smile was probably just the runner's high.
Some of us generate enough heat while exercising that we can get away with that kind of attire in cold weather as long as we keep moving. Not saying it's smart though.
Been there, done that. If no wind and the sun is shining, 24 is mild for a conditioned runner. Add light gloves, and thermal knit top and bottom to the shorts, shirt, and cap, and you're good down to zero or a little less. Below 10, you will want to fold a wash cloth and put it in the front of your shorts. Stuff that sticks out in front frost bites first if you get my drift.
Running when you are in shape to do it is one of lifes great joys.
Paradoxical Undressing? :)
http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival/paradoxical-undressing/
Running when you are in shape to do it is one of lifes great joys.
The only running I'm in shape for involves seat belts on the toilet.
There's a line of decorum around here somewhere, someone stop me before I snort it.
Hope he had a sock on his junk! I used to work with a guy that said he had to wear a baby sock on his junk to keep it from getting too cold in the winter. I said TMI!!!!
I'll stick with the wash cloth. It seems a little more dignified. And you can pull it out and blow your nose if needed. (The washcloth.)
Sadly, my running days are behind me.
That guy sounds like he is one of the everpresent "look at me" attention-seekers who must jog on a busy street at rush hour. Just could not be content to find a quiet street with less eyes.
Watch it!
My personal policy is that I need to be just fit enough to flee from anything I can't kill. This does not involve socks or my junk, and I'm quite comfortable with that tradeoff.
Mental illness is sad.
I blame Sarah Palin.
I recall winter days hovering in the teens where I would wear only a t-shirt and jeans at work (open air factory). Of course I was working at a constant 'quick-step' slinging sheets of steel measuring 6'x6'x3/16"* around on rollers for the shears. I didn't want to stop for my breaks because I'd cool down and freeze, but yeah...it can be done.
I fondly recall the day my boot broke through the ice of a small puddle in the 'yard' and flash froze to the steel when I stepped on a plate.
*~275-ish lbs each. I literally moved over 16 tons by hand one day.
Some people are so dedicated to getting into shape that they'll do whatever they need to do even if it kills them. And no, they don't see the paradox.
I never found jogging to be anything but slow torture, even when I was top fit in the Army and doing it every day, even on my own on weekends and after weekday final formation. I always had the time limit for the two mile run nipping at my heels, and ran my butt off to keep from being a p.t. failure.
Funny, I found using weights and doing more push ups and sit ups increased my score in those p.t. test categories, but running more, and for more distance, never increased my time in the 2 minute qualification. I blame my current hip socket and knee joint agony on that running mania.
Hell will be a 1/4 mile oval, a Battery XO, and a stopwatch. Forever.
Well, the sock wouldn't have to cover his testicles; they'll have crawled inside his body to hide.
24? That's warm!
You can get all the cardio you need inside without getting a bad case of milli vanilli chilly willy.
Jim
I live in Alaska.
I have to run at least 3 mornings a week. Minimum. The .mil says so...
24 is warm. 24 is completely shorts weather.
-24, like what's going on outside my windows right now, is cold. But guess who'll be gearing up in sweats and a jacket to go run tomorrow morning. I think it's a 7-miler on the schedule.
Little socks? That's a new one. Duct tape works. gotta be careful on the removal, but it beats getting frostbite there. Ask me how I know...
You haven't met our local bike cop, have you?
A high of 19 degrees F, with single digit wind chills, and he'll be out patrolling on his bicycle wearing a balaclava, coat, and shorts.
He's one of the better cops, and dedicated, but insane.
To each his own. I averaged 50 miles a week for about 12 years because I truly enjoyed it, not to impress anybody or because I hated myself. If you can run, some can't, and after you get to the point that you can do 10 miles easily at about 7:30 per mile, it becomes sheer joy, at least it did for me.
Duct tape? That's insane. Try the wash cloth, you will like it. Also bandaids for the nipples when it gets really cold.
~Looks at the temperature outside~ Hmm, approximately 35 degrees.
~Looks at the temperature inside~
Hmm, approximately 68 degrees.
~Looks at the treadmill inside~
I guess you can figure out where I do my running...
Gorilla tape doesn't stick bad, something about it doesn't adhere to skin that bad. I also use it on my face during night jumps-having once lost some skin when my NVGs touched my nose during the follow-on mission.
It was recommended by snow machine racers... I figure they know a bit about being out in the cold. But I'm willing to give the washcloth thing a shot. How do you keep it in place?
I always wore whitey-tightys in lieu of a jock, just put it inside the shorts and fold a couple of inches down over the waist band in front.
I will however bow to the expertise of the snow machine folks. Going that fast for that long in cold air has got to be the ultimate test.
You can get acclimatized if you do it often enough. Or so they say. There used to be an old guy where I live who dressed only in shorts and running shoes most of the year, when it got really cold he'd add a t-shirt. I never saw him personally, but he got into news about once a winter. Lots of people like to swim outside during the winter (you make a big hole in the ice), and I have tried that a couple of times, and it's horrible until you get yourself wet, after that it's fun, and it leaves you feeling just great. And there is a name for running in shorts when it's below freezing, it's a specialized form of exercise as that swimming in ice hole is (I live in Finland, cold winters).
As far as I remember there are some studies which indicate that people who do that sort of stuff develop more brown fat, which both helps to keep them warm in cold weather and some other good things. Possible keeping slim easier was one of those benefits. And cold helps with some diseases like arthritis, one reason why there are lots of old folks into that winter outdoor swimming here. It's popular enough that some places have ice pools for summer use indoors.
When I was forced to workout every morning, I hated wearing sweats to run in. After stretching and warm up exercises, I'd peel down to shorts and a tee shirt for the run, no matter how cold. Sweats would just get me too hot to be comfortable, and running is painful enough. Yeah, I'd shiver for a couple of minutes as we got going, but after that I'd have steam pouring off of me. The last time I went jogging was the day before I signed out of the Army.
You lose 90% of your body heat through your head. So, theoretically, with a good enough hat, you can run naked.
Brass
My personal policy is that I need to be just fit enough to flee from anything I can't kill.
Ditto, which is why I carry weapons.
"with a good enough hat, you can run naked"
But then nobody notices how good the hat is!
Ever since I watched The Wind And The Lion, Captain Jerome has taken over whatever part of my brain handles exclamations. MILITARY INTERVENTION!
He says, EXOTHERMIC REACTIONS!
The dismal city of Cortland, N.Y., is close by and the home of the State University of New York at Cortland. The college douchebag quotient there is awesome. A couple of weeks ago, I was astounded to see a young male strolling across mainstreet in a t-shirt when the WX was fourteen degrees and a twenty knot wind blowing the snow sideways at nearly an inch per hour.
I said, emphatically, "Hokay... *that* guy is Not From Around Here."
You could hear the capitals.
... jogging down the Moron trail.
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