Holy $#*! It's Cold!

Cumberland, Virginia. Swinging Bridge 35 & 50K trail races. 8am start. 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

I shocked my Zune changing clothes in the Town & Country and thankfully didn't erase KC & the Sunshine Band's 'Boogie Shoes'!

The registration and pre-race photos were fun - especially with 2 hobo-style trash can fires blazing. But shooting the runners as they left the start line, I had absolutely no feeling in my fingers. Both hands all the way to the second knuckle. I'm surprised any of those shots came out. There was a definite point where you could see the exposure drop off because I couldn't work the f-stop controls. It was unnerving not being able to feel the shutter-release. I honestly couldn't tell if I was taking any pictures.

Jogging back to the van I removed glove liners and mittens and put as many fingers as would fit into my mouth. The edge of frostbite is a horrible aching sensation. The drive to the 5.5 mile aid station got me back on track though, and I didn't have cold hands for the rest of the day. I think the liners were ruining the mitten's whole-hand warming usefulness (I ditched them and only used the mittens).

Frost covered all the runners' exposed facial hair and anywhere else that moisture could cling. It was like watching 100 Jack Frosts going by. And the major creek crossing was mostly ice. This made for some great episodes of folks trying to avoid getting wet. I actually witnessed two folks 'walking on water'. I swear the ice was so thin a bird would have cracked it, but these two must have weighed less than a starling.

Unfortunately, my tree-climbing perch was for naught. The spot where people would ford the creek beneath me was not the way anyone wanted to go. It would have been some great photography, though!

As I waited about half a mile before the 35K finish to get the final stretch shots, I had a few minutes to realize one of the really great things about this kind of photography: the solitude. Listening to nothing but a light breeze in the trees, I felt like I could have stayed there forever. Even though it was 20 degrees...