Out there this AM, at 7:00, it was 22 degrees. The coldest AM of the season so far, veneers of ice formed on the puddles for the first time. I call it, in my running journal, "Ice Day." (I also have a "Snow Day," obviously named, and a "Bug Day," when the deer flies are too nasty for running on the trails in the woods.)
This has been a strange autumn. Sept temperatures were in the upper 80s, even late in the month. I think due to that, we were cheated out of our usual fall color show. There are leaves on the ground, but many of them are still green. Out back, some of our trees are bare while others have barely lost any leaves. What colors there are, I noted again in the woods the other day, are muted.
I've been reminded of the Sumerian/Babylonian parable about the seasons, explaining each. The parable is based on their polytheistic religion in which the gods reflected forces of nature. One of the chief gods/goddesses was Ishtar, roughly Mother Nature.
This season, autumn, saw the death of Tammuz, Ishtar's husband. In order to get Tammuz back from the dead, Ishtar resorts to bribery; she ransoms the beauty of the land for the return of her husband. This is winter. In the spring, the bribery/ransom works and Tammuz is reborn. Summer, then, with husband and wife reunited, is a time of enjoyment of life. You know, this year this seems to work for me.
Normally, winter is, if not my favorite running season, one of the top two. I don't know why, but somehow I don't see that happening this year. I get the feeling that I won't see the beauty I usually see. I know the forecasts are practically useless, but so far the so-called "experts" are calling for a colder and snowier winter. But I usually enjoy the snow, running in it, shoveling it, etc. Cold really doesn't bother me while running. I've run in temperatures as low as 15 degrees below zero, actual temperature, not wind chill. I know people think I am crazy for running in sub-zero temperatures, but they really aren't bothersome. I bundle up with several layers and off I go.
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Winter running is great. When you are out there by yourself you feel like you are cheating Mother Nature. I used to love running with you and Bob in the winter at the WL Outdoor Center. You felt you were in another world.
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