Headwinds

A cold front must be going through. The winds are howling through my windows, rattling the not-greatly-insulated glass, and creating that eerie sound you think only exists courtesy of Hollywood foley artists working on a haunted house picture. Despite really not wanting to get up this morning (callback to yesterday’s post!), I eventually got out on the road. It’s dropped about 20 degrees from yesterday; still quite nice by Northern US standards but a little chilly here in Florida… especially with the wind.

When I first moved here, I was struck by the local weatherman (and it was a man so don’t think me sexist), telling viewers that though it was 50 something degrees out that it felt colder. He explained (and this is paraphrased but not by much so I’m going to put it in quotes), “the chilled air effect is created by the wind, what some people call ‘wind chill.’” He wasn’t being facetious; I guess Floridians really don’t deal with wind chills the way the Northern US seemed to me when I was up there.

Perhaps that all has changed, the way quinoa and kale have stormed the Main Street USAs, escaping from pseudo sophisticates to everyday joes like you and me. Because the wind chill factor has often played a part in my Florida adventures. In 2015 I was at a Disney World 5K in January and it was as cold as I’d been in ages. It wasn’t just the temperature; it was that damn wind chill, the air cutting through my layers and chilling me to my core.
Yes, the wind can wreak havoc on runners. I’d always prefer a colder temperature with no wind to a higher temperature with strong winds. But you do what you do, take what comes, and make the best of it.

Today there was a serious headwind as I ran out on my usual route. Gusts reached such a velocity that I was as a mime pretending to walk against the wind – no forward progress was happening despite my best efforts to put one foot in front of the other. The consolation I took was that if I could make it to the turn I take to do my final mile out, I would hopefully get out of the wind’s path. And on top of that, on my way back I should have a tail wind that would help carry me forward.

But as is often the case, the wind changes. Rounding the corner, the wind did in fact die down… only to whip back into my face on the run back home. How is it possible that I could have headwinds both ways on an out-and-back course? And yet, I speak from experience at races, this happens way more often than not. And it’s not a perceptual thing – it really happens. It may be anecdotal and not tightly measured empirical science, but I still say it’s science nonetheless.
It’s not like I’m saying I walked to school uphill both ways… though given my experiences with the winds, I’m inclined to believe folks who say this occurred. At least, I’m inclined to believe that they believe this to be true.

As we are buffeted by the winds, we carry on, hoping the winds will change and knowing eventually all things will pass.

Left foot. Right foot. Repeat. Even if we don’t always make progress, we have to try and keep moving forward.