I went out tonight to scoop the snow off my driveway and discovered what a 20 below wind chill feels like. I am not super human. I have my limits. I probably won't bike in that. Well, not this season at least.
When I biked home Monday the wind chill was about 5 below. That was bearable, you are your own heater.
The temperature is going to be about 7 below first thing in the morning, the wind chill will make it feel like 35 below. Let me tell you how I'm not getting to work. While I value both the mental toughness it takes to persevere through adverse conditions and the physical fitness gains from climbing Nebraska Mountains, I'm going to sit high and mighty in the heated leather seat of a Ford on the trips to and from work. I just can't fathom the small rewards from such a high risk activity.
While yes, you are your own heater, the intensity level needed to keep warm at those temps coincides with your body's natural tendency to sweat automatically. Once that sweat freezes to your skin, game over.
To paraphrase an old Denis Leary punchline: "Death, the ultimate physical fitness!"
Tonight was a good night for a moderately intense indoor trainer ride, pushing my heart rate into L3 and holding it for 30 minutes.
I'm going to do it again for the next two weeks regardless of the weather, but for 45 and 60 minutes.
No comments:
Post a Comment