I Almost Lost A Finger, So Run Cut Short

I planned out my 2 mile run and waited all day to finally have the time to run it. Jeff came home from work and I reminded him that I had to run, and he informed me that today was the coldest he has felt all winter and maybe you should skip this run. Trust me, I wanted to skip the run. I have been thinking of excuses all day. But, I knew I had to do it. Mentally in order to get on a training program for the Shamrock Shuffle, I need to actually start it - and today was my first scheduled run.

The weather channel says its 16 degrees but "feels like 0", so I put on all the layers of clothing I had. I then set up my new iPhone App, Fitnio, hit play on the iPod and took off. I felt pretty good the whole run. I actually felt much better than the NYD5K. I was actually enjoying myself, listening to the new Kanye West album and feeling the freedom of my minutes without an 18lb baby hanging from my hip.

But then...

I noticed that I had no feeling in the fingers of my right hand. I kept pulsing and shaking my hand, but nothing. I clenched it in a fist. Nothing. At this point I was past the halfway point in my run and had no choice but to continue. I cut about a block off at the end and entered my house in a panic, sure that I sacrificed my fingers for a stupid 2 mile run.

I ran my hand under water and the pain was almost unbearable. My middle finger was numb and without any feeling. Jeff looked up what to do for "frostbite" and suggested I wrap my hand in a warm towel, which I did. He got me a bucket of warm water and I put it in there. There was a delay, but eventually I got feeling back in my fingers.

Training Log
Time:22:08   Distance:1.93 mi   Pace:11:29
In conclusion, I felt pretty good on my run if it wasnt for the panic attack I suffered when I was imagining the rest of my life with less than 10 fingers. I had to cut it a tiny bit short and head straight home, but basically ran the 2 miles. The Fitnio program worked pretty well - it synced up with the GPS function on my iPhone. I didnt have a secondary device (like a Garmin) so I dont know if it was accurate, but I did check my alternative route on Favorite Run and it said it was 1.90 miles. Assuming I ran a little bit crooked here and there, I think Fitnio was probably right on target!

Update: And to answer what may seem like an obvious question (immediately asked by my husband) "Were you wearing gloves?". YES! Of course! I told him it wasnt both hands, just my right hand, and primarily the middle finger on my right hand. "Well, were you wearing a glove on that hand?". NO, I was trying the Michael Jackson style of running. Duh, yes, I had gloves on both hands :)