Every now and then we are reminded that mother nature and not us are in charge. I refer to the weather tonight and the discomfort it placed on me tonight. As I write this it is mid May, lambing has all but finished, the cherry blossom colours the avenues and parks of Britain. Two weekends ago it was warm enough to Bar B Q & loll on the grass enjoying the British May bank holiday - bliss. But tonight mother nature threw a hissy fit. Packing away the peaceful blue skies & fluffly clouds replacing it with malevolent storm clouds & freezing rain. Just 4 weeks ago I was dressed to rebuff the worst of weathers but tonight, despite a rain jacket I nearly surcumbed to hyperthermia. And me a matured (more so than cheese) man of the mountains & all round sports man. On the good side I did start the run in the woods so I did warm up but once on the top ridge that runs from Ditchling Beacon to Black Cap I was hammered by the gale force winds & driving rains cutting across the ridge and sapping the energy of my legs, the cold numbing my head making thought more difficult than normal. I was lucky I chose to shorten my usual run by a few miles. When I dropped down off the ridge it got easier at last but even then I still suffered from the cold hardly able to get the front door keys in the latches & turn them! I can only guess at the wind chill - temp is 8.5 centigrade at sea level with gusts of 21mph. Run was at 725ft so temp adjusted for height is 1 degree per 450ft, say 7.2 degrees. Applying the wind chill factor gives 2.6 degrees, winter weather indeed! Note to self - never take the weather for granted even in the summer. Being prepared is everything.
