My Gatorade froze today!

It's been years since this last happened, but today my Gatorade froze.

Fern and I set out for a 9 mile out-and-back run on Richville Road at 7:30am when the temperature was a toasty -8 degrees. Since the sun was out and there was no wind, we figured we'd be perfectly warm in our layers of fleece and technical fabric that covered every inch of skin except for our eyes.

All our preparation paid off, because after tolerating cold toes during the first mile, my feet warmed up (thank you wool socks!). Frozen eyelashes and a runny nose are annoying, but nothing earthshattering. Frozen Gatorade, however, can turn a great run into disaster.

I wore my 6-bottle Fuel Belt under my jacket as usual. I learned the hard way several years ago that water bottles carried on the outside of the jacket freeze easily, and purposefully choose larger jackets for that reason. I always follow the same hydration routine:  drink 4 ounces Gatorade at 20 and 40 minutes, and then drink 8 ounces water plus one gel on the hour. This plan went like clockwork only for the first drink of Gatorade at 20 minutes into the run. By the time 40 minutes rolled around, there were ice crystals in my Gatorade. The water at one hour was fine, and thank goodness I packed a Honey Stinger gel! This gel has the thinnest consistency, and in today's temperatures it was actually almost chewy. I never use it in the summer, when it thins out to the consistency of water and causes a huge mess.

Big trouble came at one hour and 20 minutes into our run:  my Gatorade had turned into a slushy, making it almost impossible to drink. I managed to squeeze enough into my mouth to keep me going for the last 20 minutes of our run. By the time I drove the 1 mile home from Fern's house, the remaining Gatorade was frozen solid.

Positives for the day:  we had a great 9 mile run, the sun shining on snow-covered Equinox was brilliant, and we stayed warm.

Thank goodness I wasn't running any farther since my remaining Gatorade was frozen solid. I wonder if anyone makes fleece-covered water bottles for this type of weather?