Jogging in a Winter Wonderland

 

Snowing today - mixing new snow with old crunchy snow

Well, it's officially winter and baby, it's cold outside.  I have always thought that cold weather meant indoor running but I just really hate treadmills.  My husband is the same way and has taken the lead by getting some warm weather gear and continuing to run out of doors even when it's cold.  So I got myself some new pants and got back out there.  I have been surprised these last couple weeks to find that running in the cold actually isn't that bad as long as you've got the right stuff.

First off, I am not a fancy runner nor do I own much fancy running gear.  A few weeks back I got some Nike fleece pants at a Smith's Grocery Store and they work great.  I think they were meant for moms to run errands in but they are cozy and warm and light all at the same time.   Next I got a fleece top from Costco.  Once again - not fancy.  It's really thin and you'd think you wouldn't stay warm in it but it works really well - last night it was in the low 20's and I was perfectly warm.  Underneath that I'm wearing a t-shirt my husband got in a race.  It's made of slippery fabric to make you think it's a technical tee but it's not.  Then I wear a fleece hat I got at the thrift store for 50 cents.  On my hands I've got those two dollar gloves you see sold EVERYWHERE.  I am pretty cozy when I go out except for my face - my cheeks are so dang cold for the first mile or so.  Last night I put on a fabric headband and wore it underneath my chin and up over my cheeks to the top of my head.  I looked like Jacob Marley in A Christmas Carol but it actually worked.  And hey, it was dark and cold and no one was out so what do I care?

Speaking of which, no one was out and it was quiet and dark and I could just run by the Christmas lights.  It was one of the best runs I've ever had.  I left the house uptight, cranky, and tired and by the end of my run I was loose, happy, and energized.  My only complaint was for my neighborhood peeps who don't shovel their sidewalks which makes them so so slippery so that I have to climb over the piles of plowed snow to run on the road until I find a shoveled sidewalk.   So, shovel those sidewalks people!

And as an update, I'm really glad I got Ashley to come up with some training plans for me.  They are really detailed and great and take the guessing out for me.  I'll write a whole post about that in a few days...

Until then...Merry Christmas!

post script
It has been snowing all day and it looked so lovely that I decided I would go running early so I could run during the snowstorm.  And...it wasn't nearly as dreamy as I thought it was going to be.  I couldn't see the ground so sometimes it would look flat but there was bumpy chunky ice underneath so I nearly rolled each ankle like 3 times.  Oh well...I think I need to put some screws in my shoes...

p.p.s. This is not my usual hat - my four year old borrowed my fleece one so I dug this old one out of my closet. Just so you know that I know that this hat isn't fleece...