Ice Queen

If I hear one more person complain about the cold, I'm gonna womit!  That's how I felt last week when the temps were around zero.

OK, so that IS cold. But do we not have the most beautiful sunny blue skies in the entire nation???  Of course we do. And do these cold snaps last that long in Colorado???  No, of course not, despite what every out-of-state believes.

Anyway, it was very cold last week and running required an extra half hour just to do all of the necessary layering up but hey, we're talking about running here - it's totally worth it, dude!

So, here I am last Saturday, heading out for a long run in 6 degree weather. I have thermal leggings on under my tights, a long bra with two base layers and a silk t-neck under a running vest, and than a lightweight jacket. On my hands are liner gloves underneath mittens, and on my head is a headband, thin "skull cap" and last but not least, my Florida Ironman hat. Whew!

Any runner reading this will say "wow, I bet she got hot" and they would be right!  I was warm and toasty to start with which as most runners know, that is NOT a good sign. It means only one thing: HOT!

I actually didn't get hot for the first 30 mins and then was only mildly overheated the rest of the run. It was fine. I almost took my jacket off but didn't want to hassle with it. The temp never got above 10 degrees so its not like it was balmy outside.

Re how the rest of the run went - I can sum it up with one word: oo la la!  Or maybe that's 3 words, but either way, I felt so good. Had plenty of energy and everything just felt right. It was an "all systems go" type of run.

I had originally planned to run with Dan, Sarah, and Marshall but Kurt asked me to run from home so that the kids wouldn't be alone for too long (we would overlap our long runs, he's training for another Xterra triathlon). So, I went solo.

Ran out to WOW, taking a detour through Aims parking lot to use the restroom in one of their buildings. There must have been a firefighter training going on there because when I went in, there were about 20 firefighters all standing around with coffee. I'm sure I looked a little strange since they stared at me as I walked past them (with the B52's Love Shack blaring on my Ipod). When you gotta go, you gotta go.

There was quite a bit of ice on the road but it just doesn't faze me. I'm not a fast runner but I'm good at running on ice. You just gotta know where the really slick stuff is and how to balance yourself as you run over it. I'm pretty darn good at doing that.  Sometimes I even slide purposefully across it; you know, like kids do - arms outstretched, turning sideways with both feet going the same way - fun!

Sunday I took off because we were out of town and today (Monday) was the start of Master's Swim (oh, my achin' arms!).  Did 4 fast 200's and then 6 50's (kicking) and then 5 fast 100's. I didn't have time to finish the set but was happy that I did this much.

Before I leave, lest you think I was crazy to run in 6 degree weather, here is my dh finishing his run in MINUS 10 degree temps last Thursday: