It was a cold one here this morning! 6 degrees, my friends!!
Somehow the addiction of running overruled the desire to stay inside and be warm, so outside I went for a 7 mile run this morning.
I was chilled to the bone the whole time though. I warmed up a little after about 15 minutes, but not enough to feel comfortable.
I am just naturally a cold person because (I think) I wore plenty of clothing:
– 2 pairs of pants
– sweat-wicking turtleneck
– long sleeve t-shirt
– windbreaker jacket
– neck warmer
– hat
– mittens
And as always, my thighs, cheeks (make that both sets), and stomach were bright red when I got back! Does this happen to anyone else?
After some light stretching, I took a hot shower to attempt to warm up. It didn’t work. I then put on two pair of pants, a long sleeve shirt, a sweatshirt, and a down vest to try and warm up. That didn’t work either!
This morning at school, I had to patrol the parent drop-off area outside, so that was another 20 minutes of standing outside. Brrr!! When I got in, I was fa-reezing!! I shivered through my first class, and then went and got hot tea to try and warm up. That still didn’t work. It took another mug of hot tea to finally warm up. Seriously? What is my problem?!?!
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After work today, Craig and I headed to the gym for a workout. Craig rode the stationary bike while I weight lifted for 45 minutes.
Since I knew we usually don’t get back home until close to 7 p.m., I planned ahead by making this Spicy Vegetable Chili yesterday. This meant, all I had to do was reheat it tonight! Score!
Spicy Vegetable Chili
(from Taste of Home Healthy Cooking Magazine, October/November 2009 issue)
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1/2 onion, diced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/4 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 zucchini, sliced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 can (15.5 oz.) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1-1/2 Tablespoons chili powder
1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
dash crushed red pepper flakes
1-1/2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
Directions
1. In a large pot, saute the onion, carrot, pepper, mushrooms, and zucchini in oil until tender.
2. Add garlic, and cook 1 minute longer.
3. Add the tomatoes, beans, tomato sauce, and seasonings.
4. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally. (I did have to add water occasionally to keep it from sticking.)
5. Stir in vinegar.
What a wonderful, hearty chili this was–and spicy, too! I loved all the veggies, and neither Craig or I missed the meat.
I had a serving of Kashi crackers with my soup. I’ve had a variety of different Kashi’s flavors, but the good, old Original 7 Grain are my favorite!
Question
What do you do to warm-up when you are cold?
Hey Michelle,
I’ve always been so impressed at your dedication to keep running! Like you, I’m a naturally cold person, so it’s hard for me to want to go out and run in Portland, let alone Anchorage! How do you even have the will to go out and run? 🙂
I don’t know how I get out the door most mornings. I must be too tired to even be thinking straight!
this chilli was hot just like the cook
I found this recipe and thought you and Craig would like it.
http://www.atasteofthai.com/index.php?page=recipe&id=312
Do you get much of a wind chill in Alaska? Just curious, it seems like that makes things so much worse. Also- yes, I turn bring pink in all of the listed areas when I run in the cold, too!
There is rarely much of a wind/windchill in the Anchorage “bowl.” Although, there are certain areas outside the city “bowl” that do become very windy! Yeah, I definitely don’t miss the winds of Minnesota!
I also get a very red stomach, thighs and cheeks when running in the bitter cold. I did a quick 3 mile in Duluth on sunday and the temperature was 3 degrees but the wind chill was -17. BRRR, the run was cold but not actually all that bad, but once I finished running and got back home it took me hours to feel warm again! How do you handle running in the dark? I am more terrified of that than I am the cold weather, are your runs usually in well lit areas? I’m so afraid I will slip on some ice that I can’t see!
Luckily the areas I run are pretty well lit. However, the part that bothers me the most isn’t so much that it is dark when I run in the mornings, but the fact we only have about 5 hours of daylight in total. Like right now as I type this, it is 9 a.m. and still completely pitch dark outside!!
I read a lot of blogs from people living in the South, and I get a wee bit irritated when I read about them complaining about 30 degree weather. I totally sympathize with layering up during running in the winter (I live in Michigan). I hate treadmill runs. Hate them.