Ice

Wind

Heat

Rain

Snow. . . . .

None of these have stopped me from running outside. I’ve run through temps way below zero, 90*F and high humidity, strong winds (I grew up on the plains of the Midwest.), downpours, and a lot of snow. But the only weather condition that will prevent me from running outside: ICE!

I set out Saturday morning for a planned 11 mile run. As soon as I saw the road conditions, I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty. But I was already dress and mentally prepared to complete the run, so I thought I would give it a chance. I dodged water puddles, slipped on slushy snow, and gingerly maneuvered over the ice. I should have probably turned turned around after 0.1 mile, but I kept thinking, “it will get better on the next stretch of sidewalk.” Well, after 2.75 miles, I could see that this was taking far too long, and it wasn’t enjoyable. I was averaging 11 minute miles where the conditions were at their worst and 10 minute miles through the terrible portions.

I ran a total 0f 5.5 miles in 57 minutes—far from ideal. Despite the awful road conditions, I did feel a little elite being out in those conditions since I knew many people would be taking their workout indoors. I even had some yell out their window, “lookin’ good girl.” To which I responded with this face.

After my run, we headed to the dog park with Sadie. By this time it was raining and windy, which made it kind of miserable, so coffee was necessary in order to warm up.

I had a decaf hazelnut macchiato; Craig naturally ordered a cold drink. I introduced him to the Starbucks frappuccino. We played a round of cribbage and enjoyed each others company.

Then we decided to hit up the mall to see if there were any good sales. Craig went to his hobby store, while I went to the Gap. The Gap was having a sale with an additional 40% off all of their sale items. Now those are the kind of sales I like. I called Craig and told him he had to come to check out the sale. He wasn’t convinced that that was necessary, but after he saw the savings, he scoured the racks for all the best deals. We scored big time at the Gap with most of the items we bought being 75% off their original price.

Rain boots were definitely in order for the day. It started out raining in the morning, turning to sleet in the afternoon, and snow by the evening. This warming trend happens every January. I really, really like the warmer temperatures, but it makes for some difficult running when everything refreezes.

Saturday evening I was lame and went to the gym to finish my run with about 3 other people at the gym. I ran 5.5 miles on the treadmill for a total of 11 miles for the day. It wasn’t ideal to split my long run up, but it is very seldom this happens, so I just tried to go with the flow.

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Questions

What weather conditions prevent you from running outdoors?

What is your favorite coffee drink?

What was a recent item you purchased that was deeply discounted?