brrrrrrr!

I ran on Monday night after work, it was probably around 25 degrees or so, but very blustery and tiny bits of sleet were pelting my face. It was a classic "thought I was going faster than I was" run and, long story short, I was really disappointed in my results when I recorded my route and time. The winter was what frustrated me most. I don't know if I just had the end-of-day exhaustion blues or what, but I really dipped low and felt like, how the hell am I going to run this winter?

Well last night I went to Target to find better running coverage for my head...like a head/ear band or something. Every run I've done so far this winter is murder on my lungs. And the wind is like butcher knives piercing my eardrums. Of course Target put all of their winter stuff away (uh hello Wisconsin in January???), but low and behold, I found a balaclava in the winter sports section reduced to $6! It's not at all sexy and I look like a ninja, but it does the job real well! There's a mesh patch right by the mouth which works WONDERS for my breathing. So today's official weather.com temp is: "19 degrees F | Feels Like: 3 degrees F | Wind: From WSW at 20mph gusting to 25mph". Ouch. But with my balaclava, my running tights AND yoga pants, my moisture-wicking long sleeve shirt AND jacket, and my running gloves (love that "functional wiping surface!")...I was actually too warm! In the "home stretch" of my runs, I usually go balls out and triple my speed for the final block, and today, I had to take off the balaclava so I wouldn't completely overheat. Then, of course, all the sweat and mucus immediately froze to my face ;) Ahhhh winter runners...we look oh so attractive!

But I digress...my run was actually pretty great for once! I'm picking up speed again and breathing isn't as labored as last week. Definitely motivational! And now that I have the proper protection, I feel way better too, particularly about my lungs. Maybe I can finally get over the remnants of this cold virus!