I have issues with today
If I'm going to survive the triathlon, I gotta squeeze in the training...even when it's freaking freezing outside. So I did what I had to do today: threw on my cold weather gear and ran 5 miles in the freezing tundra-land known as February.
What everybody loves to see when they're about to go for a run.
My second public appearance in tights...sort of maybe kind of getting used to it. But maybe not.
Ran through quite a bit of snow along the way and managed to not bust my ass.
three things about today's training bothered me:
- It was 39º f'ing degrees outside
- So I had to wear tights
- I enjoyed myself
Why do these three things bother me? Well, the first two should be obvious. These are things I'd prefer not to deal with when being outside...and in public. It's that third item that irritates me.
See, exercise in the frigid cold is two things that suck, combined. So when I saw people running in the freezing cold, I'd roll my eyes and think "oooh, aren't you just so hardcore...with your smug happiness, pretending you're not miserably cold and what not. Go sit by the fire with a bourbon like the rest of us."
But I enjoyed it
Places I never think to walk or run to because they're "too far away"...but I breezed past them today.
Well, turns out running in the cold really isn't so bad. After several runs on the treadmill over the past few weeks I was getting bored out of my mind. It's what drove me to run outside today despite the 39º temp.
Here are just a few reasons it was totally worth it (and a reminder of why running outdoors is so much better, in general):
- It gives you something to focus on instead of a boring screen.
- You can't help but think people are watching and judging, so it pushes you a little harder. Oh hey cute girl in the car at the stoplight...look how awesome I run. *please don't trip and fall...please don't trip and fall....*
- When it's this cold out, you have major incentive to run and not stop so you can get home faster.
- It's always fun to see just how close some things are that you would never consider walking or running to. Oh, hey...there's the drugstore we always drive to even though it only took me like 3 minutes to run here.
Lessons Learned
So what have we learned about running in the cold? I'll stop making fun of those people I see running in the cold weather because it's really not so bad. And you know what? As much as I hate wearing these damn tights in public, my legs were toasty warm the whole time.
#liveandlearn