Thursdays ARE for running to work

Left my house around 7:45 am. Air temp: -18 F; winds 12+ mph out of the northwest; windchill around -42F or so.

Distance: somewhere in the two mile + range (I kept hitting dead end streets in the maze that is Lincoln Park/West End).

Sunrise over the lake: worth it

I was toasty warm the whole way thanks to the hundreds of dollars of warm running clothes I have accumulated over the years (birthday and christmas gifts mostly). Once again I proclaim my love of Sporthill 3SP products. I wore the same layers as yesterday, kept the balaclava pulled over my face (ran into the wind most of the way which makes me wonder about the north; report from the lake said SW winds), and did not shed any layers. Had quite the frost buildup around the opening of balaclava and on my eyelashes by the time I got to work.

I commented to co-workers that I was actually warmer on my run than I am when driving to work ;->

Even managed to run trails for a short while before returning to the roads! The weirdest part of the commute was how so much of the run was uphill. I live near the top of the hill and work at the bottom. And yet, in the first mile I was descending and climbing quite often. Partially this was due to the multiple dead ends I hit and the need to find a new route/retrace my steps. But it is also due to the nature of traversing a hillside.

I run with a pack so I can carry a few important supplies: keys for work, date book, lightweight coat (liner from winter jacket), knitting (for trip home), cell phone (just in case - packed in a spare pair of mittens for insulation), and thermos of coffee (gotta have that second cup).

I try to stockpile food and a change of inner layers at work and always leave plenty of scrubs there so I can change on arrival (besides, scrubs are paper thin and terrible to wear outside in the winter).

Due to the cold and school being canceled I had the roads almost entirely to myself, even when I hit the main thoroughfare. It was nice to run in daylight, been a while since I have done that.

In the past few days I have run across quite a few pictures of Porter when he was quite young. So cute, and so little!


Hard to believe he was ever so small after so many years with him as a 100 lb dog. Still have his ashes here, waiting for the right time to distribute them.

Stay warm!