14 degree shuffle

It's cold out, very, very cold. At 14 degrees it was the coldest day I've shuffled outside so far. Last year I distinctly remember doing a 6 mile shuffle on a 16 degree day. I thought my legs were going to fall off they were so cold. Anyway, I got out all of my winter gear. This is my cold weather attire: knee high socks, knee braces, warm fleecy pants (not a fan of running tights), super tight Under Armor Cold Wear long sleeve shirt, long sleeve high neck looser fitting Nike garment, Under Armor Cold Wear hoodie, gloves, hat, and I tighten and tie my hood. Most importantly I slather my face with Bag Balm which is like Vaseline. I get my keys, shoes, gum, and tissues in place so once I layer up I can get out of the door quickly.

I was thrilled to get out all of my running gear and I even charged up my Garmin. Oh how I missed my Garmin! It was like hanging out with a beloved friend. He's so good at tracking my mileage and time.

Once I got out there I was only cold for like the first 5 minutes. I move my arms really fast and try to quickly generate some heat. The good thing is that I am just so happy to be out there I don't really care how cold it is! The surface conditions were less than ideal. We were hit with a snow storm Thursday into Friday, about 7 inches, so there was limited shoulder space for me to be on. In addition, the sidewalks were treacherously covered in a thin layer of snow and ice. I was relegated to the road for my shuffle and had to keep an eye out for cars on turns.

Overall it was a pretty fantastic shuffle. I stuck with my plan and shuffled 1 minute for every 5 minutes of walking and I did this for 40 minutes. Garmin told me I went for 2.70 miles. I think turtles are faster. I started to feel poorly at the end of my run but I think that was because I had given like 8 viles of blood to be tested this morning. Don't worry mom, the lab tech said that I could workout when I went home but that I should wait an hour and eat something, which I did.

The rest of my day will be comprised of more cleaning, laundry, and maybe a trip to the mall! Stay warm!