In January, I was reminded just how much I love cold weather running. I could do without the ridiculously short days and running in the dark and all the rain we have seen, but there is still something about running in the cold that makes me feel powerful, as cheesy as that sounds. I complain when I have to walk across a parking lot or down a few blocks when it is above freezing outside, but when I am about to go for a run when it is below freezing, I am happy and intent on getting my run in.

A great example of this was at this weekend’s Polar Bear Run 5K, where it was about 30 degrees at the start line. Most people were jumping in place to stay warm, but I was surprised to notice I was not shivering at all. I was cold but not quite to the point of actually shivering, which I did not take for granted since I know from experience how much energy can be wasted from it. I was just happy that it was sunny with no wind. It was the perfect weather for a winter race.

I was pleased with this race, everything from the long sleeve tech shirt to the relatively flat course, which was just two loops around a large church. Despite one of us still having a cold, we finished with a pretty good unofficial time of 35:51. The first mile was a little crowded, so we walked a good bit. We were able to pick up the pace in the last two miles and finish feeling good about our January race.

Happy Monday, friends!