4.3 miles~~after a long hiatus~~brrr

I finally got out to run today.  It was hovering near 50 degrees (which a colleague recently said "50 is the new 80")!  I have not run in many days because the temperatures were below freezing (sometimes around 7 degrees) and the roads were wet with snow, ice, or run-off.  We had so much snow/frigid cold days that we ended up with four days off in a row.  That would have been the perfect time to run, but it was too cold.  The cold air is the hardest thing for me to deal with while running.  I use my Buff to cover my nose and mouth and it helps.  A lot.  But, the Buff can get wet with my breath and if it is really cold, then it freezes!  Or, when I breathe (if I don't put it on a certain way) it will fog up my sunglasses.  Besides that, the air just plain hurts my lungs as I take it in.  Not to mention how hard it is to use that air to fuel my running.

But, today I got out there for a not-so-pretty run.  But I got out there.  I ran 4.38 miles (and had to walk a bit) and finished in 55 minutes.  Not horrible, but not great.  It is amazing in how just 13 days not running affected me.  I actually think that when I run I help "flush out" some of the allergens that affect my sinuses and lungs.  The other factor could be that when it is freezing cold, I tend to stay inside more where it is warm and dry.  So either running outside or just being outside helps keep me healthier.

So here is to running in the glorious outdoors! :-)