A Pretty Run

And not because it felt so good (although it actually did feel pretty good, still having that glute issue) but because we have had mid-20s for highs, and it’s been very humid, put that together and things get frosty…and when there is mist as well, it leaves a very surreal run.

I got home and my roommate was in the shower…and of course I realized, gee, I kind of need the bathroom, and the two bathrooms nearest me are closed for the season, but there is a place I have used before that’s 3 miles down the road. I hadn’t been sure of distance to run, but thought hey, 6 is fine, and I figured I would be able to make 3 miles before it became and emergency…so I piled on the clothes and headed out (tights, heavier pants, glitten, skin shirt, heavier pull over and light windbreaker only because it’s an illuminte jacket and it was dark, hat and gaitor since I didn’t wear that Sunday and it was enough that my cheeks were cold)…the route is 3 rolling hills, big ups, but also big downs and I get to run both sides up and down on the out and back. I hadn’t bothered to grab my GPS so only guessing on pace, but it felt pretty relaxed, probably around the 9 minute pace, I did check the clock on the way out and when I got back, but there was the bathroom stop in the middle as well as a bit of stretching on the steps before I got inside…I just wish I had had my camera with me. There was a tree that had lights on it and with the frost, it was so gorgeous…I grabbed these off the internet, but it just doesn’t quite get the full feel of the dark (I was running around 5) and the mist…my camera probably wouldn’t have been able to get a good pic in the dark anyway.

Also great news!! Saturday is the Winter Solstice…first official day of winter is Saturday at 12:08 am. OK, winter is my least favorite season cause I’m not a cold weather girl, BUT, for one, face it, I live in MN and winter hits about November unofficially, and for two, the solstice means we are crossing the line, heading toward summer and that means…drum roll…that the days are going to be getting LONGER!!!!! Yes, I’ve had people put the damper on saying “well, it’s only a minute or two”, and while that may be true, a minute or two more daylight hours means a lot, and it builds fairly quickly and all runners know that that is a good thing as we get more daylight to run in…

The sun is peeking out today, it’s supposed to be in the 30s or so today, maybe some snow tomorrow but warm again and I just heard that unofficially we might have tomorrow off, or at least leave a bit early!! So today might be my Friday, if nothing else it’s the last full day (as tomorrow I’ll leave by 2 or 2:30) of the year. Yep, you read that right. I work for a company that shuts down from Christmas day (and we were also officially given Monday as a paid holiday so I get to carry over one more vacation day for next year) to New Years days…so 10 days off…I’ll be in my hometown Saturday through Tuesday night, then relaxing, working out, vegging and some shopping probably next week. I need the time off to get some workouts in and some stuff done around home anyway. So looking forward to it.