It's butt cold out here, and I'm fresh outta beer...

Saturday night, Ryan said he was going to sleep in, so I thought I'd get up early, knock out a long run while the world is still sleeping, to test myself in the cold, & just to see how it would go. I checked my phone at 6:30 am on Sunday morning to find that the temperature outside was 21 degrees, real feel of 9. It's a bit nipply out. I mean nippy out, what did I say, nipple? Huh, there is a nip in the air though...

It is a full load of laundry to prepare for cold mornings like these. My layers included: winter tights, socks, thicker knee-high silly socks, UA base layer, UA sweatshirt, bright green vest, reflective mesh vest, cowl scarf for breathing, ear cover, stocking hat, hood, mittens, shoes.

I tie my shoes, take a deep breath, swallow my negativity, open the front door of my house to the elements, & take off. The winds are about 10 mph, I hadn't decided on where I was going to go until I knew the wind direction. I decided on a 10.5 mile route that hooks around by the Stockwell Sugar Bush & the wood burning stove smells that'll comfort me 1/2 way through.

I headed south & said good morning to the horses & donkey, backs covered in a soft blanket of snow, followed by the longhorn cattle. My negative thoughts kept trying to come back with frozen fingers reminding me of the chill in the air. Around 3.5 the cold escaped my fingers & transferred to my buns. I felt a little stiff, but just kept on going, being very watchful of the ground, patches of snow and ice.

I didn't bring my mp3, so I listened to the rhythm of breath, shoes on snow covered ground, and tried to focus on the beauty around me, instead of what my body was telling me about being outside. I got more into it the further I went, running by where I buy maple syrup is always a happy thing, it lightens my spirit & I started to enjoy it more just from the wood smells. 

I start to think about the seasons & how beautiful this corner of Ellsworth is to me. I like to do a few runs near here through the year; in the spring a flock of guinnea hens bark at me, summer, there's a lot of sunshine, and I've been on this corner in some HUGE rain storms that've developed mid-run. In autumn, the maple trees are just gorgeous.


As I move past the sugar bush,  I start to get a bit of anxiety over that darn South Maple hill...Am I going to try it today? or cut off early & cut across doing 9 miles instead...we'll cross that bridge when we get there. I get to the decision point & distracted, always hungry Heather starts to think about breakfast, instead of the darn hill & I keep on going, so my feet decided for me & I continue on. It was tough on the breath, having to push, and my scarf at this point had turned my steamy breath into icy crust (I'm going to have to figure out something different for the longer mileage times)...but I kept going & all was well. 

Made it home in 1:30 approx, and since we'd worked hard all day Saturday for Maxim's 4th birthday, I spent the rest of Sunday enjoying my family, baking sugar cookies, playing what Maxim calls "battle 'hip','' cuddling with my kitten, & reading a book called Shiver, which (embarrassingly) is a teenage love story about a werewolf, but I really have enjoyed it & I have learned its a series!