While Karen was out dancing Zumba, Brie came to the door asking if I had any molasses for her sister Bella.  As a matter a fact, I do.  I handed her the jar and she was gone.  Not much more than a half hour later, there was another knock at my door.  I opened it to discover my jar of molasses and a plate of ginger snaps lying on my front porch.  After eating those for lunch, it was clear I would need to get out in the snow and 20° for a run.

It’s fair to say winter came in with December.  It snowed on December 1st with a cold front and hasn’t let up.  And I’ve been running in it but will admit to over-dressing.  By day 3 though I feel I’ve finally acclimated to the cold.  I wore shorts and felt good – there wasn’t any wind to speak of.  I might not have needed the running gloves but suspect they were a good call too.  I have fleece skull caps of various thickness and wore a thin one – again good call.  And the two long-sleeve shirts, one Under Armour Cold Gear and the other fleece – could not have been more comfortable.  But where I thought I was totally brilliant was in wearing the gaiters to keep the snow off my shoes.

After running a hundred yards or so on the snow, it occurred to me I should have worn my trail running shoes.  In addition to providing traction, they are waterproof.  I was able to accommodate my pace and footfalls to avoid slipping, but after a couple of miles I felt my shoes becoming wet despite the gaiters.  Had I worn my longer gaiters, they might have protected my shoes better.  They might have made my shins hot, those puppies are really warm, but they do a much better job of covering my shoes.  After 3 miles, I felt blisters forming on my arches.  It then occurred to me my biggest gear failure was in wearing cotton socks.  Critical mistake – I should know better.  This was my turn-around point on the trail, no choice but to run in blisters for another 3 miles.  Darn it.

Still, the snow itself was nice.  Four to six inches of fresh powder.  Snow runs are the best.  Might need band-aids but looking forward to another good run tomorrow.