Take To The Streets

To date, I have done all of my running on a treadmill. A few different things pushed me to actually running outside today. First, I know that its good for your muscles to adapt to the different surfaces. Also, the good people at Runner's World magazine maintain that as you become a more accomplished runner, the higher your tolerance for the elements outside. I think I am ready to see myself as a hard core "winter runner" which was validated by a crossing guard policeman (details below). The third was my Christmas present from my beloved husband. A Garmin Forerunner 205. It is GPS and tracks your time, calories, pace, mileage and is downloadable (see picture insert) - and is very motivating to use. But before I could get started, I had a few things in my way.

The problems? Daylight, snow covered sidewalks, and cars. So my first order of business was getting a bright jacket. Thankfully the sale at REI provided me with a nice orange one for a mere $22. (Extra thanks to the Prenetas for the gift card !) Problem solved. Second issue was daylight. I decided I would run at lunchtime since the roads near work had sidewalks and our house doesn't. As I drove to work today I noticed that in fact, none of the sidewalks were plowed. This created an unexpected set back. I maintained my resilience and decided to go to the Minuteman Bike Path in Bedford. I knew Arlington and Lexington plowed theirs...

So, at noon, I got changed in the locker room at work, drove to the bike path and discovered it is in fact, not plowed in Bedford. This is when I decided I would just run on the streets since it was in fact daylight and I was in a very brightly colored orange jacket. I did a loop around Bedford and down South Road. The only precarious situation involved a moving truck that was taking up half of the road. The traffic flagman said "You are a very dedicated runner to be out in this weather." I responded "I know, believe me, I know." I was warm but I realized when I stopped that I had indeed been sweating and now was catching a chill. So I did my 3.1 mile run and headed back to work to shower and resume my work day. It felt great to get outside during the day and nice to not have to exercise right when I got home.