"These miles count for double"

Time of departure: 7:07am
Return: 8:50am-ish
Sunrise: 6:48am
Temperature: 12F
Wind Chill: -6F
Dew Point: 3F
Water temp: 33F

Route: Down the bike path to the 2 mile marker and back up, because my beloved running path was not only not plowed, but it was impossible to differentiate from the rest of the landscape covered in snow drifts. The hill was inaccessible.
Running buddy: Matt.

Environmental commentary: So, if you had asked me, is it more challenging to run on a day when it's below zero or on a day when there is lots of snow, I probably would have gone with the sub-zero temps. BUT, I have to say that running through shin and knee-high snow drifts is the bigger challenge. I'll explain.

Cold= dress in layers with wind protection. Then you're warm inside your clothes.

High snow= well, think about running through the tires on a playground or that they put you through in Basic training obstacle courses. You know, there's a reason that girls, and maybe the boys who aren't playing football, just like to sit on them and play those clapping games...because running through them is HARD. And snow drifts are the same way. Plus, when you're running though snow drifts, you get snow inside the holes in your socks (see below) and under the tongues of your shoes. It's a fantastic time.

That being said, there was some real beauty out there today. And it was not vegan looking. Imagine, the wind is blowing in off the lake. All the six or so inches of snow that should be on the hill by the shoreline has blown off and is collecting on the lower ground near the bike path in drifts up to waist height. The wind continues to cut ripples into the snow creating pretty wave-like patterns. This is the same effect you see when swimming in the lake and you're observing how the pulses of the waves shape the sand on the bottom (oh, those days are coming soon). But the wind does not stop with the snow. The sand from the beach is also carried over the hill and dusts the tops of these ripples in the snow so that it looks like the top of a Lemon Meringue Pie. Matt thought it looked like ice cream with caramel or chocolate swirls, but I think he was wrong. :) It looked like torched meringue. Delicious. And not vegan at all.

The sun was acting shy behind some clouds so we didn't see much of it. It was still snowing out, continues to snow as I'm writing this. Will it ever stop snowing?

The running path was not plowed, though the bike path was. Since its plowing, one bike had traversed some of the path and then seemed to disappear, "that's where Jesus carried him," said Matt. Okay, Matt.

Clothing: ECW minus T-shirt and mittens. I really need some new athletic socks. Did I write about my sock problem?? I went to the store the other day. "Socks" was on my list. So, no problem, I think. I go to the sock aisle. I SEE the athletic socks. Really, I'm sure I must have seen them. But somehow it never registered that these were the socks that I was referring to on my list. Because instead what I ended up getting was three pairs of fun knee-high socks. And NO athletic socks. So today I had holes in the heels of my socks. Ridiculous.

How did I feel? Well, we didn't run yesterday because my right first metatarsal-phalangeal joint was still bothering me. I could still feel it this morning, West African dance didn't help it last night, but I figured run now or I may never run again. A habit is not a thing to be messing with. I rubbed some acute-injury Chinese herbs into it before and after and it'll just have to be okay.

Lake Shore Drive: There were cars. But I was paying more attention to the snow drifts I was running through.
Dog Beach: Out of view (due to snow drifts)
People tally:
1 walker
4 runners
1 biker
1 person with dog

What do I like about running? A good question. I like the discipline.