Running under the blue moon

Posted by: Kristin

Bundled up before the run. After a few minutes that scarf and my coat were gone!

My first experience wearing a grocery store bag on my feet for a snowy trail. Highly recommended! Didn't cause hot feet or discomfort at all! I think adding that foot powder we like would've been even better.

Note to self- trim toenails more often. My pinky nail jabbed me all through the run!

I just found out that last night (December 31st) was a blue moon! A blue moon is the rare situation in which there is a full moon twice in one month. This only occurs one every 2-3 years. Hence the famous phrase "once in a blue moon." No, it's not a person mooning you when they're cold.

Well, most people have to wait until it gets dark to enjoy the blue moon, but we 3 got to see it nice and early Wednesday morning. We didn't realize it was a blue moon at the time, but we did get look at it and comment on how full and beautiful it looked. Seriously, winter morning runs are so gorgeous!

What a beautiful run! But a seriously tough one for me. I think I'm majorly out of shape compared to D and S. I was huffing and puffing and begging for walks. They were gliding along like nimble gazelles, and I was a clumsy rhino in the few inches of soft/sandy snow. They were Olympic speed skaters and I was just putting on my first skates; they were Thumper on the ice and I was Bambi. You get the idea- I was working hard! D and S had their Yaktrax. I'm considering getting something like that, cuz my bod was so so sore from stabilizing the whole run! Sheesh!
Here's D's sidewalk to give you an idea of the snow depth- our path was NOT plowed, thankyouverymuch.

Me, coyly showing my frosty hat.
I really wanted to get a shot of D's hair- white with frost, but I kid you not, 5-10 seconds after we entered her house the frost was melted!

This pic doesn't do justice to the bright red stripes on my ribs and belly. Even after the hot shower these spots stayed super red from being cold! This always happens where I have excess body fat (yes I have a bit over my ribs there). Weird! A fun reminder of where you need to lose a little! Not.

Wish you could see this pic up close! Suzy's hairs were each individually wrapped in frost- just like pine needles get in the morning. It looked so cool. It was cooler that usual since we ran through some seriously wet foggy spots. It felt like running through a humidifier's stream!

Hey!! No one has said anything about my last post where we invited y'all to run with us! No takers? What if it's at 11:00 am? C'mon, don't be afraid, ladies!

Happy New Year! XOXO

13 degrees F and 28 degrees F

This is Suzy. I've never stopped to think of the difference of a mere 15 degrees in cold weather temperature. Today, I did a lot of thinking about it. I asked my husband to check the low for today so that I could put on the right amount of layers for our run. It was supposed to be 13 degrees F. The actual temperature on our run was 28 degrees F. I never thought I would say this but I was too warm, no, hot, for a run out in the snow. Danna and I hadn't even run a mile before we had to stop and strip off an entire layer of clothing. That was certainly a sight that we were glad no one but ourselves witnessed. I even left my clothes to the side of the trail because it was too hot to tie them around my waist.

Today, it was snowing as we ran. The excellent hat Danna and Kristin gave me kept the snow off my face. Yeah! My excellent yaktrax kept me from sliding in the snow and ice. Poor Danna. I think she wanted to punch me for all the times I told her how much I liked not slipping on the ground. She will, though, have much finer calves than me because she had to work so much harder to keep her balance than I did. Maybe she will get some spikes so she doesn't slide as much either.

It is a beautiful experience to run in freshly fallen snow, undisturbed, glistening, white. It was also a beautiful experience to cross paths with Larry while we were running very hard. We think he must be very impressed with us and our dedication to the sport.

My first ankle injury

This is Suzy again. On our run, I stepped on a rock about the size of a baseball and injured my ankle. Funny thing is that both Kristin and I kicked that very rock on the first half of our run. Too bad we didn't think to throw it off the trail. When I hit it and fell in the midst of our runners therapy session, Danna immediately said, "Oh no! God struck down the wrong person!" I think, though, He got the right one. I've been overly busy and stressed with Christmas preparations and taking the time to rest an injury has been relaxing. It has also given me some great snuggle time with my girls. I think we are all feeling happier, if not slightly sorer.

If you look closely, maybe you can see the purplish oval on my foot. Maybe not. I have learned from previous injuries to follow the RICE equation. Rest Ice Compression Elevation. Especially in the first 24 hours. I did as much as I could of RICE. My ankle is still sore but I like to think it is better than it would have been. By the way, my yaktrax worked great on the ice. Too bad they don't have rock sensors on them. Next time, I'll remember my headlamp.