Greg coerced me to go out for a winter run last night despite all of my usual protests;  my running shoes always go in the closet the second the first snowflake hits the ground, and stay there till mid-spring. I’ve been on the treadmill downstairs a few times over the winter, but I was starting to feel the cobwebs creeping in and my joints getting rusty, and figured I ought to give Greg’s crazy outdoor thing a try.

Figuring out what to wear was hard. I put on my brother’s hand-me-down ridiculously orange pants (my “Cheeto” pants) and a blue windbreaker. I need to invest in some real winter running apparel if I’m going to do this again.

I had lots of visions beforehand of wiping out on salt and ice patches, but the streets were pretty clean and safe, and we did a 5K run in mostly well-lit areas. I found I was still in pretty good running shape, and the crisp cold air helped keep us from getting sweaty or overheated without being uncomfortable.

This morning my legs are okay, but my stabilization muscles all through my core and in my knees are feeling like they’ve been really worked hard (just from my paranoid tensing as I ran). Going up the 3 flights of stairs to my desk really took a lot out of me. I’m answering to the name “Limpy McShambler” for the rest of the day.

And I’m HUNGRY. It’s chocolate time!