That was a cold run Sunday morning. Air temperature was a balmy 13F at 5am. I didn’t check the wind chill but winds were out of the NW at 10-15 mph. As I do more often than not, I overdressed slightly. It’s always easy to pick the perfect combo after a run is over. In hindsight I would have ditched the Wb shell (as a windbreaker – surprisingly unnecessary) and gone with just the l/s fleece and the compression shirt up top. I love these two new compression shirts I got for Christmas – but they are throwing off my usual cold weather combos because they are so effective at keeping me warm!
This was a nice 4m recovery run in my new Altra Instincts (3rd run in them). They’re not going to be my new favorite shoes. I like them, I just don’t love them. I guess I am hard to please but my favorite shoe is no shoe, although that’s just not an option in this season and/or on pavement. I’m going to be ordering a pair of the new Mizuno Wave Evo Cursoris in the next week or so. I’m thinking those over the Levitas, solely (pun intended) based on wanting a training shoe over a racing shoe at the moment.
Running with a friend is a great way to get going early on a cold morning. There’s no excuses when staying in bed means your running companion is going to be jogging in place at your rendezvous point wondering where you are.
A final thought on cold weather running. My face was COLD heading into the wind – I just had a hat on. Nelson had selected a balaclava (also known as a baklava in my family). I was jealous as we headed north, but he ditched it as headed south. I took the dog out for a short run an hour later and decided to try a balaclava I bought several years ago but never used. We walked for a while on the way out – it was great for that. We ran back, and I felt like someone was holding a pillow over my face. I just could not get enough air. Ellie sets a pretty good pace though when she realizes she’s headed back to see her mommy! (my wife) So, I’ll either be performing surgery on the balaclava or leaving it behind the next time the temps are this low!
I’ll be posting later this week with either a full review of the Instincts or a description of my elliptical/recumbent stationary bike/treadmill long run substitute from Saturday.
cretanrunning 
I love the balaclava! I actually wear it because it warms the air before I breathe it in. I don’t mind the slightly “stuffy” feeling. I’ll trade that for a sore throat any day. I actually wore a dust mask for a long time on cold runs to warm the air and take care of a persistent cough I developed during the winter. (The thought process went like this… Hmm… When I get home from a run on a cold day, my cough is worse! Maybe I should change something…)
The run (13 – feels like zero) was a study in micro-climates. The run north was cold, and required the hat. Turning into a subdivision and headed east or west warmed up slightly. Heading south required immediate pushing off of the balacalav and unzipping the shell. Headed west on College and through a wind swept valley had me pulling the now frozen balaclava back on. It warmed up quickly and started doing its job.
Great run in the elements. It’s practice for getting ready to face whatever comes my way on race day.
And a tip… I’ve been putting vaseline on my nose and cheeks (exposed skin) before heading out on these cold runs. I’ve only done this a couple of times on the most recent really cold weather. I was skeptical, but it works!
baklava…ha!