Bring it, winter

After one little purchase, I no longer view a winter storm the same. When I look out the window now, and I see snow falling and ice forming, obvious signs that the temperature is dropping fast, I no longer worry about how I'm going to get my run in.

Thanks to these...


... I now smile when the weather outside is frightful.

A little snow and ice -- or a lot of snow and ice, for that matter -- is no match for me and my new Yaktrax. Puddles... well, puddles are still a problem. This week, back here in Chicagoland for the holidays, I have logged a 7-miler in an ice storm and an 8-miler during a big snow storm. And I had a blast each time I've headed out.

That's me heading out on an 8-mile jaunt the day after Christmas.

With these babies strapped to my shoes, I can run without worrying about any nasty slips or falls. Last year in Toronto, I had a couple of those while running in snowy conditions with no "tire chains" on my feet, as the family has referred to them. It's made running in the winter fun. Yeah, I said it. Fun. No, I'm not crazy. I'm just a runner.

One thing that added to the whole experience was watching the reaction of people in cars as they drove by me running out in the nasty weather. I saw a few dropped jaws and a couple people did full head-turns like, "Is that person nuts?" One man in a snow plow gave me an extra boost of adrenaline, though. He honked his horn, rolled down his window and threw a fist up in the air as he drove by, like "Right on, man!"

Right on, indeed. I also reached a milestone today. I passed 2,000 miles since i began logging in October 2007. I've averaged more than 2 miles per day since I started running regularly, and have averaged 5.8 miles per run over that span.

Can't wait for tomorrow's 6-mile run. Here's hoping it doesn't warm up!

~JB