Total AWESOMENESS!

I teach a lab course on Tuesdays that gets out at 5pm.  Patrick had to got to work at 5pm.  We only have one car.  So what's a girl to do?  Run home!  I packed strategically so I could leave my things in my office and luckily I got out of lab early.  It was tempting to call Patrick to pick me up, but I stuck to my plan.  I got changed and headed out.

The most gratifying moment of the run came about 2 miles in.  I stopped to walk for about 30 seconds to try and stretch my legs out.  At this point I was passing through a parking lot to get back to the main road.  As I was walking I heard a guy start yelling, "Hey!"  I ignored him the first time and then turned around the second time because I thought he might be talking to me.  Turns out, he was.  He asked me if I needed a ride.  I told him I was all set and that I was out for a run.  The look of disbelief was priceless and he said, "You're crazy!  It's f@%$ing cold out here."  I waved and started running again with a big grin on my face.

And it was cold!  Brrr.  When I got back it was 12* out.  And with the sun going down, there wasn't much to warm me up.  It was a cold start, but once I got warmed up and moving I was feeling much better.  This is the first run I've done outside since the end of December.  We had warm enough temps to melt the snow in  the breakdown lanes of the roads.  The sidewalks are still icy, but there was enough room to run on the side of the road safely.  When I got home and warmed up, my legs looked like this:

They were all red and blotchy and itchy (the red in the bottom right corner is the most accurate).  If I was out there any longer I think I might have gotten frostbite.  The ironic part is that my legs were never cold, only my face and hands.  I guess Tricia needs to pick me as the winner of her GoLite winter gear giveaway.  That or I need to get some more layers!