Cold weekend workouts

The holiday weekend is over, but the holiday season is officially upon us! In between wrapping presents, addressing Christmas cards, and decorating the house this weekend I managed to sneak in a few workouts. But cold was the operative word!

Saturday, I headed over to the pool mid-afternoon. It was surprisingly busy, lots of people feeling the need to burn off that second helping of mashed potatoes or stuffing, I guess. I'd talked myself into going by thinking about how nice and warm the water would be - it's usually in the mid-80s. Tepid bathwater, but still warmer than the 40 degree air. Except the pool heater was broken! The water was about 8 degrees colder than I'd expected. Yikes! It could have been an excuse to cop out, but I knew I'd never forgive myself. So, I did my 2500yds as quickly as I could and got the heck out of dodge.

Yesterday never even really dawned, it was so gray and rainy all day, so it's like the sun never rose at all. Around noon though, I piled on the layers, including my trusty pink running jacket and headed out the door. Nick really wanted to come along, but the thought of wet dog all day in the house was just too unpleasant, so the poor guy got left behind. It was too dreary to try and stay motivated on the trail, so I wandered the neighborhoods of Arlington instead. Not quite 6miles, but it felt good. I saw only two other people and we nodded at each other - that acknowledgement of a little bit of toughness. The knowledge that we were out there working when we could have been home, warm and dry, instead.

I like to think of myself as tough, but inside I know that I wimp out more often than I should. And so it's good to have those chances to prove to myself that I can be as tough as I want to be. But like everything, it takes hard work and commitment.