Too Legit To Quit

I hadn't expected to wake up to snow this morning.  In fact, I'd planned on doing a long run.  I reached for my blackberry and googled "running in snow."  I got lots of hits so I decided that it must be perfectly normal to run in snow.  People advised running slowly and wearing non-cotton socks.

I rummaged around in my sock drawer and found an old knitty pair that might not be cotton.  Then I cut the tags on my Chanukah present from my sister: a pair of CW-X Conditioning Wear Insulator Stabilyx Tights and a black Asics top to wear over my Hind turtlenecks.

These compression tights are no joke.  They're so small that I really didn't think I'd get into them.  I expected them to look awful, too.  The criss-crossing stripes (black with blue trim) are functional, but  not exactly fashion forward.  Indeed, according to the tags, the "Conditioning Web" acts as an "exoskeleton" to provide extra core support, stabilize the knee joint, support your quads etc.

I layered up my turtleneck, Asics top, pink Lululemon ear warmer, hat and gloves, and ventured out into the snow.  I may be delusional, but I don't think I looked half bad in my Spidey-suit.  And I totally looked like a legit runner.

I knew the most important thing was not stepping in a slushy puddle before I hit the park.  I can handle most things, but not wet feet.  I came close a few times at the street corners, but made it.  The sidewalk was closed at the 72nd street entrance to the park due to "icy conditions" but I could see people running, so I bypassed the sidewalk and  kept going.  After all, I was wearing my Spidey-suit.  I decided that the 4 mile middle loop would be enough.  I'm glad I did because the best part of the run was the top of that loop.  It gets far less traffic, so there were a couple of inches of fresh snow.  It was pretty and far more stable than the main road.  The 72nd street transverse at the end was super crowded and slippery so I walked for part of the way there.  Other than that, though, it was a nice run.

Now that I'm home all toasty and warm, I'm contemplating a second pair of Spidey tights.  It was much nicer - and warmer - running in them than in my yoga pants.  My online window shopping has led me to a site I've never been to - teamestrogen.com.  It's got a ton of stuff and you can "build outfits" by saving the different products to your "closet" and then putting the different pictures together to see how things look... amazing.  There's a super cute black and pink pair of tights in my size.  So tempting.

Enjoy the last few hours of 2009, everyone!

-Gym Belle-