A Perfect Running Day

From living in Michigan, my brain expects running at this time of year to include lots of layers, dark cloudy skies, and freezing my butt off. The feeling of being so cold for the first few minutes of the run, beginning to sweat, and then freezing at the end because of sweating when it's cold. Bearing the (sometimes intense) lung burn that comes with breathing in the cold cold air. Where I lived last year at this time, it's cold and snowy. In part I enjoyed how these aspects of the winter run made me feel alive, and in part I dreaded feeling so cold.

Today, I experienced my best December run ever. I headed out mid-day (it gets dark so early, have to beat the darkness!) to find beautiful sunshine in my eyes. I hadn't even brought sunglasses because I didn't think it would be sunny. I wore a long sleeve shirt and could have easily worn short sleeves. Sometimes I can't believe how amazing California is! I hope I never start taking the beautiful weather for granted.

I left from work and headed down Amphitheatre Parkway to the Vista Slope. I ran to the top and around the back, fighting a rather mighty, but not cold, wind. I continued along the trail to Crittenden Lane and looped back to where I started. I stayed at or under a 10 minute/mile pace (a good goal for me) and felt comfortable the whole time. It was only a four mile run, but I felt wonderful. Perhaps this is because I hadn't run since the Turkey Trot last Thursday, or maybe because my last workout was on the bike and biking is so much harder for me. Either way I know I am lucky to have such nice running weather in December. It really was a perfect running day for me.

Here's to running and feeling awesome!