This Year’s First Real Winter Run

I can’t believe it’s really been this long since I’ve gone running, but there really has been a lot going on. We recently moved back up to Burlington, Vermont, so Winter is now spelled with a capital “W”. Unlike South Carolina, Winter is a very real thing in New England. Down south, I would just put on a light jacket for winter runs. If it was really cold outside, I might need gloves and a hat. In New England, however, I need tights.

I was concerned that my South Carolina cold gear wouldn’t be enough, but the temperature held at 29F. That’s cold for a southerner, but not impossibly so. We’ve had temperatures of -1F recently, so I really wanted to take advantage of this warm spell. I wore my black Puma jacket with my bright yellow space jacket over it, along with two hat layers, tights, shorts and gloves. (The tights were something I picked up the last time I lived in Burlington. No one in SC needs tights.)

As it turns out, I was okay. The wind threatened to chill me, but it wasn’t really so bad. With my layers, I was quite comfortable. I was even able to shed the gloves and the outer hat after the first mile. There was a bit of ice, but I picked up some Yaktrax knockoffs when we lived in Boston. I kept to the grass when I saw frozen puddles on the sidewalk, and I never lost traction. I could really feel my recent lack of training, but I was warm enough and I wasn’t worried about slipping. It was a successful test run.

As long as the temperature stays above 20F, I’ll be out there in the mornings. However, I have a very healthy respect for the levels of cold that New England can dish out. If the temperature drops below that mark, I’ll have to stay inside until I buy better New England cold gear.