I Am Hardcore

Well, I've done a couple runs in the rain now, and I've been fully anticipating that a COLD run was going to happen sooner or later, since I'm training for a marathon in the winter and all.  Last night ended up being my rude awakening into WINTER running.  As you can see, the temps were a balmy 33 degrees (not so good at holding the thermometer while snapping pics!)!

Now, there are a variety of reasons last night's run might not have happened:

• I'm still recovering from this cold.
• It was friggin 33 degrees!
• I have 30 million things I need to do because I'm hosting my first cookie exchange later this week.
• I ran 19 miles the other day, don't I get a week off now or something?
• Did I mention it was 33 degrees outside??

In any case, I suited up in pants, a turtle neck, a fleece sweatshirt, a fleece coat, a fleece hat, and gloves.

Oh yeah, and my awesome reflective vest.  

Hello, my name is Brittney and I will be your crossing guard today...

I got in a frigid 4 miles.  Actually, the first mile was the only one that really sucked.  After one loop, I was actually hot in my three top layers and dropped my jacket off on my porch, before setting out for the remainder of the run.  I probably should have done more than 4 miles last night, but it was cold and I didn't want to push it too much with my cold.  Plus, I had a million things to do.  I considered it a win that I got in 4+ miles.  I forget what my time was, and actually, I really don't care, because this was not a speed work run, it was a test of will, and as far as I'm concerned, I passed just getting my butt out the front door in the dark cold when I could have been curled up with my puppy on the couch.

The funny thing about this whole outdoor run was that it actually could have been avoided.  I forgot that Greg was home most of yesterday, which meant I didn't have to rush home to let Clyde out like I usually do.  Had I been thinking cleary, I could have brought running stuff with me and run at work on the treadmill, INSIDE, where people are not turning into human icicles!  Oh well!  Like I said, the outdoor winter running was going to happen, so it might as well have been last night.

Back at the house, you can imagine what I wanted to eat for dinner.  Warm soup!  I found some lentils in my freezer and paired them with a piece of my Rosemary Focaccia bread.  Eh, the soup was not great.  I'm not sure how long it had been in the freezer, and don't know if that was the issue or what, but I probably only ate about half the bowl before tossing it.  I assure you that my hunk of bread was substantial though.

Next, it was time to let the Christmas cookie baking begin!  I'm making two kinds of cookies for the exchange.  Candy Cane cookies (almond flavored), and chocolate orange pinwheels.  I baked a batch of the candy cane cookies.  For this batch, I substituted Earth Balance for butter, since I know some of my guests need/prefer it.  I will say that I did find that the dough was not as pliable as it usually is and they do not taste quite as buttery (which is to be expected), as usual, but I think they still came out well.

I also worked on the pinwheels and they are ready to be baked tonight!  My to-do list is about a mile long, but I'm hoping everything comes together for my cookie party!