Brrrr!

That about sums up the entire winter here in DC.  Just cold.  Yesterday was an all time personal cold weather(PCW) run for me outside.  It was 20 degrees with a wind chill of 10.  The only benefit was sunshine which made it feel well refrigerator cold not freezer cold.  I ran a meager 5 miles but running into the wind was quite painful on the bare face.  I could've setup a treadmill inside a walk-in freezer and it would've been warmer.

I did my best to wear as many running clothes as I own.  I had all my running clothes laying in the sun from the big bay windows in the living room to "pre-warm" them for the run.  Here's a rundown of my attire:
Legs and family jewels: shorts, running tights, running sweats(fleece lined)
Torso/arms: polypro t-shirt, polypro long sleeve, fleece running jacket
Hands: Defeet wool gloves and just simple knit running gloves on top
Head: running beanie although I probably should've dug out my cycling balaclava
Feet: Socks and shoes

I've been running in 30 something degree weather since late November it feels like so I've adapted somewhat to the cold.  It felt like I was running 35 degree weather as I was cold but I wasn't going into hypothermia.  Obviously, the wind chill was brutal.  My lips started to freeze towards the end which isn't much fun.  I'm mentally tougher for braving the elements.  It reminds me of all those 45 and raining Oregon runs I did when I was there but now I have 35 and raining runs here plus yesterday's doosy of a cold one.

I was blaming the pilgrims and the founding fathers as I ran.  I mean really no wonder a bunch of the pilgrims died in the winter.  It was frickin cold.  Why didn't they just keep sailing along the shore SOUTH?!?!  Or why didn't our founding fathers decide hey it's real nice in Florida, let's put the capital there.  They're smart enough to come up with cool democracy but can't realize that a bunch of people have to suffer in the god awful winter cold and the god awful humid summer heat.  Morons!!

Right now, it's 7 degrees outside with a wind chill of -7.  I'm debating on skipping the run today although another 5 miler would be good for the legs just not sure how the rest of my body would handle this cold.  I could hit up the local treadmill but 5 miles on it is pretty boring although it seems like I keep reading people busting out 17 miles and even one guy running 3 hours and a complete marathon on one.  It might not be bad to take a day off though because my sore foot from last year is bugging me again.  It was weird because my "good" foot had that weird pain and then all of sudden it went away and the "bad" foot had the old pain from last year back.  It's hard to ice because well it feels cold all the time.

I'm still skimping on my electricity bill by leaving the heat off during the evening.  The heat pump would run all night at these temperatures just to maintain 62 degrees in the condo.  I'm plenty warm under my super goose feather comforter.  I think that it has to be rated for at least 45 degrees.  I was nice and toasty when I woke up today even though the thermostat said 53.  Again luckily the sun is out because of the big south windows in the living and dining room I get free heat from that.  Even with the limited heat pump use, I'm sure my electricity bill is going to be quite high.  Probably mid 100s at least...ugh!  Oh well, I looked at my finances and right now I'm actually saving money each month.

The 17" vs. 15" Macbook Pro debate continues in my head.  5.5 lbs vs. 6.6 lbs for portability?  Native 1440x900 screen vs. 1900x1200 screen?  2.8Ghz vs. 2.66Ghz for the same price?  8 hour battery vs. 5 hour?  It seems to coming down to availability in the recesses of my mind because I need to get it when I'm in Oregon to save the sales tax.  Right now, it looks like the 17" might come out the first of February.  This is smack dab in the middle of my trip so that helps but it's the unknown that maybe it gets delayed.  Either way it's going to be my tax refund spent.  I'm hoping I get a tax refund since mortgages are good for taxes right?

How about that plane vs. flock of birds crash yesterday?  Crazy considering I'm ready to get on one of those US Airways regional jets next Thursday for a day trip to Raleigh, North Carolina.  At least everyone made it but man it must've been cold getting out into that water and plus all your carry-on luggage maybe lost or damaged.  Not fun!

Stay warm...and Al Gore I'm thinking Ice Age not Global Warming!