Speaking of the devil… We were getting ready to hit the trail, and the skies opened up wide. Buckets!!! Nope, no go Elliptigo. The forecast for tomorrow is much nicer, so the plan is to go for a ride tomorrow morning.
I could have written @fireandrain 's post! I too dress for +20 degrees - it may be a little chilly at first, but you quickly warm up. For me, there will be some sweating no matter what the temp!
Also the same on the temps - once its much under 30 - especially if there is any wind, it’s hard to get me outside though that’s where I rather be. I find that over the winter I’ll try and get outside once a week if possible, the treadmill another time that week and then fill in with other classes like spin, strength training, etc.
I won’t run outside if the pavement/sidewalks have snow or potentially ice. I just won’t. That’s a bummer. Some here have had luck with spikes to attach to your running shoes.
And I have the same Athleta insulated running tights thanks to @fireandrain 's recommendation last year - LOVE them!
Our fitness center has an inside track but it’s small - I think it’s 12 loops for a mile. Let me tell you, that can start to feel like a hamster on a wheel! What I often do is a mile or mile and a half on the track and then a the same amount on the treadmill - the same day. Then finish it off with a little rowing time!
I overdress somewhat because I can’t stand to be cold. Another problem in the winter is darkness. It can be less safe (cars, etc). I recommend a good headlamp. Gloves, hats- there is tons of great winter running gear. I have made peace with my treadmill and got my own. Gyms tend to be fairly warm for treadmill running unless there is a good fan. I try to run outdoors most of the time, but won’t run in ice, rain or howling wind.
Sabaray- Congratulations! That is excellent and I’m glad you got that done.
Yay sabaray! Quite an accomplishment. Hope you enjoyed the chocolate milk!
I totally meant to but totally forgot to “bow” to Sabaray - 20 miles - what?! I can’t even! When you get in your corral MCM day, you remember THIS day and that you did it. And sounds like you did it pretty decently. You’ll do it again.
No bowing - it was slow and it was ugly and I did not follow my workout exactly - needed the security of those 20 miles. I did enjoy my chocolate milk, had a homemade “mcmuffin” and ate pretty well the rest of the day - honestly didn’t feel like eating that much.
For winter, I have a great jacket from with vents in the underarms from Lulu - you can unzip them to get some cool air if you overheat. It has to be really cold (20 or less) for me to wear that. I honestly prefer a vest. Good socks are essential - smartwool is awesome - make sure you have reflective gear and a headlamp if you’re running in the dark.
Treadmill running is not the end of the world - I made excellent use of my $10 month Planet Fitness membership wearing out their ellipticals and treadmills!
Walked the dogs, over 50,000 steps for the day. You bet I was wearing my Fitbit today!
50K steps? Wow!
Did you Fitbit explode? 
There must some special Fitbit badge for breaking 50K!
Bravo, @Sabaray!
@FrancescaBennett – where are you located? When I used to run in Boston, I just layered wool sweaters, wool hat, wool socks, longies, jacket and went out anyway. Lightweight gloves. A little vaseline on the exposed portions of my face.
This days, I live in Portland, OR and I still detest running indoors, although if the streets are icy I get a day pass at our community center, where they have basic treadmills (costs all of $4 and I did it twice last winter). I still wear wool, but the layers are a lot lighter for Portland weather, which is basically a lot warmer than Boston ever was. I do have the Athleta fleece tights, but those are for extreme days and my dog agility days, when I’m in a cold drafty barn all day. Mostly I wear wool tights, wool socks, a light hat that gets stuffed in my pocket once I get warm, and lightweight wool gloves that also get stuffed in my pocket.
What I wear that’s a little different from most people I know–although I know several ultra runners for whom this is also their choice–is that I wear an old slightly felted cashmere sweater over my base layer t-shirt (sweat wicking) and long-sleeve technical shirt. I find that sweater stays warm even if it’s raining (because rain is something I can count on in Portland winters) and the felting means it doesn’t let much wind through and it breathes. I sweat a lot and sometimes that sweaters weighs three or four pounds from all the moisture–but it’s still warm and cozy and comfortable.
I ran a 5K this morning–it rained before and it rained after, but it didn’t rain during, so I felt very lucky. Half a minute faster than my time on the same course last year, but I’d really hoped for better. Worse, my Garmin (Forerunner 235) had some sort of weird data dropout for two minutes, so I was all excited when I finished and looked at my time–only to realize later than it had turned itself off and totally missed two minutes… I have googled my rear off trying to figure out what happened–I saw some sort of transient error message at the time, but had no prayer of reading it without my glasses–but I can’t figure it out. Still, I managed to a) do better than last year, and b) keep my heart rate above 150 for the entire run, which was one of my goals.
MNK, I would probably dream that I did not have to read those 350 pages!!! Aren’t you supposed to read your upperclassmates’ outlines? 
I had a dream that I randomly decided to run the marathon leg of the Ironman that was happening in the town we were visiting (I think it was inspired by looking at some Kona condos last night). I knew it was a stupid idea because I had not trained for one, but I took off anyway.
Great job, dmd! You timed your race well.
Rain here as well. Scratched the ride and went to B-M to get some paint. I cannot believe this! They were out of satin paint! So my project is on hold until Monday. Grrrrrgh. Spent the rest if the day lazying around the house, painted the trim, and did some weights.
Was rainy here all day too. Ended up going a structured indoor wattage ride. Warm up followed by 4 X 10 minute intervals at 90% FTP with a minute recovery between each interval and then a cool down. Wattage was solidly in my anaerobic zone but HR was below my last correlated anaerobic HR zone. That’s progress. Soon, I’ll do a new FTP test to see if my FTP wattage has increased. The only downside was that I couldn’t wear my new Garmin heads up display. Maybe tomorrow :D.
Love this, @sabaray! And so true!! I can’t even imagine running that distance, never mind actually doing it. Well done!
Longish pup walk between rain storms yesterday. Then off to MA for my grand nephew’s 2nd birthday party/housewarming party for his parents.
I haven’t run at all this week – sometimes I just can’t get psyched for it. I’ve learned to not get all bummed out about it – I know I’ll be back at it. A chart of my mental ups and downs in relation to running would be a roller coaster, I think.
When running outside in cold weather, I always start off really chilled, knowing within minutes I’ll be sweating. Starting with lots of layers means I have no place to put stuff as I take it off, so I’d rather just start cold. OTOH, I’m not totally adverse to the treadmill, so if the weather is too cold/nasty, I run inside. Podcasts are my friend.
An abasket 5k through the neighborhood this morning - cloudy and 55. Appreciate still being able to run in shorts/skirts!
dmd- that’s strange about the Garmin! Congrats on the rainy 5K anyway!
Did 8 miles of my planned 7. Coming back from altitude really does make a difference. So does cooler weather. It all felt OK- after the slogfest that was every run this summer! 58-64 degrees and light clouds for most of it. 37 mile week in the bag. Need to get back on track with my eating. The conferences in Colorado were one great meal, drinks and snacks after another.
I’m impressed with the 50000 steps sabaray!
A FitBit story- I already mentioned my new obsession with getting the 250 steps every hour. The Alta beeps at you at 10 minutes before the hour and tells you how many steps short you are. Well, if I was sitting in a session at the conference and it beeped, I would look at my phone, sigh, and slip out of the room with the phone to my ear like I had an important call to which I must attend! Then I would walk around the foyer or even slide on outside into the gorgeous fresh air until Alta let me know I was free to go back inside! I tried to plan so if a session was starting at 15 minutes past the hour, I would get the steps in before it started. The problem was the one hour sessions that started on the hour. Obsessed much?
Lol, MOfWC! I am glad my Charge HR does not have that feature. Sometimes, my bus ride is over an hour… And the bus is packed, so no room for pacing around. My class this term is 75 minutes long. I am sure the prof is not going to be thrilled with one of the students consistently dashing out of the classroom, lol.
Gorgeous blue skies, so off to the trail we go!
Airplane is a deal breaker, too- at least Southwest.
12 miles on my dorkmobile - from the rolling hills of Bot Hell through the Horseville flats all the way to Nerdmond and back! 
^^Great job BB - on your dorkmobile.
I also admit to obsessing over the 250 steps. And I’m perfectly ok with that - the only time I have trouble meeting mine (I have mine set up to “record” from 7am - 8pm I think) is if I traveling in the car or at a work meeting - I do admit that I get “buzzed” often at work at :50 of the hour - but if I’m at my desk I can usually manage to get up and walk for a couple of minutes - the thing is when you’re focused on your work, it is surprising how fast an hour can go - I’m like, “what? I have to get 250 again!” - I’ll have to try MOWC’s method another time.
One of the nice things is lets say in an hour I have walked 200 of 250 steps - when it buzzes is will say things like “just 50 more steps!” or “feed me a little bit” - so kind, my Alta! Call me weird but it is satisfying seeing the activity chart dots ALL light up when I sync my Alta - meaning that I met 250 for every one of those hours.
I like that, too. I also get up from my desk and finish up the steps. Planes and car trips are killers, though. I think mine is 7am to 8pm as well.