Baby, it's cold outside!

It's a good thing the group run this morning was canceled, because I would have had to dress like Randy ("I can't put my arms down!") to avoid freezing to death. I woke up at 4 AM, tossed and turned, and finally turned on the computer at 5:30 to read the blessed news that the group run was canceled. I breathed a sigh of relief and eventually managed to go back to sleep.

However, the dogs were not going to let me get away with not walking them. It took a good ten minutes to get dressed for the occasion: three layers on the bottom, four layers on top, and scarf, balaclava, hat, and hood to protect my face. The temperature was 12°F, with wind chills around 0°.

I did manage to put the "group" back in "group run" by going with my friends Steve and Betsy to the gym this afternoon to get my 3 miles in. We all hopped on adjacent treadmills and did our thing. This is the only way I can ever remotely "run with" Steve, as I am...well, embarrassingly slow in the grand scheme of things. I managed to hold on to an 11:19 pace and a 2.0 incline for just about the entire 3 miles, but my heart rate quickly edged up to 165-170--I could still talk, but it wasn't easy. Steve, meanwhile, proceeded to throw down 400 meters at a 6:58 pace at the end of his workout and still couldn't get his heart rate above 152. (I should mention that Steve is quite a bit older than I am to boot.) He is a good friend and a great human being, but I couldn't help a sarcastically muttered "I hate you!" at that.