Hello from New Mexico

Hello from beautiful New Mexico! I am visiting my mom here for the weekend. Yesterday I did a 7 mile run--for the first time in a long time I got to run without Yaktrax and gators. It was a little cool when I started (maybe 25 degrees) but warmed up quickly. I took Lucy, my mom's Wheaten terrier mix, on the 1st 4.5 miles, and Thompson, my mom's shepherd mix, on the next 2.5 miles. They both tired; Lucy much more slowly than Thompson! It was a nice run. I hardly felt like I did 7 miles. Legs felt great the rest of the day. According to my training plan, I had a day off today, and I'll do 3 miles easy tomorrow. Not sure if I'll take a dog or not. I fly home late tomorrow afternoon. It's cold back in Iowa. I mean, cold. We are talking negative 10 without the wind chill.

One more week off before classes start for spring (I'm a college professor). Then I'll have to start packing my running clothes and running from work in the afternoons. I love my breaks, but a part of me always yearns for a routine. I feel a little blah without it. Unfortunately, it appears for the next several weeks those runs will continue to be very cold. I'd prefer more reasonable weather, but I'm trying not to let it keep me inside. Obviously, I have access to plenty of treadmills and ellipticals, but I have trouble getting motivated to run inside--even more trouble than I have getting motivated to run when it's zero degrees! I never thought I'd say that. I've become a much more hearty winter woman recently--I'm proud to say. I guess it's part of being a Midwesterner. Or maybe it has to do with my sudden obsession with buying winter gear.

I bought a new 3/4 zip technical shirt today at Eddie Bauer that I'll use for running. It's incredibly soft and I think it will feel great against my skin. I'll probably try it out tomorrow. My mom bought one for Bill as well. I'll be excited to see what he thinks. They were about $34--with 30% off today. Had them in crewneck and hoodies as well.