Baby, It's Cold Outside!!!

Baby, It's COLD OUTSIDE----but that's not gonna stop us!!! 

I admit, I came home from church and debated and debated about getting out and running in this cold, WINDY weather.  But, after seeing a few facebook comments, I finally decided it would be worth it to bundle up and give it a shot.

Take a look at all the STUFF I wore today:-).  And yes, I have one of me at the beginning of the run (totally bundled up) and another one of me towards the end of my run, after I shed some layers:-)

So, for those of you new to running.....here are some of my suggestions for what I would call "necessities" for running in the cold, winter weather.
1) Some sports sunglasses-  I even wear mine on cloudy days, too.  The glasses not only help me with sunlight, but wind burn too.  Dry eyes can be painful, so find ya a good pair of glasses.
2) Underarmor Cold Gear-  It's not that flattering on me as cold gear is tight fitting.  But it's easy to layer.  And it sooooo keeps you warm!  It's pricey, but very worth it!  I usually wear my cold gear layered with a loose tshirt and a zip up jacket.  On most runs, I usually take my jacket off and wrap it around my waist once I get warmed up or toasty!  And yes, that does happen, even in 38degrees, as you can tell from my above picture.
3) Chapstick.....must have chapstick especially on those windy, cold days.
4) Leggings- Today I wore underarmor leggings AND running leggings.  Usually running leggings are enough but if it too windy, underarmor leggings help, too. 
5) Neck warmer- On those WINDY days, especially when the wind is coming from out of the north, I will wear my husband's neck warmers (This one is one of his hunting neck warmers).  I wear these more to protect me from breathing in that cold air that tends to hurt my chest at the beginning of a cold run.  So yes, I wrap the neck warmers around my mouth more than around my neck.  Today, my neck warm was very nice in that north wind, but I did shed it towards the end of my run.
6) Toboggan- I also tend to keep my hair down on cold days to help keep my head warm, and use the toboggan for extra heat gear and it also keeps my hair from blowing in my face too much.

I managed to get about 5.5miles in today and it felt great!  And a little added bonus, I was also running and texting Wendy while she was getting her weekend run in.  Look at our pics to each other:-).  I am giving her a thumbs up for getting out and getting her run in.....and she is showing me that she is pooped:-).  HAHA!  LOVE IT!