Use at Your Own Risk: Someone Stole the Ski Jacket

Really, it is true. Since it has been so cold, I had been wearing Julia's ski jacket, which has two wonderfully warm layers. At some point between my run to and from work, the outer layer jacket was taken out of a locker at my work gym. They left my workout clothes and the inner layer jacket (thank God).

#1 bummer--this was Julia's jacket. :(

#2 bummer--extra cold run home with just one layer.

Julia wasn't upset (she's a gem), but she will have to get a new ski jacket. I wore several layers this morning, but I definitely noticed a difference in not having that wind-breaker layer.

There are signs around the gym stating that if you don't use a lock, you use the lockers at your own risk. Got it. Understood.

I am still using the locker room. I put Julia's name in big black letters on the inner layer. I did look feverishly this morning around the locker room to see if anyone had "returned" the jacket, but no such luck.

New Mizuno Sneakers--YAY!

Disregard ugly office carpet.

 I am very excited that my Mizuno Wave Creation 14 sneakers have arrived. Happily, I can squeeze two thick socks into them. I'm done with winter. And, even though the sneakers are new, they have no traction on the snow/ice.

Galaxy S4 Performs Properly in Polar Temps

Potomac River near Key Bridge

Washington, D.C., has endured extremely cold temperatures this past week with no end in sight. Best news for me--the single-digit morning runs have not affected the performance of my Galaxy S4 in the least!

The Potomac River is not completely frozen. Few people were out this morning in the 20+ degree weather (felt like a heat wave); we had a few snow flurries this afternoon too. I'm ready for spring.

Suspicious Package on M Street Causes Closures

Nice, 40-ish degree run home until I saw the crime scene tape and police cars blocking all traffic.

According to the @DCPoliceDept twitter feed, there was a suspicious package found at Thomas Jefferson Street and M Street. This shut down M Street from 29th to 31st. Sorry rush-hour traffic commuters! The package was cleared within an hour. Phew!

Tad Warmer: Feels Like 7 Degrees

Downhill and with the wind at my back, it wasn't too bad coming in. I wore one less layer and used a hand-warmer packet (HotHands). Those are the best! I highly recommend them and will continue to use on mornings that are 32 or below. They are supposed to last for 10 hours...helpful when I go out to get my lunchtime coffee, but probably stone cold by the time I leave work.

 

 

Feels Like -12!

 

 

 

 

It was only six degrees on my run into work--yikes! As they say in Chicago, there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes. I was prepared.

Thank you, Julia, for allowing me to borrow several items: Holton-Arms sweatpants, ski pants, ski jacket, and ugly (warm) hat. I had three layers of pants/shirts and two layers of socks, gloves, and scarfs. The wind was at my back and the hood helped as well. The news said that your heart has to work harder when you exercise in the cold weather; however, I think my heart was working harder due to the 10 extra pounds of clothing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Update: Gym Pact --> Pact

Screenshot of Pacts

On January 1, I received an e-mail from Gym Pact stating that it was rebranded as "Pact," and that there were two additional pacts to take advantage of, the Veggie Pact and the Food Logging Pact. Along with the original Gym Pact, you can manage all three in the one app.

• Gym Pact - Remains the same; exercise for at least 30 minutes in a gym, on your own (if you have an iPhone to measure it), or via RunKeeper (or other connecting app).
• Veggie Pact - Make a pact to eat a certain amount of fruits and/or vegetables.  Submit a picture of the food for verification by the Pact community. This has been buggy and a bit of a hassle. I'm not sure I'll stick with this one.
• Food Logging Pact - Make a pact to log your meals via MyFitnessPal. 

You can choose to commit to one or all of these pacts. For me, it really comes down to the amount of money earned to offset the hassle.  

 

Not Fun Running Weather

Georgetown Harbor Ice Rink

The weather has not been kind to the runner. Between the snow, rain, and extreme cold temperatures… it has been easy to just use RunKeeper to walk and get coffee and then workout indoors. Tomorrow, however, it will be back to work and back to the reality of commuting in via my own two feet. It is supposed to rain in the morning and then get progressively colder with a low of 16 degrees on Tuesday. These will be point A to point B runs--the shortest distance possible.