Man it's cold!!

So, this morning I decided to take my normal inside treadmill run to the outdoors (thanks to a friendly reminder of how great running outside is from Patti). It helped that I had decided to do it the night before, so I had my alarm set and my clothes placed on the stairs so I wouldn't wake up Scott. I got up bright and early, about 5:45. This was definitely not by choice; I was planning on getting up at 6:30. Remember when I said Ryley could get out of her crib now? Well, she was up at 5:45 and thought it was time to wake up. After I put her back in her crib, I tried to go back to sleep but I couldn't, so I just decided to start my day. Okay, so I didn't realize how freakin' cold it is that early in the morning! It was probably about 30 degrees out. Yikes. Once I got running though, it was okay. My hands got a little cold, but I couldn't find my gloves before I left.
ANYWAY, it was such a marvelous, wonderful, fantastic experience. Now, I have been an "outdoor" runner all through high school and college. But when I got married and had kids, I just did whatever was the most convenient, and what would let me sleep in the longest...and that meant I had to move to the treadmill. I don't necessarily love the treadmill, but I don't hate it and I can definitely tolerate it. So this morning when I was able to run outside it brought back all of these wonderful memories and I remembered why I love to run outside. I took the bike trail by my house that leads around the lake. It was so pristine and peaceful and the lake was so beautiful. There were even ducks floating about, and I couldn't help but wonder how they weren't freezing their butts off in that water. As I rounded the lake there was another jogger on the trail who said, "Looks like we're just missing the snow." I laughed like it was the funniest thing I had ever heard. Maybe I was just happy to be outside where it was so peaceful and I didn't have a 2 year old at my feet trying to "work out" with mommy.
On the way home I even saw a deer, who, no kidding, looked both ways before he crossed the street. It was so weird because he was in the middle of a residential area. When I got home my face was red and cold, and my muscles felt a little tight, but I loved it. I loved every minute of it. So, I am going to try to get off the treadmill at least twice a week and hit the bike trail outside. That might mean I will have to wake up a little earlier, but I think it will be so great for my mind, body and spirit to have that time to myself.