2018 Running Goal - Update #2

Cold and lifeless. That describes my last four runs on planet Earth. But, nevertheless, I have persisted. I hope to run my 5th day in a row tonight. So far, I've finished a 10K each night after work, usually fumbling for the stop button on my GPS watch in the dark. The whole process is kinda exhilarating. First, I take about five to ten minutes to get dressed and stretch. It takes this long because I have to wear three pairs of socks, three pairs of pants, four shirts, a face mask, two winter hats, and a combo of gloves and mittens. In addition, my wife has been kind enough to wrap a large scarf around my neck (only once choking me, on accident, I'm sure). Then, I start my run at sunset, which is around 4:30 PM here. As I run for the next hour on the snow-covered dirt loop by my house, I can watch the sun actively sinking lower and lower until hidden by the trees and horizon. My eyes try to adjust to the darkness, but at a certain point, it is very tough to see anything much more than five feet from me. It is cold. The temperatures have been in the negative double-digits for days. It is quiet, mostly, with a dog bark occasionally cutting across a distant farmer's field. My feet crunch the snow, stepping and stomping in the thousands of shoe prints that I created earlier. Finally, once I stop running and walk to my driveway, the cold pounces and attacks my flesh. I feel the cold burn instantly on my calves, thighs, and arms, and I'm amazed at the speed of how I can change from being warm and comfortable to cold and miserable. My face, neck, and back, soaked with sweat, start to freeze and prod my brain. "Hey, buddy, it's me, your [insert faithful body appendage]. I'm cold. This sucks. Get me out of here." I head home...but not too quickly. I want to relish in my triumph. Another run, another day done. No one else experienced what I just went through. It was fun. Onto the next.