Hit The Defrost

Lots going on today, but the backdrop was definitely the bitter cold.

When I went to bed last night I had grand plans of organizational perfection that included:

• an early morning 8-mile run in the city
• shower and prep at my office
• check on a work-related project
• cruise over to the Snapple brunch in Arlington
• pick up some new winter running gear in Georgetown
• chill-out at home for the rest of the day

Though I had my bags packed and alarm set, my grand plans were shot to shit when I slept in and then got wrapped up with a work issue. Damn those work issues!

Needless to say my day started off rushing around to just get to the Snapple brunch on time.

The Snapple brunch was fun and informative. J presented info on how to read our VO2 test info (aka You Are An Inefficient Couch Potato report) and a fellow Snappler walked me through how to actually do the treadmill workouts. It'll be interesting to see the results in the coming weeks.

Next I headed over to the office to bang out a quick project and then bundled up to knock out my 8-mile run. As you can guess I was not looking forward to the sub-freezing temps. After deciding that attempting an 8-mile run on the treadmill would be a recipe for disaster (aka I've done 2 miles and I'm bored so I might as well just bail), I headed out for a run around the Mall and Hains Point.

All in all, it was not my best effort but I was proud of a few key things:

• I can run without an iPod. Silence is actually wonderful and without musical distraction you are much more in the moment. It's actually quite freeing. Definitely sounding more zen then I actually am.

• I am mentally strong enough to keep pushing through, even though I'm training alone and have no one to talk to.

• I can withstand sub-freezing temps. Everyone knows I hate the cold, but once you get rolling you might as well keep going or else you're just going to get cold.

After completing a bit more than 8 miles, I treated myself to a skinny vanilla latte and headed home for a ridiculously hot shower.

Hit the defrost...my bed and pjs are calling my name.