First run of 2017

Also known as my very first time running in the snow. Well, more accurately, it's on snow, since it was just a very thin layer, and in many patches, it had already melted.

It was so much fun!

I was all ready to just head out in the same ensemble I had donned to run in NYC's Central Park when it was the same 0-1 degree-C temperature (pants, running singlet and a thick wind-proof jacket), but the over protective boyfriend was having none of that. So on went a pair of running gloves and a bright red ski jacket of his. :p

I'd admit that it kept me snug as a bug and probably lessened the coldness I felt by at least 20 percent. I looked pretty ridiculous, but then the advantage of being in a foreign land meant nobody could recognise me. Given how bundled up I was, I was fairly sure that people who might know me wouldn't know it's me if we meet, either. Heh.

Running is the easiest choice of exertion over here, since I obviously have no access to weights and I conveniently forgot to bring my trusty TRX along (ahem, tends to happen when you do last minute packing - there is bound to be one or two non-essentials that get omitted! Oops). No matter, it's the ideal choice anyway, to maximise that breathtaking landscape. The only thing is you kinda need to get out early, no later than 5pm, unless you are really prepared to run in darkness and much lower temperature.

As much as I often jibe at AB for being disgustingly fitter than me (he barely breaks a sweat or gets out of breath when we go running as he matches my pace, ugh), I do enjoy running with him very much, especially on countryside runs like this where he probably knows his way even blindfolded (an exaggeration, but probably only a slight one) - the man knows his directions well, and had different routes in his repertoire, so I am assured of a variety of scenery each time, with no fear of getting lost. All I needed to do was to focus on keeping up, while enjoying the aesthetics before me.

For this run, we covered just over 10km in roughly an hour, with some slight slopes that were just enough for the heart to pump hard, but not threaten to jump out of my throat. We even took some moments to pause and take in the expanse of snow, skies and trees at some points. AB, who usually rolls his eyes at my inclination to take pictures of anything that caught my fancy, even obliged me with some photos taken on his phone cam so I can have them for memory's sake (I didn't have my phone with me). Hehe.

It was a perfect first run for the year. It felt really good to hear the feet crunching in the snow, and even the slightly scary parts where the paths were wet and you could feel yourself slip ever so slightly with each step and needed to be on high alert, were pretty fun to add a bit of thrill to the activity. Not to mention that it was a nice distance, too. Decent mileage that didn't exhaust me too much.

Mis-matched, don't care

Treated to a lovely sunset

To more runs together!

Snow, snow and more snow