I looked out of my window this morning and got the urge to do my run outdoors instead of on the treadmill at the gym. I want to point it out there that I hate running outdoors because my breathing is off because of the cold air and I tend to cough a lot within the first mile of my run. Less than three years ago when I returned to Illinois after living three years in Hawaii, I realized that my lungs will never adjust to a regular run schedule in the winter, so I started doing most runs indoors on the treadmill or indoor track because it’s not pretty, once cold air gets into my lungs within the first mile, which results in symptoms of bronchospasm. The fun things about running in the winter for me are that I get the chance to run in the snow, create snow angels, and overall soak up the beauty of it.

“Running in the snow has its own special qualities – softness, quiet, the white landscape – and it can make you feel like a kid again.”-Claire Kowalchik, The Complete Book of Running for Women

For this run, I wore my neck gaiter along with a fleece under my sweatshirt, which kept me very warm despite it being almost below 10 degrees outside, and the neck gaiter kept me from breathing in too much cold air, which helped cut down on the excessive coughing from the cold temperatures. Slight adjustments to this week’s run compared to last week’s run shared in ‘First run of the year’ were that I pinned my phone inside of my tights, so that it would stay warm from my body heat. Last week’s run of wanting to share pictures of my route turned into a nightmare when my phone completely froze due to the cold temperatures. With my phone not freezing up it allowed me to take several pictures and keep GPS applications Strava and Charity Miles running on my phone.

As a seasoned runner that has been running over a decade, I would take a fun run in the snow any day versus no run at all! Plus, it is a rejuvenating break from a strenuous fast paced run. Landmarks featured in this are a statue by Thomas Houseago titled “Large Walking Figure”, and Kathy Osterman Beach pier and lighthouse.