Winter's here time to play!

 Woke up to a winter wonderland.  I was happy that  it snowed because I wanted to try out a few things in advance of next weeks 100 miler.     The Injinji toe socks I have a the low cut ones so I wore another pair of socks over top.    I didn't want to have exposed skin between the Ankle and bottom of the tights.   Both are pretty minimal socks so it worked out pretty good.     Being -2C and snowing I was able to go 2 layers up top.   Base being my favorite cold weather gear the Mizuno Mid Weight Breathe  Thermal with my new Mizuno "WarmlaLite" on top.  On the bottom half it was my Mizuno Tights with some Sugoi wind proof  Underwear ...very important!   Wore my Compression Hat from the 2011 Sulphur Springs 100 miler as well as some North Face Gloves.   After 2 5K indoor runs  the Saucony Xodus 3.0 Gortex  Shoes finally faced the elements.

 Heading out the door I instantly felt the gripping cold.  Its always uncomfortable getting going but when its cold its a whole different experience.   I headed out on my 11.2K trail loop.  The snow was Ankle deep and I didn't see much of my shoes shuffling along at an avg 8:00 pace.     I was slightly overdressed for the conditions  and it didn't take long before the compression cap came off.  The Mizuno tops both have a small zipper that could be adjusted ,  it was amazing how much of a difference exposing just a small amount of neck and upper chest could cool you down.    It was quite windy at times and a ton of snow was coming off the trees plus the occasional squall.  I didn't feel the wind at all.  the layering worked rather well.   Incorporated a few walks here and there to see how I would feel.  On the longer walks I started to get a bit chilled.  I was most comfortable with an easy continuous effort.   Toughest part of next week will be heading out of the start/finish.   I am only going to pause at the 5K Aide Station ,  Gels and Fluids and that's it.   Major solid food will occur every 10.6K at the start/finish.     The double socks and the new shoes worked out very well.   My feet were a little damp from sweat and a bit of snow gathered under the top of the tongue and was melting into the shoe.  There is a very good chance we will see some snow next week but with 30 folks on a 10.8K loop I doubt I will be breaking trail.  

 So I logged 11.3K today in the snow and somewhat cold.  The run was a huge confidence booster ... pretty much have what I need to go long in these sorts of conditions.   One more longer run outdoors tomorrow morning then just some lite 5Ks at lunch M/T/W taking T/F off.    Going to get my gear and food together M/T/W eve then try to do nothing on T/F.     7 more sleeps!