January on The Wild Oak Trail

My coach approved some miles at The Wild Oak Trail, though not the whole loop. That was fine by me. Our plan: Hubz would drive to Camp Todd and run to meet us, then I could bail there for 10 miles and he could finish the loop. Perfect.

Saturday morning we rose at 4 a.m. and drove 2+ hours to the trailhead where we met Katie, Bob, new friend Carrie. After a lightning fast selfie we were off!

It's been unusually cold over the past week, but I'm happy to report that I've gotten all of my runs in. Dressing in layers has kept me relatively comfortable and made the snowy trails enjoyable. However, I seriously erred in not wearing my big bulky mittens. Oh, how my hands suffered in my silly thin gloves. My handwarmers just couldn't make enough heat.

It was 7 degrees when we started at the bottom of the mountain.

The rest of me stayed warm enough, but just barely. Anytime we paused to take in a view at an overlook or adjust something, I cooled down alarmingly quickly.

The lower parts of the trail were snow-free, and there was about a half-inch to an inch at the higher elevations. Just enough to cushion the rocks a little.

Sunrise view at the first overlook.

The climbing here is serious. I focused on using good form and making sure my glute was doing the work. It was honestly hard to tell because my derriere was totally numb. But it's sore today so I'll take that as a good sign.

Plenty of climbing and some sweet, sweet descents.

I couldn't help myself. I bombed that final downhill like a madwoman. It was so fantastically exhilarating!

Mountains in the distance.

My iPhone froze after the photo above. No, the battery didn't die. It actually froze and refused to turn  on again until I sat on it in the warm car for twenty minutes.

I felt really good when I reached Camp Todd and considered doing a little more, but decided to be prudent and call it a day. It only took 30 minutes of blasting the heat and some hot soup to warm up.

Though I'm not really a fan of cold weather, I find that getting out in spite of it makes me happy. I feel accomplished and tough and so glad that I didn't let the frigid temps stop me from enjoying the outdoors.

There's something special about The Wild Oak Trail. I'll be back for more cold miles in February.