Hello winter my old friend

On Saturday, I piled on the layers and ran 17K while it was -15C, -24C with wind chill. Chilled to the bone. Today, I wore my sleeveless jacket and did 10K with temperature of 8C. Yesterday, 5K in the rain.

All told, I would have preferred the cold in some weird way. Give me winter before the spring thaw.

In all the many winters I've trained through, this type of weather swing is something I'm not used to. The snow, wind chill and drifting blowing white stuff and I have been good friends. Something about the tough climate gets the spring marathoner in me going. I think about all the hard miles and how it'll pay off in the months ahead. I build up the bad-ass quotient in a big way.

While I try to build the toughness, tonight I signed up for my 19th marathon: the Ottawa Marathon in late May. This is the biggest race in the country, and I'm looking forward to what everyone raves is a first-class race on a gorgeous course. No post-marathon baggage lineups I hope.

The marathon crowd was definitely in full prep mode this weekend. Boston training has begun, Goodlife and Mississauga are coming close and Around the Bay is on the radar (mine too). Sunday was a perfect day for running. It was still cold enough to scare most runners from tackling the trails, yet enough of the rest of us were out there. It was a sunny cold, crisp winter morning.

Doesn't that look just perfect for running?

18 weeks, 4 days to go.