Frozen Toes!

We had a rare snow day today!  If there's one thing you need to know about the Pacific Northwest, or at least Portland, it's that we entirely shut down with just a trace of snow.  Which I really, really love...

The snow started falling in earnest around 8am here in Lake Oswego so pup and I decided we had best get out in it!  For the first mile or so, my toes were really hurting.  Lately, my feet have been struggling to handle running again.  They feel sore and not very flexible.  In the past, when my feet got cold, I'd just flex the toes to kind of warm them up.  I could do that every couple of minutes and that would be sufficient to keep them comfortably warm-ish.  But, perhaps related to the soreness and lack of flexibility, that wasn't really doing the trick this morning.  I considered turning around but realized I was actually almost a mile in and only had two more to go so I figured I could tough it out. 

As we were getting to the second park on our standard three mile route, there was a sweet puppy playing fetch in the cul-de-sac with her owner.  As we headed into the park, she decided to come along and she ended up staying with us the whole way through and back out.  I wasn't too worried because the trail is only about a quarter mile long ending in a small loop and you can only get out of the park by going back the way you came in.  I also figured that her puppy-papa wouldn't be too worried either and Onya loved the company. 

After we reunited the puppy with her owner, I noticed that the snow seemed to have turned into more of a freezing rain and that the sidewalk was starting to get a little slippery.  I was careful to pay more attention to my footing which was especially important because the rain was turning the snow that had fallen into little translucent pellets of slickness.  I about ate asphalt crossing a fairly major road in our neighborhood not long after.  When I was about a block or two from home, the heavy, fat flakes started falling again.

By this time, my feet and toes had finally stopped hurting but they were pretty numb as I took off my Fingers.  When I was showering, they were painful little bundles of burning and itching.  I can't wait for my feet to adjust back to running in Fingers!!  Feet aside, it was a great run in some fun and unusual weather.