Running in the freezing cold

An hilarious, awesome, and yet utterly predictable thing happened on my run tonight.  It's been really cold here the past few days.  Not quite record setting but the coldest in four years (if you believe the weathermen).  We all know how I feel about going to the gym in January (please, no!) but I needed to get my mile run done.  What to do?

The best weather of the day was around 2pm when I was at work.  I left work when I could, around 5pm, got home and headed out for my run straight away.  15mph winds for a wind chill of -19*.  That's not so bad.  Right?

Right.  I had two pairs of pants, two pairs of socks, and ran in a fleece coat for the first time ever.  I also had gloves, a hat and a gator over my face.  (Try breathing through that sucker when ice forms over your mouth and nose.)  I'm all "it's only a mile, frost bite can't possibly set in that quickly".   Turns out its long enough for your eyelashes to freeze.  I stood still barely long enough to get that photo before bolting for the door. 

When I synced my iPod, I had this little gem from my run waiting for me.  How cold was it?  So damn cold I run the fastest I've ever run, for at least a little while.

It's not the fastest mile I've run for a few reasons.  First,  I can run faster on the track than outside, especially since it was really icy on the sidewalk in a couple places and I slowed down so I could live.  Second, some of my runs at my parents house end with a mile descent and those get pretty fast.  Third, my iPod is hilariously jacked up and it thinks I ran a 7:19 mile one day.  I have no explanation but it's never happened.
One day, I will really run a 7:19 mile and earn that badge.  Then I will either collapse or celebrate.  Hard to predict which.