Well, here we are “between the years” or, as my family likes to call this week, “in betweek.” We had some excitement down here over Christmas, which is that it got down into the 40s and actually stayed cold for three days! But before we get into that, thanks to Marcia for opening her “runfessional” as she always does the last Friday of the month.
I have one big runfession, which is that after all my whining and complaining about the heat… 40s was a little TOO cold for me, ha ha. I know! 40 degrees isn’t really cold, and believe me, I know cold. I grew up in the Midwest and experienced windchill temperatures of 75 below. But…
When my friend came over on Christmas Eve, our “Florida cold snap” led us to reminisce about our least favorite things about winters growing up. Getting into an icy cold car first thing in the morning (that moment where you had to sit down and felt your freezing cold jeans on your legs,) getting dressed under the covers in the morning because the thermostat was on a timer and for SOME STRANGE REASON didn’t heat up before I got out of bed, having cold feet for five months in a row…. and I remembered- oh yeah, I don’t like being cold! Actually, I hate it.
Life is hard when it’s cold out. You have to wear layers and spend a lot of time shivering. Even with temperatures in the 40s (did I mention it was also rainy?) I had to dig out my hat and gloves for running, and it took a couple miles for me to warm up. 50s is good. 40s is… nippy.
I know what you’re probably thinking. “Jenny, why don’t we put you in some sort of biodome, where it would never get too hot or too cold, Would you be happy THEN?” Well, yes. Yes I would.
Tomorrow our temperatures will be back in the 80s and I’ll probably be complaining that it’s too hot again. But… now that I remember how miserable I was every winter growing up, I’ll take the heat. It’s a fair tradeoff.
This “runfession” is short and sweet because today is my daughter’s birthday! I’m off to do the thing I least feeling like doing right now… wrap presents. Poor kid, it’s probably the worst birthday ever. Still, it’s special to her so we try to make the most of it.
I hope everyone is enjoying the “in betweek!”
Would you rather have it be too hot or too cold? Or are you moving into the temperature-controlled biodome with me?
41 Responses
Oh, while I don’t want to live in a biodome, I would LOVE to find somewhere affordable that doesn’t get too hot or too cold. Seriously, I’m totally with you there!
Some of my memories from VT were how much my hands would hurt clearing off the car. That and the fact (I was just discussing this with someone recently) that my door would freeze, I’d have to crawl in through the hatchback, and then actually hold the door shut on the thankfully short drive to work because it was still too frozen to stay closed! Grateful I have much better Winter gear these days.
Happy Birthday to your daughter!
Ugh, that sounds horrible!!! Yes, I’m glad you have better winter gear now.
Unfortunately I think most places that don’t get too hot or too cold aren’t affordable. But if you find a place, let me know!
I do love warm weather but I like having 4 different seasons. I’d prefer that winter be the shortest not the longest. No plans to move. Just visit Fla for a break in the cold.
40s sounds great now. Just sayin.
Well, you’re a hardy soul! You have really hard winters up there. You’ll enjoy your Florida break!
I did get a little chuckle seeing you run in shorts and a warm hat. 40’s are my fave running temps. Do you feel any different in cooler temps. I was so hot running in Aruba but I would not dare complain 🙂 Happy birthday to your daughter and happy new year
Yes, I have to admit the second half of that run (after I warmed up) felt effortless. So… maybe if I were more used to 40s I would start to enjoy it.
Well, I was excited to see 41F on the thermometer when I went out for my run this morning, although upper 40s would have felt better. I do hate feeling cold, but have good gear to bundle up in.
Happy birthday to your daughter!
Thank you Coco! I think one of the problems in Florida is we don’t have any cold weather gear, because it gets cold so rarely.
Happy birthday to your daughter! Late December birthdays are a bit rough for sure but I hope she has a wonderful day!
I am a firm believer in that the temperatures are all about what you are accustomed to, so 40s isn’t cold for me, but then again Calgarians melt when it’s 25 degrees C (in the low 80s). But Jenny, you’re wearing shorts! Shorts! Now that I write that, maybe since you live in Florida you don’t have running pants? I do think it’s easier to dress for the cold than the heat though – I think it’s easier to put on layers. It’s not like you can get LESS dressed at a certain point, when it’s hot out.
I have been having a very nice restful in-between week! I didn’t think I was burned out but I guess I needed the break!
Ha, yes I always wear shorts. I actually don’t own running pants. I need something covering my ears and hands the most… my legs don’t get too cold.
I am a warm weather gal but ever since I started running long distances, ( about 10 years ago), winter weather doesn’t bother me. 40 is perfect running weather! However, if I lived way up north I’m sure I would not appreciate the frigid weather up there this time of year!
Happy birthday to your daughter and enjoy the weekend!
I would say 40s is about as low as I want to go. So in that way Florida is perfect… I just wish it weren’t so hot. But you can’t have everything!
It feels crazy to say it, but I’d pick cold. I wilt in the heat! Happy birthday to your daughter! (I’m a right-after-Thanksgiving birthday, so I understand a little…)
Yes, that’s also a tough birthday. Hard to put together a party right in the middle of all the holidays like that!
Growing up I was a figure skater and back in the day we did school figures (the figure 8s). My patch of ice time was at 5am over the winter and the heat in the rink at that time was not yet on. Let’s just say getting up and getting over there to skate in those temps was a test in “how bad do you want it” every day. All that said, I don’t really care about extreme heat or cold. I suppose I find running in extreme heat more challenging, but shady trails and frozen drinks help a ton. Happy Birthday to your daughter! Holiday season birthdays are tough. My brother’s birthday is on 12/25 and when he was a kid he really struggled. Ha!
Marcia, that sounds HORRIBLE! You must have been really dedicated. And… your poor brother. He must have really gotten gypped.
I always prefer it being too hot rather than too cold, because as you say, cold weather makes everything complicated. But… it depends on what you want to do and how hot it really is.. I was out for a run yesterday and we had 5C and was quite chilly but I warmed up quite soon. Colder than that would make it too complicated with risk of icy patches and then I wouldn’t run at all.
Then on the other hand, if it’s too hot like it can be when we’re in Italy in the summer, up to 40C/104F, then everything is hard to do and I wouldn’t feel it was even safe to run!
For running, I must say Ireland is quite perfect, with a very even, usually mild temperature, rarely below 4C/39F in the winter (at least here in the south by the coast) and rarely above 25C/77F in the summer. Strong wind and rain is the main problem here, I think!
I like your betweek expression! We have something similar in Swedish, “mellandagarna”, which means, literally translated, “the days between”.
Hmmm! Ireland does sound pretty good- almost biodome weather! I wouldn’t like the wind and rain though.
“The days between” is a nice expression!
Happy birthday to your daughter! I hope it’s a great one for her. I feel like too cold would be my preference because you can always put on more clothes right? Heat (humidity) is not a friend to my hair either so there’s that 😉 Happy new year to your family!!
Oh, I gave up on my hair long ago. Thanks for the birthday and New Year wishes! This is a busy time of year.
I’m moving to the temperature controlled biodome with you! The weather was a huge factor in killing my interest in running. Yes there is such a thing as too cold, which is below 30 for this northerner. There’s also the safety thing that I won’t run in the dark or on ice, so that made winter a no-go for outside running. And then the summers got too hot and I got tired of heat sickness so that killed off outside summer running.
If I was still running I’d set the biodome for 50 degrees and cloudy during my runs and then put it closer to FL temperatues the rest of the time. Now that I’m on an indoor fitness regimen, remind me to move to FL so that I don’t have to deal with this cold.
Happy Birthday to your daughter!!!
Okay, glad to know I’ll have company in the biodome! We can set the running temp for 50 and cloudy, and days no warmer than 75.
Happy birthday to your daughter! December birthdays are tough! Especially sooo close to Christmas. I know you commented in the past that you commonly celebrated half birthdays. I think that is so smart. I regret not doing a half birthday for Paul in Sept. Because March is still solidly a winter month here so we will not be able to do a park party for a couple of months (which is how bdays get celebrated at daycare. And I love it – you all go to the park, you bring treats, you say no gifts and people don’t bring gifts, and the kids play and have the time of their lives. It’s perfection.)
So for me, 40-50F is probably ideal running weather! It was 30 here yesterday and it felt tropical! I wore running tights, a light base layer, and then something over that and had to shed the top layer early on. Today it was 15F and we got 1/2″ of snow last night, and it was a little breezy/windy. So it was not quite as great today. So the too cold/too hot answer depends on what temperature range we are talking about. I will run if it’s 0F or warmer. Anything below that is too miserable and I get icicles on my eyes and it’s just terrible. But I also will not run in like 90F temps. I used to but I’m solidly a morning runner and luckily it’s rarely 90F in the morning here. It could be 80 but that is pretty rare.
Yes, we used to celebrate my daughter’s “summer birthday” (as she called her half birthday) with a party, but we’ve gotten away from that as she got older.
I wish I could run in 50 degree weather for the rest of my life! This morning we were already back to 70 (at 6 am) ARG!!!
I have to say I was thrilled to see 41 on the thermometer this morning. While I don’t love the extreme cold, I’ll take colder days over the heat. As I have gotten older I find the heat takes so much more out of me when I’m running.
Happy birthday to your daughter! Holiday birthdays must be tough. I hope she has a good one!
Yes, I agree- I used to be able to run in the heat with no problems. Not anymore!
Well, you know I’m one of very few who MUCH prefer the heat over the cold. The temps in the 40F-50F range (Wednesday and Thursday) were magical because they felt so warm in comparison to the sub-ZERO temps we’d just had for several days. That said, I don’t like those same temps in the early fall season because they feel so cold then, LOL. Happy Birthday to your daughter!
Yes, I guess it’s all a matter of perspective! I sure hope we don’t have any 40 degree weather when you’re down in Florida this winter.
I think that instead of a biodome, we should all move to California–specifically southern Calif. I truly think they have the perfect climate. Not too hot, not too cold. But hey, that’s me. 40 degrees in Florida sounds horrible. It’s so moist down there that I think 40 degrees would feel pretty bad. This morning I ran in 40 degrees but it was cloudy and damp–it just felt raw. So I get it. My run on Wednesday in 35 degrees and sunshine was perfection. It’s all about perspective, am I right?
Happy Birthday to your daughter and Happy New Year!
Thank you Wendy! Okay, I’m in- I’ll join you in SoCal. Yes- these three days in the 40s were… very wet. It really made it feel colder than if it had been dry and sunny.
Happy birthday to your daughter!
I will join you in the biodome, as long as I can leave occasionally to go skiing. 🙂
One of the things I hated about living in the cold was that my windshield was often completely frozen when I went out to go to school. I often had to microwave mugs of water and pour them over my windshield so that I could get to school on time!
We have been having SUCH a nice in betweek. It has been so lazy and cozy and I have done nothing at all of substance. It’s like being on vacation except without the stress of travel. Perfect and magical!
Oh yes- I remember standing out in the freezing cold scraping ice off the windshield. Yuck!
Glad you’re having such a nice in betweek! It sounds ideal.
I think the 40s and 50s are perfect temps for running. I should have gone for a run yesterday when it was in the 40s here, but I just sort of forgot that running outside is an option and didn’t. However, if you are used to running in the 80s, the 40s are going to feel QUITE BRISK, so I feel you on that.
Happy birthday to your daughter. I hope she had a wonderful day!
Thank you! I think she had a pretty nice day- although after all these years her expectations are pretty low, poor thing. We are having a party for her in a couple weeks though.
I think 50s is perfect. I can do 40s though if necessary- we’ll see if it gets that low again here this winter.
50s make me happy. And if it’s sunny and not windy, I’m good with 20s. I have raynaud’s which can make it challenging, but I’m also a sweaty person which is embarrassing for me. I love days when i don’t sweat.
Sunny and not windy makes a huge difference. I haven’t run in 20s in… over 20 years? You definitely get colder weather up there in northern Florida!
I think you know how I feel about this – I don’t want it too hot or too cold. I just want the temperature to be perfect. Is that too much to ask? My husband jokes I’m either freezing hot or boiling cold and have a 1 degree range where I’m actually happy. He’s 100% correct. I HATE the cold (so, so much), but also – I wilt in the heat.
A biodome is exactly the place for me.
Happy Birthday to your daughter. I do always feel so sad for people with birthdays so close to Christmas, but then again, I’m sure there is something cozy and magical about it too?!
Well, I think she’s used to it. We’re planning a party in a couple weeks so she’s looking forward to that.
I’m with you- I have such a narrow range of temperature where I’m actually comfortable. SIGH!
Happy New Year Jenny! I don’t like being too cold or too hot and generally where I live now is pretty ok if you don’t look at all the rainy days. I grew up with cold, icy winters in the Midwest to hot blazing summers in the Southwest so that’s where my gauge is set. When people complain that it’s cold here, it’s really not and I try to remember those cold dark days. I have to say though, my 115yr old house is COLD and it really bothers me!! I’ve taken to putting a hot water bottle in my shirt or sweater to warm up these days!
I do miss a good blazing summer day where I do nothing but lay around under a parasol and drink cocktails, but that’s definitely not here in NL!
Well, I wouldn’t like all the rain either! And it would really bother me if the house was that cold. So… it’s not perfect anywhere.
I do enjoy the colder season, but yeah, I don’t like being cold either… and with running, it’s tricky… when you start out you have to be layered up to not freeze for the first few miles and then you start getting hot and want to shed layers. It’s all very inconvenient. I’ve been finally using my arm sleeves for the first time, because it’s great that you can pull them out just underneath your othe layers and they’re not too hard to carry LOL
P.S. I love that you call it “in betweek”…