Hey everyone! I hope you had a great weekend! Mine was filled with some fun Christmas stuff:
Christmas lights at Rose Tree Park in Media, PA! There’s noting better than an entire forest covered in lights!
While it was snowing on Saturday, I baked some peppermint chocolate chip cookies made with Peppermint M&Ms! Soooo yummy, stay tuned for the recipe!
And I also went on a fun snowy 7 mile run! Why was it so fun? Well first of all, I’ve never run 7 miles before. It’s a new distance PR for me! Yay! It was also fun because knowing that I had to run farther than I’ve ever run before, I decided to run at Forbidden Drive. It’s flat, scenic, and I knew it would have enough beautiful snowy views to keep me distracted. Plus I knew it would be covered in snow and ice and I could finally try out my new Yaktrax Run shoe covers! (I paid for these myself and all opinions are mine – I was not paid for them)
Coils + spikes = winter running happiness
I put the Yaktrax on my shoes before I even left the house, mostly because it looked like a 2 person job and my husband had to help. They stretch to fit over the bottom of your shoes and the size small definitely fit my size 10 Mizunos perfectly (I’m usually a 9.5 in running shoes so keep that in mind for sizing). There are coils in the back, and a large rubber area with small spikes in the front of the shoe for extra traction. Putting these on was definitely worth the effort as soon as I saw how snowy the trail was. My initial thoughts were that it was too slushy and wet for me to be out there running. There were too many puddles and I kept soaking myself in them! But I quickly realized that if I ran in the icy tire tracks (which really confused me – how did a car drive on the trail? It’s called Forbidden Drive for a reason!) I had much better traction and could stay dry. Reading the Yaktrax instruction booklet taught me that Yaktrax work best on ice and hard, packed snow, so I tried to find as much of that as I could. Once I was running on ice, I got into a good rhythm and couldn’t even tell I was wearing them at all! I was so busy looking down that when I finally looked up to take in the view it literally took my breath away!
I love love love snow. I don’t think there’s anything better than being in a snowy forest! I just wish it was easier to run in!
By the time I got to Valley Green Inn, the tire tracks were gone and I began the slowest, hardest mile of my life. It was so slushy and wet that I felt like I was running on sand! But I knew that I wasn’t in any danger of injuring myself – the slush was just making it physically difficult to go forward, so I knew I could keep going safely. By the time I turned around it was getting dark. Thank goodness for street lights along the trail! But overall I’m really proud of myself for pushing through the cold, wet, dark conditions to get my 7 miles done. I only saw 1 other runner out there which made me feel like even more of a badass! I kind of feel like I can handle anything right now – bring it on, stress! So here’s some Monday Motivation for all of you runners out there living in cold snowy places right now:
I think this picture is much more inspirational and motivational to me than the “There’s no such thing as tough weather, just soft people” or “If you wait for perfect conditions you’ll never get anything done” pins I’m seeing on Pinterest. Because let’s be real, I’m not going to run outside when it’s snowing really hard and conditions are so bad that I’m scared of getting hurt. I don’t want to feel bad for choosing to do my daily run on the treadmill instead of the deep slippery snow because a mile is a mile, no matter where you run it. I’ll only run outside when it’s safe and I won’t let myself feel guilty about it anymore! And as long as it’s safe, snowy runs really are more beautiful and fun than normal runs, even if they’re a little more tough 🙂
Finally, I would like to announce my giveaway winner! Congrats to Stephanie from Cat Lady Runs! You win the awesome Brooks Infiniti Headband! Now you can also run outside in this crazy winter weather with me!
What’s your longest run so far? Have you ever pushed through a really hard outdoor run? Did you do anything Christmasy this weekend?
Mom in the Mtns 
NICE JOB on the snow run!! That is awesome and you are a rockstar! I really need to get myself a pair of the Yaktrax.
My whole weekend was full of Christmas stuff too. Lots of Santa and holiday movies for the little! Plus my run on Saturday morning which was all full of Christmas lights. My longest long run has been 14 miles and I doubt I’ll go that far again until spring. 🙂
Those cookies look and sound delish!
Thanks! I’m not going to lie, it took me a lot to motivate myself to make it out there (hence why I ended up running the last 2 miles in the dark!). But it was fun and I definitely won’t forget it any time soon! I’ll have the cookie recipe on here tomorrow so look out for that! They are so good – it’s noon here and I’ve had 2 already. Whoops!
Oooh, those YakTrax look really useful! Might have to try them out someday.
They were awesome! I liked that they were specifically meant to fit over running shoes. They have ones for walking and hiking as well. I got mine on sale at Eastern Mountain Sports so watch out for some deals!
Awesome, thanks for the tip!
Wow, kudos on the snowy run. I don’t go outside in the snow unless it’s to get to and from work/shopping or to play in the back yard. I have balance issues, I’m not tempting my balance fate by adding snow to the mix 😉 I have YakTrax as well, I use them for dealing with our driveway in the winter and often work parking lot which is never salted. I LOVE those. I wish I had discovered them sooner!
Haha that’s how I usually feel! The spikes on these helped me feel more confident 🙂 I kind of think these would help me get through life without falling all the time!
Yay for a fun winter weekend! I have been wanting to try Yaktrax… now that we’re back in the northeast, I know I’m going to need them!
They were definitely helpful! I don’t like feeling like I’m stuck inside all the time. It was so beautiful out there!
Beautiful picture from your run – I’m glad you were able to get out and enjoy the snow!
I love love love that quote! You’re right, it’s so much better than the ones that make you feel like a wuss for not going outside. It’s such an optimistic way of looking at the different weather conditions 🙂
I’m glad you agree! I’ve been pinning those quotes but then feeling weird about it…like am I really a wuss if I don’t go running in crazy weather? Or am I just being smart? I definitely would have stopped yesterday if I felt like I was going to get hurt, but luckily it wasn’t too bad. But you won’t see me out there in sleet or blizzard conditions or anything, and I don’t think that makes me less of a runner!
First of all, HUGE congrats on the distance PR!!!! That’s super impressive that you went for a PR in the snow! I had no idea that kind of contraption even existed for snowy runs, but I’m thinking I’ll have to look into getting a pair now.
Secondly, zomg I’m so glad you linked to the recipe for those cookies. They sound heavenly!
Also, I am absolutely loving the quote in that picture! I’m obsessed with motivational quotes, and I hadn’t heard that particular quote before. I love that the author of the quote chooses to look at the positive no matter what the weather situation is.
Yes! That’s what I love about that quote too! I don’t like feeling like I “have to” work out in bad weather or I’ll look weak. I decided to run in the snow because there was no way I was doing 7 miles on the treadmill. Plus I love snow in the woods. The Yaktrax helped a lot and now I’m looking forward to the next snow/ice storm so I can use them again! Too bad it’s going to be in the 60s this weekend in Philly!
Wow! seven miles on that snowy trail is a long way to go. I’m sure it felt like more! Isn’t it amazing what we can get our bodies to do…like pushing through the last mile.