Got up & out for a long run on Sunday morning around 6:30 or so. I remember thinking that it was warmer than the 30-some degrees it was.

Now, experience has taught me that when I think it's warmer than it should be, I should probably turn around. Sure enough, the wind was at my back.

I should have ran into the wind, but I continued on my usual 10-mile loop knowing I'd be facing the wind on the way back. Ah...no biggie...it wasn't that cold, I thought.

Except that four miles from home, it started to rain. Then it started to freeze. And, I was soon covered in a layer of ice.

Not ideal running conditions.

At the three mile point, I opted to take a shorter, but hillier and harder, route home. More bang for my buck and, hell, I was out there already...may as well work hard and get it over with faster, right?

Except that the freezing rain meant the paved trail and roads got quite slick and I had to slow down -- and in many cases, walk through the particularly slick stretches.

Had to laugh when I got home and saw the layer of ice on my baseball hat and windbreaker, but I got my miles in dammit.

Yeah, we runners are whacked, aren't we?