Flashback Friday: Of Snow and Ice and Fear of Frostbite and Crazy Dogs and Torn Borrowed Socks and Sincere Apologies

I'm sorry, my dear, for ruining your nice Christmas toe socks -- or should I call them mistletoe socks?

My overpriced and overdelayed specialty toe socks did not arrive as I'd hoped yesterday. But I knew the Enthusiast had a few pairs that I could try with my Vibrams. I picked a pair of sparkled green and red striped toe socks, and found out afterward that they were not made for the abuse of an almost four-mile run.

"Let me see the bottom of your foot," the Enthusiast said after I had taken off my left shoe. Sure enough, there was a hole at my big toe. Same was true of the right foot.

"I'll darn them," I said, hoping that would solve the problem.

"Those aren't darnable," she said, with forlorn look on her face.

On the bright side, I have another holiday gift idea for my fiancee.

We went for a slow jaunt around the neighborhoods in search of brightly lit houses, but mostly found poorly shoveled sidewalks and slippery roads. All of which made things interesting because I decided we should bring Dobson along to tire him out.

The last time either of us ran with the dog was early summer before it got too hot and my mileage got too long to run with him. I promised I'd hold onto Dobson while we ran, and that made things interesting as he darted from port to starboard, stopping and accelerating without warning. He loved the piles of snow. I, on the other hand, did not.

The model of Vibrams I have are called KSO, short for Keep Stuff Out. Apparently, that doesn't include cold. The three of us stuck to the sidewalks for the first half mile or so, and my left big toe started to go numb. I was worried we'd have to cut the run short for fear of having to cut my toe even shorter.

At the first opportunity, we turned down a mostly clear side street, where I could run on pavement. After another 10 minutes or so, feeling returned to my toe and my feet started to warm up.

This was my first run in snow with the Vibrams. Everything I'd read said that they don't have good traction. I barely slipped at all -- at least no more than I have in traditional running shoes. I wonder if I can get through the winter without using my YakTrax.

It was nice to finally get out and run this month. Who knows when I'll run again with the terrible weather forecast ahead. Maybe by that time, I'll have my socks. (Hey, Amazon, I'm looking at you!)

Back Talk
Wherein some people erroneously think I'm industrious. 

Ironman by Thirty Kevin thinks my gift guide is lacking an item: "I have to say, I'm disappointed the BHI hippie shoes didn't make the gear list. You could be making some cash on the side this season if you weren't so busy banjoing and wedding planning."

Answer: I like to empower others, as I would much rather slack off.

Kirstie of Fifty K's Footnotes has mixed feelings about the snowy season: "Winter running is great! Snow driving ... not so much. Ugh."

Answer: Although it terrifies the Enthusiast when I do it, I like to force the car into a skid early on in the snow driving season to see how it reacts. Practice makes perfect.

Happy Hour is nearly upon us, teammates. Have a finely brewed weekend. Run well and drink well. Cheers!