I guess it’s technically spring, although the weather in Duluth has been decidedly un-springlike. While outsiders all know the winters here are harsh, most people don’t know the springs are depressing. It sometimes feels like it’ll never get warm. I looked at the extended forecast and see one mild day (tomorrow) followed by highs in the low 40s to high 30s going all the way into April.

Anyway, I felt like whining a bit about the weather because it’s cold and my cold has come back again. Wahhhhh.

In December I came up with a gear wish list for cold weather, similar to the one I did for summer last year. In September I looked back at the summer list and evaluated what I’d acquired and what I hadn’t.

My cold weather gear wish list was as follows:

High Priority:
A new pair of gloves nope
Heavier-weight running tights nope
Head lamp yup
Superior Hiking Trail Membership yup
Upper Midwest Trail Runners Membership yup

Medium Priority:
A new sports bra nope
New hose for my hydration backpack nope
A heavyweight running hoodie yup

Low priority:
Another pair of shoes nope
New socks nope

I didn’t spend a lot of money on running stuff, which is a good thing! Especially since I had to spend a ton of money on other stuff. I got a headlamp, which I love, and I also got a reflective vest, which is not on the list but is a good safety item to have. I spent a decent amount of time running outside since it wasn’t absolute zero outside for weeks on end, and I felt a lot safer running at night with the headlamp and vest.

For Christmas, I got the medium weight Bulldog hoodie I talked about in the initial wish list post. I like it but it’s not really that warm. I ended up running with like four shirts on. I really did need to get new gloves and I didn’t. I’ve had a few instances where my hands have gotten extremely cold and a heavier-weight glove would have taken care of that.

I haven’t used my hydration backpack at all so there was no need to get a hose. I wanted to get new shoes and just… didn’t. I might get new shoes after Zumbro. Maybe. I ended up just wearing regular old socks all winter and my feet never got cold. I suffered through with the same old crappy sports bras I’ve always had, and I just wore tights over other tights instead of getting tights with a lining or long underwear or something. Next winter I really need some more advanced gear. I was getting sick of wearing so many layers.

I joined the UMTR and Superior Hiking Trail. So far I haven’t done anything with the memberships. I did get a sweet buff from UMTR that I wear all the time. I wore it at the airport, which was a mistake, because I ended up getting a pat-down from security. The UMTR has a set of race series that provides friendly competition throughout the year. I joined the Trail Run Series since it fits in with most of the races I have planned. The only outlier is the Wild Duluth 50K, which actually isn’t on any of the Series.

I didn’t do a winter running “bucket list” like I did for the summer, because I didn’t know what would be accessible and what wouldn’t be. I’m really looking forward to ticking off some items on this summer’s list. I’m really looking forward to it being warm enough to run without layers and without feeling chilled to the bone afterward. Maybe in May…