So, out in the freezing cold I went. By now most of the cleaning staff and guards have learned my running habits, and give me a nod of disbelief or a supportive thumbs up as I head out the door. Today their faces showed a little more surprise and concern, righfully so, and I tried to reassure the gate guard with an upbeat "I'll be right back!" from beneath my bandana-covered face. I hoped she could see my confidence in the twinkle of my eye.
It was seriously windy again, and the temperature was the lowest yet. I remembered waaaay back to wintry runs in Forest Park, Creve Couer Park, and Grant Park in St. Louis and decided this would be no worse than any of those. Every surface of my body was protected from the elements, except a sliver of skin around my eyes and the top of my head. I still maintained a sleek profile with my thick running tights, and layers of tank top, long-sleeve shirt, and wind resistant top. My fingers were toasty warm in my ski mittens with interior gloves, and my ears were snug in my fuzzy headband.
Throughout the entire run I had to concentrate on every footfall to avoid icy cold puddles or slippery paving tiles. That was a bit tricky with the bandana over my nose, and I realized this is what horses must feel like, trusting their instinct with every step of their hooves. I
wish I was galloping along gracefully like a horse, but I'm sure I looked more like Hodor
trampling through the godswood.
I took a familiar route up and over Suzhou Creek into a little park, and enjoyed two laps, passing by only one other brave pedestrian. By now the snow was really sticking, and a thin white blanket was forming on the grass and asphalt. That certainly helped keep me at a slow and steady pace.
As I left the park and headed back across the bridge the snow started coming down even harder. Not only did I have to worry my own footsteps plodding along, but I was becoming increasingly concerned with the bicycles and scooters that were zipping by. I actually decided it was better to stay in their tiretracks rather than slipping and shimeying along the pedestrian path. 
I was becoming more and more grateful that I was on a familiar route because the weather was contuing to deteriorate at an alarming pace. I was starting to feel truly crazy as the streets felt emptier and the skies grew darker. Although it was supposed to be an eight-mile run I knew I'd be cutting it short by a fair amount. As I rounded the final corner and headed back to the school gate I saw that I was just shy of six miles. Bummer. Then I remembered that my to-do list included Get a mani-pedi, Charge underwater camera, Pack for Thailand, and all of a sudden I didn't care how far I did or didn't go.
Back at the gate I pulled down my bandana to give a shivering "Ni hao" to the guard and got escorted back to my locked classroom. What a relief to walk into my toasty warm room and thaw out a few minutes before tackling that to-do list.
The Fine Print
Date: 2/8/13 Time: 3:30 pm Location: Shanghai, PRC
Time: 1:05:33 Distance: 6.2 mi Pace: 10:43
Music: Running mix; not enough to really distract me from the snow
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