My Journey With Health And Fitness – Being Mindful Of Winter Weather

All right, in less than a week I have gotten myself all caught up on Christmas preparations. Not only did I finish my shopping as I reported on Tuesday but yesterday I managed to get it all wrapped. Now I just have to do grocery shopping but of course that is not for another week. It is a nice feeling that now I can just sit back and watch Christmas movies.

Yesterday was the weekly coffee with the gang. Of course I had gotten up early (which is usual) and done my first workout. It was quite chilly out but I decided I would still run to the coffee shop and then home afterwards. It’s a short little run, only about 15 minutes each way but it still gets me out in the fresh air. Of course since it was hovering around zero I put on my winter running clothes and off I went. Now I will admit that even with my ‘magic’ gloves on my hands were freezing by time I got there though once I got to running the rest of me felt ok. However, I didn’t even think about paying attention to the fact that we are experiencing winter weather.

The run to the coffee shop goes up a bit of an incline and I have to go through several intersections along the way. What became apparent very quickly is not a lot of people had salted their sidewalks. Now this wasn’t too bad while running on the concrete, I soon realized the painted lines at the intersections were extremely slippery. The fist one I stepped on I practically took a tumble. I decided I had to take some extra precautions so I made sure to be veery cognizant of where my feet were landing and avoided anything that I felt might be slick. I had hoped that it would warm up a few degrees before I headed home but it really didn’t so I was just as cautious on the way back as well.

It all got me to thinking that with the next cold snap coming in next week with potential snow it is time to be mindful of winter weather. My family is very good about making sure our walkways and sidewalks are clear (ok, that is really a must when you live with someone that has a prosthetic leg) and that we lay down a lot of salt to help with melting. We also ensure that our vehicles are completely free of frost and snow before driving them. These simple steps not only keep us safe but also others who may be using our sidewalks or driving on the road with us (my pet peeve is people not completely clearing off their vehicles and then a big sheet of snow and ice comes flying off their roof at you).

Just be mindful of winter weather and keep yourselves and those around you safe.