You're As Cold As Ice.

Cold as ice, you know that you are
Cold, cold, as, as, ice, as cold as ice to me
Cold, cold, as, as, ice
Ooh, ooh, ooh, cold as, cold as ice
You're as cold as ice

Yes, December 31st was cold as ice.  However, I needed to keep with my marathon training and get my run in for the day.  Even on New Year's Eve day.  Even though the weather outside was frightful.  Well, fricking freezing.  Cold as ice cold.  Cold enough for, say... ice sculptures! 

What better way to run the miles away than going into Boston to see how the preparations were going for First Night?  First stop, Boston Common.  The food vendors were setting up their stands and getting ready to try and entice people to buy their morsels.  I could only imagine them practicing their spiel as they were stocking the supplies, "Get a hot slice of cheese with roni over here!"  One food trailer that made me turn my head as I went by was the "Slush King".  Seriously?  The real feel was 11 degrees.  I don't think that they probably sold too many slushies last night.  I could be wrong though.  I continued on past a couple of ice sculptures.  Frogs frolicking with "2015" above them, some super heroes and Albert Einstein.  Pretty impressive.  Luckily it was cold enough for them so that there were no dripping and drooping masterpieces.  I past the pyro technicians setting up the launch tubes with Chrysanthemum, Peony, Palm and heart shells.  Past vendors setting up their stalls selling plastic horns and those goofy glasses which quickly remind you what year is coming up.  Next up, the Public Garden.  Not much at all going on over there so I continued over to the Esplanade.  Again, nothing happening.  Zilch.  Nada.  On to Copley Square!  That is where all of the action was.  A city block of news vans lined up in a perfect row.  Reporters doing the obligatory "So what is your New Year's resolution" interviews with passersby.  Sound checks on the main stage and, oh yeah, more ice sculptures! 

I made my way down Boylston street, past the marathon finish line, down to Mass Ave and back over to the Charles.  I wound my way back to where I started and ended my run with 7.5 miles logged.  I'll take it even though it was definitely the coldest day of running this training season.  A balmy 20 degrees with a real feel of 11 due to the gusty 20+ MPH winds.  These are the conditions that I kind of like though.  The ones that make you buck up and, in the words of Nike, "Just do it".  I could be inside a sweaty smelly gym clomping away on a dreadmill, sorry, treadmill.  Nope, not for me.  I would rather be running outdoors in the freezing passing the artistic creations of frozen H2O.

Cold as ice, you know that you are
Cold, cold, as, as, ice, as cold as ice to me
Cold, cold, as, as, ice
(Thanks Foreigner for the lyrics- they are completely stuck in my head now!)

Until next time, keep on runnin'!