A chilly start to the year

Looking west at sunrise from Singletree Trail

Most days of this year of 2013 have begun in single-digit temperatures.  But as my running buddy, Schaef, adamantly proclaimed, there's no bad running weather, just improper running gear.  Thus I've tried out every combination of cold-weather running attire that I own working up to two layers on my legs and five layers on top for the 5-7 degree days.  Today, however, was a relatively balmy 15 degrees when I left my house.  The bigger challenge was the 6 a.m., pre-sunrise, departure time with some concern about visibility on ice-packed roads as well as my visibility vs. any traffic that might be out there.  But, again, it was all about proper preparation.  This morning's gear, from the bottom up:
- trail shoes for the ice and snow
- semi-high-cut socks for cold and snow
- one pair of warm tights
- one mid-weight tech shirt, a heavier tech-shirt, warm hooded polypro pull-over, bright yellow reflective jacket
- neck warmer (what a good investment that was a few years back!)
- warm hat
- reflective running cap with a blinky light in back.
'Twas quite the sight, I'm sure, what with the warm hat pulled low, hood up (most effective piece of gear for warming the entire body, in my humble opinion), all topped with the bright yellow blinky cap!

And it was all worth it.  The run started with about 4 miles on fairly quiet almost-country roads then continued with about 6 trail miles that took me up high enough, at just the right time, for a spectacular view of the Continental Divide at sunrise.  The picture, via my very inadequate phone camera, does not do it justice.  The glow from this sunrise, however, warmed my entire day!