Running Frigid...

So being a Texas girl, born and raised, I've never truly encountered a cold winter... until now.

It has been an eye-opener, from blazing hot hand-warmers to 4 layers of clothing, to Cabbage Patch Kid-like rosy cheeks to having snow freeze on my eyelashes. Thank goodness for a great husband and family members who bought and/or sent warm jackets and long johns.
I've started training for my first marathon since mid-November. I will be running the Seoul Marathon in March. It has been an extremely good experience thus far. I am up to running 14 miles now. I have been cautiously careful with my shins, since I am severely prone to getting shin splints. My poor cross-country coach would pick me up and carry me after each cross-country meet, not because I asked but because of the fact that he could see the profusion of pain that I was in with each step.

I got an amazing pedometer watch from the Boatwrights for Christmas. It has served me quite well. Pre-watch, I had been running almost double of what I was supposed to have been running. I was trying to keep a 10 minute mile pace without using a pedometer, however, I had actually been running between a 7 and 8 minute mile each time I ran.

It has been kind of a culture shock running in Korea. First of all, most Koreans don't run. Walking is very common. Secondly, there are not many Americans(or giants) in our particular city. Thirdly, of all of the runners I've seen in Korea they are not typically female. So, I'm kind of an enigma. I jokingly told Grant the other day before I headed out for my run that I was going to count how many people who either laughed at me or stared at me like I was some kind of freak. I counted about 15. In addition, many children laugh at me or shyly try to say hi and then laugh and run off! Older men like to give me a thumbs up and laugh at themselves for having the guts to do so. Koreans are kind of shy in many ways.

Bottom line: I'm really enjoying running but am getting sick of the cold. I hate the fact that the first 10 minutes of my run(it seems like a really long time), I'm fighting off the cold, and wishing I was somewhere warmer. I know the weather could be drastically worse, but I'm still trying hard to adapt.

We are doing well, Grant is progressing and will go back to work next week. Thank you for your prayers!