Frozen Fingers; or the Perils of Cheap Gloves

We’ve been spoiled in New York this winter. Until this weekend we only had snow once–back in October! There have been some cold mornings where I’ve opted for a treadmill (“TM”) run, but the majority of days, I’ve been able to run outside with no problem. In fact, it’s been so nice, I’ve only had to bust out the tights once and I didn’t even bother getting my thick gloves out of storage.

Now, enter yesterday’s snow. It wasn’t much snow as far as a normal winter is concerned, but I’ve kind of wussed out. I did yesterday’s run on the TM (mainly because I went to the opera yesterday–the Enchanted Island–and couldn’t run until 6 pm) but today I was determined to do a long run outside. Well, I’m happy to report I got in 14.6 miles in Central Park doing two figure-eight loops (where I criss-cross back and forth using the 103rd and 72nd transverse) but by the time I got back to my apartment, I could no longer feel my fingers. I guess those $2 gloves I bought at Target aren’t really designed for long cold runs… If this keeps up, I may need to invest in something a little more functional.

Now that my fingers have thawed I’ve settled in for some football, frozen cookie dough (homemade, of course), and a bottle of Three Floyd’s Arctic Panzer Wolf (a treat I brought back from Chicago).

And now…my first beer review:

Beer Name: Arctic Panzer Wolf
Brewery: Three Floyd’s (IN)
Style: Imperial IPA
My take on it: I’m a huge hophead so I tend to love big IPAs and this one is no exception. It’s citrusy and sweet on the tongue at first but there’s a nice bitter finish (think lemon rinds). You can feel the alcohol, but in a warming kind of way that I appreciate after a cold run! You won’t find this in NYC, but if you’re in the Midwest, I would definitely recommend picking up a bottle or ordering a pint.