Blame it on the Polar Vortex! And MICROspikes Trail Review

That was the temperature on Monday morning!

This is the second time it's been super cold this winter. I hope this is the end of it. Oops, meant to say spring. It's the first cold weather of spring, the season that is 7 days old.

This morning it was much warmer, 12 degrees above zero when I woke up. I met Emma for a trail run this morning in the foothills, which was a nice change from my usual road runs, and nice to have company along for the run.

It also gave me a chance to test the MICROspikes on the trails. Thanks to Emma, who took the pictures of me in the MICROspikes!

I liked the way they grip both uphill and downhill. They don't feel too heavy.

I think the MICROspikes outdo the Yak Trax in every way, with two little exceptions: the price, and the weight. If you're looking for something for short, casual walks in the neighborhood, or short term solutions around the house like snow shoveling, then Yak Trax make sense for the price.

For any active outdoor use, the MICROspikes are the way to go. No issues with them slipping off or rolling under your feet. I was able to accelerate, even downhill, without feeling like I might slip. The only thing I would like is something a little lighter weight. It sounds like Kahtoola will come up with such a device soon. Thanks to Josh from Kahtoola for the opportunity to try these and review them!

It was such a beautiful morning, even with the cloud cover, seeing the light over the foothills. Such a relief to get off the roads and back up on trails. No ankle problems, either. In the snow it seems like my ankles do better than on the dirt and rocky surfaces. Or maybe it's just because it's been so long since I ran trails that my ankles are better.

This week the world resumed it's post-holiday frenzy. Monday I stayed home all day, it was killer cold and I rode the bike a total of 2 hours indoors, did some weights, and mostly studied. I did a lot of cooking too, soup and roasted vegetables.

I've been able to stick to the plan and I haven't been hungry. I'm eating five or six times a day, tons of veggies, like a whole head of cauliflower or a whole bag of baby carrots every day, along with other things: kale, zucchini, and a lot of protein. No sugar or fruit and almost all my carbs from vegetables. No grains or anything like that right now.

My challenge will be this week when I do my long run fueled by a very limited number of foods. Fortunately this will be the only long run I have to do during this time while I'm restricting my food intake. Running 30 or so miles on carrots could be interesting. Stay out of my way!

It's too snowy for Buffaloes to go very far outside, they don't like those paw covers, we've tried them. Isabelle doesn't even want to go when it's this cold, and Iris goes about half a mile before she starts complaining of ice balls in her paws. It's supposed to warm up into the 40s by midweek. Then we can have the ice dams at both ends of the street and the great Antarctic ice sheet will be back to cover the neighborhood like a skating rink.

But this year, I will have MICROspikes. Polar vortex, MWAH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

photo credit: all photos of MICROspikes by Emma Bootle Peskind