27 degrees

One item I mentioned yesterday was the bi-weekly running I've taken up with my friend Brian. Like me, he is in training to run a marathon (and a lot further along than I am). He contacted me a few months ago via Facebook and wanted to meet during the week to go run. It's harder to back down when you have agreed to meet someone... especially if it is 6AM.
Like probably 99% of the population, had you told me 6 months ago that I was going to wake up twice a week at 5:15 in the morning to go running, I would have told you that you're insane. Like most people, I value the sleep that I get. Even though my wife would call me a "morning person" since I can get out of bed around 6AM with minimal effort, there is a huge difference between waking up at 6AM and waking up 45 minutes earlier with the intention of running 4 miles.
I'm sure there is a lot of scientific work that has been done on the benefits of exercising early in the morning. And I will admit, it is nice to start off the day with a nice run... once it is over. Before and during... that's another story. I've faced various "challenges" since taking up the morning run... the first was actually getting up and making it to the start point, then the days gre cooler and there was the occasional rain.
Today was probably one of the biggest challenges since taking up running in the morning... namely the fact that it was 27 degrees this morning in Knoxville. But I am proud to say that Brian and I completed our goal. We ran 4 miles in 35:11.