Living up to the name

I am a punk ass. I was supposed to run a 5k this morning with my friend Becky and her running partner. It's called the Penguin Pacer, and I guess the idea is that it makes it more of a challenge to run outside when it is really cold. I hadn't given it much thought because I always run inside, and also perhaps because I'm not that bright. But it doesn't usually get all that cold here, and I think it was 60 degrees out when I signed up to do the race. Becky pointed out the other day that I really would need a hat and gloves. Hats and curly hair don't mix, so the only one I own is the Smoky the Bear hat left over from my park ranger days. Anyway, I went out yesterday and bought a runner's hat with ear flaps, and these gloves that were supposed to keep my hands really warm, plus two high-tech shirts that are warm but also "wick away sweat" to keep me from getting chilled.

I got up at 5:45 this morning, and it was so cold I put on both of the shirts, plus two fleece jackets, two pairs of socks, two pairs of pants, the gloves, the hat, put my hood up, and took Seamus out for his walk. It always amuses me how excited he gets when we go for our walk early. It's like all of his dreams have come true. Well, I was miserable the whole time. My face was freezing. My hands and teeth got so cold they hurt (so much for those fancy gloves, which I discovered have magnets to hold them together. Why?) and all I could think about was how I did not want to drive to Columbia and run this race. The only part of me that wanted to go was the part that felt guilty about bailing. Maybe also the part that felt like a loser after insisting to everyone that I wouldn't be too cold.

Guess what? I was wrong. 18 degrees with a wind chill of 9 is too cold for me. It's just not a challenge I want to conquer. So I stayed home. I feel bad, although Becky didn't seem mad about it. She even offered to pick up my t-shirt for me, but obviously I don't deserve the t-shirt. Today, I truly am a bad, bad penguin.