Winter has come

Autumn in Skellefteå lasted all of...oh, 4 weeks? Today came the first snow of winter. At first it melted as soon as it hit the ground, but as the day turned to night and the ground cooled down, it formed a thin white blanket on lawns and pavements.

You know what comes next. The snow melts to slush. Temperature drops below zero. Slush turns to ice. Emergency rooms around the country fill up with broken bones. And it's only October. Make yourselves comfortable folks, we'll be here a while.

The bike ride to the gym this morning wasn't as idyllic as yesterday's. You could already feel that there was change in the air. The wind was blowing hard from the East, making any resistance the last dried up autumn leaves put up, as they hung on for dear life on trees and bushes, futile. The yoga room was an oasis of warmth and calmness against the epic battle going on outside. Lit candles, soft white curtains, relaxing music made me think that this wasn't such a bad way to start the day.

When it started pouring small wet snowflakes in the afternoon, I was tempted to call off the daily walk J and I go for after dinner. Recreating the warmth and calmness of that yoga room at home and settling in front of the TV seemed like a much better idea. But maintaining a good habit is much easier than breaking it and having to start all over again, and J wanted to go for a run instead, so out we went. After a short warm-up that felt more like a cool down in these conditions, we started running. I left J to continue alone after 1km and turned back home. My foot test today was to be only 2 km.

It did well. It didn't hurt at all, nor does it hurt now afterwards. Not yet anyway. Now all I need to do is keep my fingers crossed that slush doesn't turn into ice. I have an early morning Pilates class to cycle to tomorrow and the emergency rooms are already overcrowded enough as it is.