This past Friday I ran outside and was able to fully enjoy the experience despite the thirty degree F temps.
This was because not only were the winds well below 10 knots, but also the sun drenched surfaces I encountered included many different textures of concrete, several types of brick pavers, a multitude of variations on the Tarmac concept, and a few different grades of gravel.
Having even the relatively calm wind blocked by the downtown buildings which happened to be on the sunny side of the street made it even more perfect.
O.K., so in addition to that I've learned to enjoy the other's looks and comments rather than let them deter me, but it all added up to a great work out.
Here we are four days later with snow squalls throughout the entire day, very little sun, and plenty of chilly wind.
And according to the forecast we will break the all time record for the day with a low of 8 degrees F predicted.
After I left the office I couldn't drag myself to the gym treadmill, so I'm making up for it right now as I type this on my gravel trays.
Sure, it works more than just my soles and muscles of the feet, the calves as well as soleus's get really toned in the process.
So despite no elevation in heart rate much beyond resting,
I'm feeling really great 40 minutes now into the one hour training exercise.
It can't be due to "grounding", as my gravel is contained in plastic boot trays sitting on carpet which is covering a wooden sub-floor over a crawl space. Can't get much more insulated than that!
Of course there's always the possibility that the feeling of well being was promoted when I heard on the radio a bit ago that Bell's production of this Spring's Oberon has been released for sale to consumers, but I still attribute it to the stimulation of the soles.
I'll check back after the hour is up and I tap into an Ultra, but I'm guessing that the power of extreme lower extremity stimulation is the secret.