Took a slow mid-morning run out on the country roads from my home. The temperature was in the mid-20s with light winds. There is still a lot of snow and ice on the road, but I put sheet metal screws in the bottom of my old trail shoes and found traction problems were nearly eliminated. Picked up a partner for 6 miles of the run. A friendly young lab with a desire to follow runners fell in line with me and no amount of yelling, waving , or throwing snow would deter his good natured company. After a mile, and several dirty looks from drivers who assumed this was my unrestrained dog, I decided he was mine for a while so for the next 5 miles I tried unsuccessfully to keep him out of traffic. We looped back by his home just in time for his owner to come out looking for him. My average speed was about 8:30. | 