YakTrax are the greatest invention for those of you who live in Chilly Cold Climates. When the snow and ice are piled up, but you just can't take another run on the treadmill, this product is for you! Amanda, in her infinite brilliance, came home the other day with a couple sets: one pair for each of us.

We tried them out last Tuesday, as we were itching to do one of our favorite hill runs: up and over Linden--a snow-covered route--so we knew they were great. But today, we put them to the test on our long runs. Fortunately, our long runs aren't over the two-hour mark yet, so we were only facing about an hour forty-five. We had been warned by our friend Henry from Boulder Running Company that a long run in this type of cold would really wipe us out. It just takes so much energy to keep the body warm, the tendency is to tire out much sooner than would normally be the case. With this piece of advice in hand, and few more PowerGels than normal (Clif Bloks for the wife), we headed out to see what we could handle.

The YakTraks immediately proved to be a great addition to our winter running wardrobe. Leaving FAC, we ran into our friend Brad Seng. He was starting out on a run as well, but it was pretty obvious his traction was not quite up to par. We had only run a block, but were already pulling away. Brad is a quick runner, so this could only be attributed to our superior equipment!

I've heard it said that there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad equipment. Well, today we proved that yes, there is bad equipment; yes, there is good equipment; and yes, there really is such a thing as bad weather. Ten degrees with a slight snow shower qualifies as bad weather. I had bundled up very well, so well, in fact, that I was actually quite sweaty at the end of the run. And we had those incredible YakTrax on our side. However, by the end of the run, I was pretty worn out. I'd say the furnace was cranked up on high-burn out there, and although we didn't quite make 1:45, I am pretty sure we got the equivalent of 2+hours!