"Is That BARE SKIN?!?!"

Two weeks ago, we had a few days of "normal" temps in an otherwise pretty warm December. I headed out for a long run in shorts at 20 degrees, and there were 15-20 mph winds that put the wind chill in the single digits. That's about the lowest I'll go in shorts, but I was fine all run.

Early on in the run, I came upon 2 women running together that I needed to pass. It was well before daylight on a dimly lit trail. When encountering 1 or 2 women in the dark, I tend to make my presence known (jingling keys, etc) and then swing WAY wide as to not appear as a sneaky threat.

So on this run, I actually swung into the bike lane on the edge of the road. I was totally in "do not scare these women" mode. That's all I was thinking about at the time. (Not obsessively, but just noting where my mind was.)

So when one of the women gives out a shriek, my first thought it "oh shoot... I've scared her" without actually hearing what she was saying.

What she was saying was this: "OH my GOD!! Is that BARE SKIN?!?!?"

Yeah, I didn't startle her. She was remarking about my bare legs in those conditions. I'd normally have something sassy to say back, but I was so taken aback that I could just turn and smile a little.

I got home with a slightly red chest, but the "bare skin" on my legs was fine:

Happy New Year... here's a photo of my chest.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯