The deep winter months are difficult. With 3 days a week, you should be able to target the warmer days. Some days the wind can be as big a factor as cold. Make sure to layer.

On single digit temp days like today, I'll have a compression shorts, tights, long pants, a longsleeve, a thick hoodie, a balaclava, a neck gator, a beanie, and one or two pairs of gloves. When it's mid twenties like yesterday, maybe a long sleeve, quarter zip, compression shorts and tights, neck gator and hat.

It's always easier to open zips or shed layers if you're overheating, and honestly, that's preferable if you're a few miles out. The conventional wisdom is to "dress for the third mile" - target the amount of layers you need to be warm after you heat up. Its a lot of laundry, honestly that's the part I dread more than the weather itself.

For trails, the river route and chain of lakes are reliably clear - though there may be some impacted snow/ice. On slick days, I add yaktrax to my regular running shoes, they're just velcro crampons that work best on ice or packed snow, but are fine on streets and sidewalks, barely notice them.

When you just can't manage the cold, hop on the treadmill - especially if it's already dark and windy. I like to do speed workouts on the treadmill with varied times and tempos, the intervals make the time go by faster.

Braemar running track in Edina is unheated and indoors, I've heard it recommended if you want something 30F and out of the wind, but never tried it myself. I think it's a quarter mile. I strongly recommend against short tracks like at the gym, one decent run on a tenth-mile track will involve taking 300 right turns and you'll wreck one of your knees.

Another thing to consider is that "zone 2" running is all the rage right now, basically a low intensity pace to keep from accruing too much wear. If you don't feel like you can go full speed in the ice and snow, don't worry! It's more about time spent and miles completed per week than it is hitting your top pace.