sunshine
what a difference the sun makes. temps were in the mid 20’s but it felt much more comfortable. the wind was from the west so i ran a north-south route through a park then into a new subdivision that’s under construction. (as nice as the houses are, there are no trees around them) on the way back i nearly took a spill on a sheet of ice that was on the path in the park. luckily i maintained an upward posture and headed home for a hot shower. in all, i ended up with five miles.
MTD – 66 miles
YTD – 1,764 miles
Odometer – 28,102 miles
catching up
saturday i got out in the mid-morning for a five mile effort with temps in the low50’s and fog. i initially tried to run on the glacial drumlin trail but the snow hadn’t completely melted so i improvised a route around the neighborhood. about half way into the run, it began to rain steadily which soaked through the gear i had on. honestly it was a struggle not to just head home as i’m really not a fan of running in the rain. regardless, i finished the effort and headed for a hot shower.
today i got out in the late afternoon with temps around fourty under windy conditions. to avoid running for a long time into the wind, i modified my normal five mile route a bit to add on an extra mile and keep me mostly in residential neighborhoods. the downside of my choice was having to deal with motorists. not once but twice did i give pause when approaching a four-way stop as an approaching car simply rolled through without stopping. in my younger years i’d normally give folks like that the single finger salute but with age comes wisdom and now i simply smile and wave. regardless, i made it home in one piece and hit the shower.
MTD – 61 miles
YTD – 1,759 miles
Odometer – 28,097 miles
Merry Christmas
after a quiet day at home with my family, i geared up for a late afternoon constitutional. it was all of fourteen degrees outside but the wind was minimal at best. i headed down comanche to see if the glacial drumlin trail had been plowed. no such luck. i opted to improvise a route through the neighborhood and mustered five miles.
MTD – 50 miles
YTD – 1,748 miles
Odometer – 28,086 miles
frosty five
i took a few days off from running due to arctic conditions we had for the past few days. i’m tough – and a little crazy – but i’m not stupid. when temps are in the minus range (Fahrenheit) and winds are howling, that is a recipe for frostbite. i did check into a 24/7 gym nearby, but am having second thoughts on the one-time fees they hit you with. i really only need access to a treadmill for about 10 weeks this winter. unfortunately, our treadmill is broken. it would likely cost more to have it repaired versus buying a new one.
regardless, i geared up and headed out under relatively balmy conditions this morning – 30 degrees. while the roads are plowed to a degree, the footing isn’t the best. i wore some shoes that were a half size bigger than i usually wear and put my Yaktrax on them. i didn’t time the effort but can say that it was slow going. i did muster five miles and hit the shower.
i just heard from a fraternity buddy of mine who has taken up running. he and his wife have taken up running in recent years and are heading to Disney for the Goofy in January. i’m looking forward to hearing how they do. for what it’s worth, i’ve done a "reverse" goofy with a marathon on saturday and a 13 mile run on sunday. i would say i’d give the Disney event a whirl at some point. sounds like fun.
more snow
yesterday, we got a foot of snow. i worked from home and intended on heading out for a quick five miler when the snow plow pushed a waist-level wall of snow at the bottom of my driveway. instead of running shoes, i donned my boots and headed out to shovel.
this morning i rolled myself out of bed and geared up for my intended five miler. the footing was lousy as much of the snow was slushy at this point. it made running uphill slow and running downhill downright treacherous. along the way, two pooches strained their leashes to bark at me and i spotted a field mouse running along the sidewalk. truth be told, it was moving faster than i was – – but i ran further.