Snowstorm Running Rocks!

   Like everyone else in NYS I was bracing for the big snowstorm poised to hit the eastern seaboard. It's not something that I'm unfamiliar with. Living in this part of the country means that you learn to accept things like blizzards and cancellations. 

   Today is my Friday and I was hoping to get to the gym after work for 45 minutes of cross-training with weights and an easy three miler. But it was obvious as I was driving home that my plans were going to have to be altered. The snow was falling quickly, for once people were driving sensibly and it was going to take me three times as long to get home.

   Runner's are usually very dogmatic types of people. The same workouts, on the same days, done the same exact way, no other options. Today was not going to be one of those days. I got home and snowblowed and shoveled my driveway as quickly as I could. Then I did something that I haven't tried yet. I went running in a blizzard!

   In order to accomplish this crazy goal of running 366 days in a row this year I would have to learn to embrace running in less than ideal weather. So I hiked up the wool running socks, dug out the Gore Tex trail shoes and headed out my door under the awestruck gazes of my neighbors still digging themselves out.    

   Because the snow plows were out in full force as well as the SUV drivers who think that they own the snow covered roads, I decided to try the Hojack trail near my house. It runs about six miles out. Technically that means I could knock out a full twelve. But I was hoping for a mere mile. That's the rule. One mile at least every day.  

   The trail was well, snow covered. It almost came all the way up to my knees. I set my jaw and took off cutting a swath through the high snow. I was doing this come hell or high water! As a runner typically used to an easy pace hovering around a 8:45 mile pace I was appalled to glance at my Garmin and see a time much slower than that. The faster I tried to run, the harder it got and pretty soon I was slipping and sliding all over the place. 

   As I swathed on a smile began to creep across my face. Why was I getting so angry? The scenery was something out of Bing Crosby's White Christmas. Absolutely beautiful! Pictures just don't do it justice. I was huffing and puffing like I was cooking along at a sub 7:30 mile pace. I did work hard shoveling the driveway before I left. Let it go...

   I opened myself up to this amazing opportunity and the rest was magic! I only ran 2.5 miles but it was just breathtaking. I've decided that running during a blizzard wasn't such a bad thing. The looks from stunned neighbors, plow drivers and motorists made it worthwhile. Why is getting out, being active in such beautiful weather such a bad thing? One day my son may say, "Hey dad, remember that really bad storm in 2013 when we ordered pizza for dinner and it took like forever to be delivered?" I'll say yeah, I remember it. That was the first one I ran.....

   Run for your lives my friends!