But, as I've mentioned before, my husband and I are transplants from Jacksonville, Fl, so snow is something that we have been anxiously anticipating. On Tuesday morning, we kept a watchful eye on the snow as it fell, proclaiming excitedly, "It's definitely sticking....look! How cool!" It really was beautiful and the first chance we got Tuesday afternoon, we were bundling up and out the door to go for a run/play in the snow adventure.
The snow was covering a lot of the sidewalks, but it was soft and powdery so instead of being dangerous, it was just fun. (at least at first while the novelty was still alive and well.) We ran from our apartment in Rosslyn and took the Mt. Vernon trail to Roosevelt Island. It was so neat running on the Mt. Vernon trail because the snow created a new variation of quiet and peacefulness. Also, the Potomac was still frozen and was now snow covered. It was really beautiful. The run to the island is less than 2 miles from our apartment, so we were still feeling great and loving our snow-running experience when we arrived. We stopped on the bridge over to the Island to throw a couple of snow balls at the river. We were like children...really.
Once on the Island, we walked up to the Theodore Roosevelt monument, which was breathtakingly beautiful in the snow. It really was amazing how different the quiet sounds in the snow. We took in the monument for a few minutes and then continued our run on the trail that follows the exterior of the island. This is when the newness and novelty started to fade ever so slightly and my quads started to whisper that they were a little annoyed with me. This snow was really powdery, so it was exactly like running in soft sand. By the time we ran the 1 mile loop around the island, we were both breathing much harder than normal considering our snail's pace. (I was insistent that we go slow and be careful as to prevent a stupid injury that would make all the training documented on this blog a complete waste.) And, in addition to the breathing hard, my quads were no longer whispering their opposition to this run....they were complaining loud and clear. Each step was a new rigor, and the quads were not amused.
We paused on the bridge to throw a couple more snowballs. A family with a small child was doing the same thing, making me feel a little ridiculous, but it was our first snow! Acting like small children was our prerogative and responsibility! We were excited! As we started our journey home, we were thankful for a brief respite from the snow when we ran through the parking lot at the island. It had been salted and was snow-free. But once back on the trail we were in the snow the rest of the way home. Our run home from the island is uphill. Those of you familiar with Rosslyn know this well. So, by the time we made it back to the apartment, my quads were very angry with me. They were not impressed with the snow at all. But, while it was difficult, I found myself really enjoying the challenge. It was such a unique work-out. And the sound of each foot-fall is so satisfying as you crunch your way along your route.
Unfortunately, the sleet and rain that created a rock-hard frozen layer on top of the snow made our snow-run a one time opportunity. The rest of the week, it was treadmill or nothing. I was forced to do another dreaded tread-mill speed work-out. This one was a 7 mile tempo with 5 of the miles at an 8:30. Thanks to my previously-mentioned old-school mp3 player, I killed the workout and even managed to keep the pace for mile 7 instead of slowing down for a cool-down. I was proud and pumped. Later this afternoon I will do a 16 miler. I am very excited because the weather forecast is predicting temperatures in the 50's. This will be my first run in shorts in several weeks and I am excited!! I'll keep you posted.
So glad you got to enjoy the snow before it turned into icy nastiness. And nice job on the speed workout — I'm impressed and inspired by your ability to keep up the tempo pace til the end!
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