Thursday, February 21, 2013

Snow run = crazy?

If you live in the KC-area, you've probably been obsessively checking the weather in anticipation of the coming "snowpocalpse." Wait?  Not everyone constantly checks the weather in the fervent hope that it will change, and we won't get 12 inches of snow? Well, ok, that's just me. Anyway.

Last night, the weathermen started saying that the snow for the big snowstorm wouldn't actually start falling until 6 or 7 in the morning, instead of at midnight as they had previously predicted. So, I got the crazy idea that I might just be able to sneak in one last outdoor run before the piles of snow keep me inside for days.

If you remember, I am no fan of the treadmill. So, any chance to get outside to get a run in, especially before being stuck inside with two small children all day, I was going to take. No matter how crazy that makes me.

Luckily, my running partner is just as crazy as I am, and she texted me the same idea. So, we decided to brave it. Because they had already closed school, and her husband had decided to work from home, we opted to meet at 6:45am, a little later than our normal time.

Ready for this adventure.

Sarah and I getting ready to hit the road.

As soon as we were outside, we took stock. The wind and snow were blowing hard from the east. After some discussion, we decided that we should run into the wind first, so on the way back, the snow wouldn't be blowing in our face.  (This discussion also included trying to find a way to run only to the west and getting Cory to come pick us up. We did end up nixing that, though in retrospect, it might've been the smartest plan.)

Turns out, our biggest mistake was trying to squeeze in that extra half hour of sleep before our run. We should've gone at our normal time, because although the snow was not bad when we started, in the hour that we were out, it snowed something like 2-4 inches. That is an incredibly rapid rate of snowfall. Especially coming down on two lone runners. (Yup, shockingly, we didn't see any other runners out.)

What started as lovely white cushioning for our joints turned into inches and inches of white quicksand to trudge through. The plan was to just head out on the trail (in hopes to get a bit of protection from the blowing snow) for about 2.5 miles, then turn around and get the wind at our backs.

But, by the time we got to our turnaround point, which just happened to coincide with the sighting of coyote. (Yeah, we were ready to turn around after that!), the snow had already started coming down hard and fast. It was getting really hard to run through. We couldn't even see our own footprints from the run out.

But, at least when we turned around, we got to enjoy the beauty of running in the snow. It helps that I was finally able to open my eyes all the way. I'm pretty sure I had my eyes closed half of the way out into the east because of the snow blowing into my face.

When we crossed a fairly big intersection, the whole world was so quiet, I could whisper and Sarah could still hear me. Now, that's a crazy feeling. It was like we were the only people in the world. That feeling in itself might have made the run worthwhile.

So, the way back, we trudged and talked and admired the gorgeousness of it all. It was It felt like running on a sandy beach, but without the sun and ocean. Snow is pretty, but it has nothing on a tropical beach in my opinion.

We did decide that we had to be getting an incredible workout trudging through all those inches of snow. It's no wonder those Baywatch lifeguards had such good legs: all that running on the beach. I told Sarah at one point that my legs didn't quite know what was happening. It was like they kept expecting to get some sort of solid surface at some point, but they just didn't didn't get that relief.

We finally made it 5 miles and got home. My girls ran to the door to greet me, happy to laugh at mommy covered in snow. "You look like a snowman!" Molly told me. "Mommy, you're covered in snow! You're cool!" said Charlotte.

Conquering heroes.
Look how much more snow there is just 1 hour later.
I am now cuddled under a blanket, sipping some hot chocolate. It may have been a tough run, but it was so completely worth it. We got a run in, we saw some beautiful sights, and I impressed my girls. Who doesn't want their daughters to think they're cool? Turned out to be the perfect start to a snow day. And, now, I'm off to play Minnie Mouse and watch some Disney movies. Yup, I needed that run.


4 comments:

  1. Wow! That is some crazy commitment, lady. You can read about my cop-out treadmill run that I did last night so I wouldn't have to leave the house AT ALL today :-)

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    1. That is not a cop-out run at all. I'm just saying I would rather do this crazy snow run than 7 on the treadmill :) Too bad your plan didn't work and you had to leave to get Brandon anyway!

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  2. Great account. I love running in the rain and snow too, but snow opportunities to run are so rare... you did well just to take advantage of it for that fact!

    Your 4th from the bottom paragraph says it all... about the world being so quiet. That's a great feeling out on a run especially with someone to share it with... great decision! Not crazy! =D

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    1. Oooh, I do love a good rain run in the summer, too! The quiet during the run was really amazing! I'm so glad I got to experience it.

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