Runnin' in a Winter Wonderland

I woke up this morning to this:


Two, maybe three, inches of snow! The nice, fluffy kind that is good for snowball fights, but is less good for running in. I've not gone for a run in snow in as long as I can remember (it was snowing in Buffalo when I ran there a few weeks ago, but there was none on the ground at the time). So I have to say I was a bit intimidated. Would it be too cold and wet and miserable? Worse, would I slip and fall and break something?

But then I saw a single set of footprints in the snow outside, and I realized that I could do it. With a headband, gloves, long-sleeve dri-fit shirt, and sweatpants, it actually wasn't too cold after all. And the snow even provided me plenty of traction; the only tricky parts were crossing the streets where the snow had been plowed and only a thin layer of ice remained. I did have to breathe a little more heavily to get enough oxygen, but I still managed an 8-minute pace over a 5 mile course. After I realized that the snow was no big deal, I felt like I could have gone all day. But there's that whole "work" thing that I'm supposed to do too.

So in conclusion: let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Settling In

Though I'm only about 25% unpacked from my move to Columbus, I have managed to get my priorities straightened out: I got in an 11-1/2 mile run this afternoon, my longest since the Vegas Marathon in 2005.
I was a bit worried about running the Columbus 1/2 Marathon next weekend, so the run today was really just to make sure that I could still handle that distance. My pace was a little bit more erratic than I would have liked, but it was still respectable overall. Running past the 'Shoe (Ohio State's football stadium) while there was a game going on was quite interesting. I could hear the stadium's announcer for several miles, even when the stadium was completely out of sight. The crowd was apparently pretty tame, though. I guess it wasn't worth getting all worked up when you're beating up on the other team by 40-some-odd points. There were also hundreds of tailgaters scattered throughout all of the parking lots along the route--fortunately, they were staying off the sidewalks for the most part. Since the game was already underway, the crowds were a lot more manageable than they otherwise could have been.

Other parts of the run were really nice too. Running along the Olentangy River reminded me a bit of Back Bay. I'm looking forward to getting farther along the path beside the river in the future--I read somewhere it's supposed to be at least 14 miles long, which should mean lots of different scenery along the way.
There were a good number of other runners out as well, and my route was circuitous enough that I encountered the same people several times. I wonder if the running population will drop off precipitously after the marathon next week. Even if it doesn't in the next few months we'll all have to find some way of running in zero degrees and a foot of snow. Any suggestions?