If you were to take a look at my running log, you’d see the paces from the last two days and think that I was taking it easy because of the holidays. Not so. Despite what the 8:34/mile and 9:09/mile paces suggest, they were actually two of the year’s toughest runs.
Yesterday morning, I headed out to a small manmade lake near my parents’ house in Brighton, Colorado. It was snowing steadily and had been all morning. By the time I started running, there was about three inches of fresh powder on top of 3-6 inches of existing snow. I couldn’t see any sort of a path and so I just started running through the grass, slipping and sliding with each step. On the far side of the lake, there was less snow, but I was running into a decent headwind, so there really was no relief. Around the time I finished up my fourth lap, the snow had stopped and the sun began to peek out. I had the benefit of following my newly formed trail as well. That helped me speed up from 9 minute miles to near 8’s, which felt like flying. I finished up seven laps in just over an hour and was completely drenched in sweat, despite the fact that it was just 34 degrees. Between the elevation and the snow, that was one tough workout.
Today’s was tougher. I met up with Hans at Barr Lake this morning for a planned two loops of the 8.8 mile trail around the lake. It was 13 degrees when we started. Things started off well enough, but a mile-and-a-half into the run, the truck tracks we’d been following disappeared and we were suddenly dealing with shin deep crunchy snow. We fought that for the next six miles, slowing to near 11 minute pace in parts, before finally reaching truck tracks again. Then, as we were heading towards the cars for Gatorade after finishing the first loop, I took a nasty spill on some ice and busted open my eye and lip. I was able to stop the bleeding with chunks of snow, and then found paper towels in the bathroom and cleaned up the cut a bit. After a bit of Gatorade, we headed back out, but abandoned our plans to finish the second loop. Instead, we just covered the mile of truck tracks in either direction. My head was hurting, my face was burning from the cold, there was no air, and my knees were aching from slipping and sliding in the snow. Sound the retreat. Mother Nature won today.
I’m feeling (and looking) like I just got beat up but hopefully I’ll be able to heal up a bit on my rest day tomorrow. And then it’s off to the mountains Tuesday for what will surely be an even tougher, slower run. Central Park is sounding like paradise right about now…
Yes, NYC today was sunny and in the low 50Fs. But it will be back in the 20Fs by mid-week.
Wow. Those were really hard runs, but they will only make an even tougher runner.
Take good care of yourself and return back in one piece.
Owee! Sorry to hear about the fall – you get extra macho dude points for the run.
Ouch. The right tools, friend: Snowshoes or yaktrax. My wife picked me up a new pair of Dion racing snowshoes for Christmas; about the smallest allowable for competition but would have helped you stay afloat. For the already packed stuff, yaktrax are easy and fun, or you can use short screws with a hex head for traction (make sure they’re short and don’t go all the way through the sole). Something comparable will give you a leg up on Ma Nature, while keeping those legs right where they belong–firmly below you. Just strap up, forget about pace, have fun and get in a kick-butt workout.
All that aside, kudos for battling … know you’re not one to let a ‘little’ thing like that keep you idled.
Those snowshoes look cool. I guess I will have to bite the bullet one of these days and buy that fancy winter gear. Otherwise I’ll be stuck in the city forever.