Snow Day

Thanks to yet another big snowstorm, NYC schools were closed yesterday which meant that Helen and I were able to head out for an afternoon run during my lunch break. (I still had to work; one of the few bummers about being able to work from home is that you never get snow days…) We headed east to the river, then started slowly working our way downtown through almost a foot of heavy, wet snow. There were already a few tracks, so it only slowed us down to about 8:30’s, but it was still a hell of a workout for the legs. At about 96th St, we reached the part of the path that had been plowed and it seemed like we were suddenly flying without the weight of the snow. We ran through a couple snowball fights up the hill, past kids building snowmen, and then turned right into the Upper East Side. Every intersection was like a little brain teaser: How am I going to navigate this one without filling my shoe up with water? We reached the New York Road Runners building, picked up our bibs from volunteers who told us we were crazy for running in this weather, and then headed back outside. Helen said she didn’t want to run through the snow by the river again, so we headed into the park instead. Great decision. As soon as we passed the Fred Lebow statue, it was like we were in a winter wonderland. The sun was shining but there was snow in every direction and tons of happy people running around sledding, throwing snowballs, and just generally enjoying the day. I had to chuckle at how much everyone had been complaining about this storm. I mean, how could you not like this? Eventually, we passed the Meer and exited the park, heading back into Harlem and again navigating slushy intersections. We got back in just under an hour. When I sat back down at my desk, I saw on my computer screen an instant message from my boss in response to my away message, “Are you really out running in this weather?” Yep.