Let it Snow!

I almost didn't run yesterday morning...

The forecast the night before called for some significant snowfall overnight and into Sunday morning but I still made all my preparations for the trip to Boyden to meet Andrew and friends. Needed to set out my breakfast, get the coffee ready to go, pack a lunch for after the run, mix gatorade, set out my clothes and don't forget the alarm clock! Not that I needed it, waking up about 10 minutes early despite only 6 hours of sleep.

Peered out the window into the dark and nothing much yet, just a few flakes. Email to A who's only about 8 miles away as the crow flies across the bay 'What's it like over there?'. "Snowing here" was the reply. It's settled, we're off on a mission to run.

45 minutes later I'm standing at our meeting point talking to Ozzie who's raring to go but no sign of sleepy head. A few minutes later he shows up and we're off again under a slight dusting of snow flurries (no accumulation yet).
Cruising along about mile 8-9 as the flurries got a bit more serious.

All we saw on the road today was sand trucks and snow plows which were out in force making sure that we had a good experience in the backwoods of Maine. We all agreed that the conditions were near perfect with temps just below freezing, and fairly good footing for the most part as the snow was a perfect non-slip consistency. The only problem I had was some balling up of snow on the soles of my shoes which forced me to 'scuff' my feet along to clear the accumulations. We had a lovely quiet run, at least in quiet surroundings, as our constant chatter likely woke every dog within 20 miles.

Our pace was very, very relaxed and barely broke 9 min. miles for the most part as we covered the 20.3 miles in 3:03 and my average heartrate barely reached 130. This was perfectly fine with me after the long week I'd just completed. I had been worried that Ozzie a sub 3hr runner in my age group ace would want to cruise along a bit faster. However he was fine with it saying it was his 1st 20 miler this year. I didn't say it was my 7th 20 miler since early December as I'm sure he knows what he's doing and will take me to the cleaners in any race we do together. So we just cruised along avoiding the minimal traffic and occasional snow plows and had a fine time of it.

A great way to spend a Sunday morning I'd say. Have a nice week all!