Winter riding and a little running

Things have been hectic and I've gotten off schedule yet again.  A lot of it was due to travel and working 12 hour days over the weekend while on the road (did I mention I love my job??).  The other part was due to my Grandpa passing away - it was expected and for the best, but it has still made sleeping a struggle for me, which translates into a fatigued body that doesn't want to work out.  This weekend I started to get out of my rut.  I had scheduled to do a long run on Saturday, but I didn't feel like it, especially since it would have meant hitting the treadmill to do it safely with the snow that had covered everything the night before.  Brady was a sport and we decided to head out on the cross bikes for a ride in the snow.  It was hard, but parts of it were so much fun I didn't want to quit.  We started out on snow covered roads, they were a little tricky and I had to learn to just relax and let the bike do it's thing.  Next we hit a park with 6" of snow where I learned you have to keep pedaling hard to move through that stuff.  Then there were some slushy roads with patches of ice - I learned they aren't good for anything!  ;-)  Then, we got to the real fun, we hit another park with some great downhills.  Downhills that are usually a little steep for my comfort, but once I learned how much the snow slowed me down I realized how much fun they could be - sledding on bikes - awesome.
Our bikes were so covered with snow - it was just like being in the mud - the brakes were basically useless by the time we were done.

At one point during our ride, while we were out on the road a car pulled up next too me and rolled down the window and the lady in the passenger seat tells me in broken English that I am brave while her son in the backseat films me.  Hilarious - not sure if he was waiting to see if I would fall and hoped he would win a million dollars or if he had just never seen anyone so stylishly dressed on a bike - LOL, but at least I was warm!  :-)

Sunday we opted for single track riding in the snow.  It was pretty cool.  Brady and two of his biking friends rode ahead while I made my way following the paths they had made, or my best attempt at it anyway.  It was rough.  I finally got clipped in and was able to go quite a ways without putting a foot down, but all the work of going through the snow made me hot.  I stripped off my hat, gloves and tied my jacket around my waist - things were good...then I decided (not really) it would be a good time to fall.  Lovely cold snow up my sleeves and down my back.  Maybe taking the gloves off was pushing it.  I put them back on and made it through the rest of the course with only a few more tumbles - it was OK, falling in snow doesn't really hurt - just watch out for the trees.  I guess everyone bit it at least once so I didn't feel bad.  It was my first single track in the snow and I enjoyed it.  

Monday - finally, decided to get a run in.  The roads here still aren't clear so I had to stick to main roads and even then I had to 'run gently' in a few places.  I didn't make it out till about 5:30pm so it was already getting dark and colder.  I probably looked pretty silly doing my shuffle through any wet looking spots, trying to make sure not to hit an ice patch, but it was worth it.  The run felt good - the temperature was perfect for me.  I didn't want to stop, but it really wasn't safe.  Vehicle traffic around here isn't very runner friendly on a good day, but add in snow/ice patches & dark and it goes downhill.  I called it good at 4.25 miles.

This morning we actually made it out of bed and went to spin class at the Y.  I've been talking about going for a month and finally did it today.  It felt good to have 1.25 hour workout in before even having a shower.  I felt so good I rode my bike to work (like I should have yesterday!!).  :-)

Till next time - run on, bike on in the snow...