Running in the snow!

It was snowing all Friday and until early Saturday morning. Gossssh!! It was so gorgeous outside. Looks like we are going to get a lot of snow this weekend. Sweet! I love it when it snows. w00t!! A good five inches of snow, I believe. I dragged myself out of bed to go for my run in the gym. A crazy idea struck me. Why not run in the snow today? I have never done that before, though I know a lot of runners do. Okie dokie. Let’s do it. Got dressed up in layers and wore my Hi-Tec trek shoes. Good time to put the ‘Weatherproof’ feature of the shoe to the test. This is how it looks:

It was freezing cold. The snow hadn’t got hard yet, so it wasn’t as slippery as I expected. Is it really a good idea to run in this snow? I walked to the entrance of the apartment pondering and then just decided to run. I always remember the rule for running on the road, “Run against the traffic”. I decided to run to Percy Priest Dam and back. That’s a good 4-mile run. I didn’t want to push hard during my first snow run. Roads were in very bad condition and black ice was just starting to show up. People were very cautious while driving, so I was safe. A couple of them gave me pitiful looks, like I was one homeless kid running in the snow. Some gave the “Such a weirdo” glance. Running in the snow was worse than running in the sand, I guess. Breathing cold air was hurting my lungs initially, but after the second mile I was just fine and was enjoying my run.

I reached the dam and stopped for a while to catch my breath. Man, it was really cold, though it felt very good to be out in the snow. There were more people outside than I expected. Many stopped by to click pictures by the dam.

Ran further down the road for half an hour and got back to where the dam’s gate opens up. There were a lot more people down there having fun snow tubing down the frozen road. They were using inflated tubes, planks, packaging boxes and anything they could get their hands on to snow tube down the road. It was fun watching them. Wish I had one with me. Anyhow, I decided to turn back.

“How long have you been running?” a stranger popped the question. Three miles so far and two more miles to go, I replied. It was Kelly and Susan. She said that’s crazy and I just nodded my head. We struck up a conversation. Who I am, where I am from, where I work, etc., etc. When I told them about my workplace, they mentioned a couple of people, and I was surprised when they mentioned “Diane Taylor”. Yes, it’s my colleague Diane, who has run over 75 marathons. “What a small world”! We talked for a couple more minutes about our upcoming races, exchanged our FB IDs and then I started my run towards home. [Susan, don’t forget my ID :)]. Clicked a couple of pictures on my way back. Isn’t it pretty?

A good half hour run and I was home in one piece. My Hi-Tec running shoes really stood up to the test in keeping my feet warm. It does hurt a lot to run in the snow, especially while breathing. Nevertheless, I had a very good time and enjoyed my first experience running in the snow. Time for a hot shower and yummy soup.