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January 6, 2005
Lots of Snow
Today we are having a mini blizzard here in Western MA. I think we have at least six inches of snow and it was still snowing at noon today. The entire school is closed today so I did not have to work at the library and I did not have to coach. It was a surprise to me to have so many things canceled today. I decided to do a five mile run at 11 a.m. before the conditions got too crazy. I was wishing for some yak-traks when I was out slipping and sliding on the roads. However, it actually wasn't too bad once I figured out where to run. I did my five mile campus loop and mostly ran in the tire tracks of cars. On two streets I was lucky because the snow plow had just gone by so the snow was nicely packed down and I could run on the freshly sprinkled dirt. I felt like I was running pretty slow but I guess I ran about an 8 min. pace which surprised me in these slippery conditions. My legs were really tight for the first 15 minutes but then I felt better. It was really pretty to run with everything covered in snow and it was nice to see so many children out playing in the snow and sledding. I saw lots of people cleaning their cars and shoveling. I felt very lucky not to have to worry about either of those two things. The univesity shovels all around my house and I am not planning to drive today so that is not a big stress. I may do some snow shoeing later in the day and might wipe off the car so it is not buried by tomorrow. I'll see how motivated I am.
When I came back from the run I went to the gym to do another 30 minute session on the rowing machine. I wasn't sure if I would try to race or just go easy. I felt tired in the first 5 minutes but I realized my pace was the same as the last time I rowed. I decided to just row for 30 min. at a good pace and see how far I could travel. I did the first 1600 a little faster than last time, in 7.23. I checked my 3200 split and that was 14.59 and my 5000 split was 23.23. My final distance traveled was 6,375 meters, an improvement from last time. I was happy with the effort and was really happy to be done because it is a hard workout.
I am now going to go home and have some soup. I will probably relax for a little while and then I think I might go and run the cross country course in the afternoon with my snow shoes. I'd hate to miss the opportunity to use them this afternoon when I just got them from Liz for a Christmas present. I'll update more on that adventure later in the day. I hope everyone is having a good day and if you are having a snow day I hope you get to have a small adventure.
Posted by mary at January 6, 2005 1:34 PM
Comments
Chicago already has a foot of snow and there is NO clear road or sidewalk to run on!! I think I could snow shoe down the lakefront and no one would think it was strange :)
I am VERY impressed by your rowing (and Beth's too!). I commented to Beth that my boyfriend rowed for 4 years at Notre Dame and I am always amazed when I see him defeat that poor machine. He tried to motivate me to row more often, but I just couldn't do it. I admire you!!!
Posted by: bridget at January 6, 2005 3:43 PM
Hey way to go on the rowing Mary! That website you told me about is pretty cool. With my bum leg, I think I'm just going to take up rowing intead. :) My back was sore when I woke up this morning. Definitely muscles I don't use very often! The snowshoeing sounds fun too. You are into all kind of neat stuff!
Posted by: Beth at January 6, 2005 10:25 PM