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February 13, 2006
Sun and Melting Snow
It has been a long time since I have seen H2O in its liquid form outside. For many months, all I have seen is water in its various states of quasi-frozen to hard-rock frozen forms: sleet, black ice, fist-size snowflakes, blowing sharp ice crystals, wet snow, dry snow, tiny snowflakes that never actually hit the ground, gray ice, white ice, clear ice, snow dustings, 10-inch deep snow. I could go on.
Today, I woke up in the middle of the afternoon (after sleeping off a night shift) and saw sun shining through the window shades. When I slipped outside to check the weather, the sun shone warm on my face. My yard and driveway were melting, watery, muddy messes! My dog came back inside looking like she'd trekked through a swamp. It was eerily warm and sunny, especially since the radio was telling me all about the amazing out-east storm. So eery that I took a chair outside and sipped coffee in the sun. I'm sure it was only about 40 degrees, but it felt wonderful.
I almost ran in shorts. Almost. However, by the time I got out there, the sun had dipped behind the mountains and a chill was setting in. I'm glad I wore pants, but, all-in-all, I was still wearing 2 layers less than normal, and no hat. It was remarkable! What else was remarkable was that I observed continuous patches of blacktop peeking out among the snowpack, providing for great traction underfoot.
It was this feeling of unfailing friction underfoot that led me to spontaneously put in about 20 minutes of hard effort while out running today. That, and because this week's mileage was a dismal 31, I figured I had wiggle room for a little effort. I have no idea how much distance I covered in that time, I just ran at what felt steady and sustainable, and I felt great. The best pavement I found was a small loop through the nearby campground. When I'm out running easy, each loop takes 4:40. Today, I ran each loop in 4:00. Perhaps I'll measure that loop's length one of these days and figure out my pace. I'm not at all concerned with pace at the moment, as I'm just trying to build mileage.
Speaking of mileage, I suppose I'll give another go at 50 miles for this week, what I had planned and never got around to last week, lazy bum!
I empathize with all the runners in the east, barreling out the door into a blizzard for a run. Every one of you who got out on a day like today is truly tough. I feel moderately guilty that I thought about wearing shorts today, though I'm sure the tables will be turned back to "normal" shortly.
Posted by Meghan at February 13, 2006 2:26 AM