Snow, Snow - and More Snow

No worries; I won't start this entry off by saying how much I dislike snow, how much of a nuisance it is - and how it makes marathon training even more tougher than it already is. I've gone there before.

But I can say we're not off to a good start in '10 weather-wise here in Boston. The forecast for the past four days: Snow, snow, snow - and yes, snow. Great for skiers, but not for runners. The last thing you want is to run two hours in the white stuff.

Knowing it was a tough weather weekend, I did what I started last year: Snow dodging. What many people don't understand about this is we always need to be alert to the weather forecast, plan ahead - and be ready to change those plans nearly at the last minute. While we have some control over our training schedules, it's not 100%. We can't control injuries, or the weather.

Not wanting to do my scheduled 12-14 miles in the snow, and on New Years Day (or the day after), I watched the weather forecast carefully, and Lindsey and I went out for a run Thursday morning. I thought I had it down to a science: Run starts at 11, the snow (as predicted by many forecasters the night before) starts at 1 - just as we're just finishing up. Perfect timing. And at most, we'd get a dusting to an inch, that any overlap was fine.

...except Mother Nature got a little impatient. When we started our run near Fenway, past the chaos of prep for the Winter Classic, it was clear. A few minutes later, a few small flakes. By the time we got out to Comm Ave to head out to Newton, it was a much different story. Seemed like it took 15 minutes to cover the pavement. If the weathermen called this snow a dusting, it must be a very low demand job.

But the snow didn't really bother me. We were fortunate where it was belting in our faces on the way out - meaning the trip back from Newton would be easier to handle. Heading out Comm Ave to Brighton Center (a strategic hill dodging move), cutting back up to Comm Ave and onto the course, it was a little slippery, but with eyes on the road, manageable.

We headed out to Walnut Street as the turnaround, paying respects to the Johnny Kelly Statue before shifting directions back into the city. It was a great point, as we got two of the three Newton Hills in (Brae Burn, we'll have our day), for the first time of the season. I do recall Heatbreak being a little slippery at the base, and having to move to the side to get good traction and moving up it. And that sure didn't stop me from tackling a random hill on a side street off the carraige road right after Comm Ave, which really wasn't smart as I almost went flying on the way down. But I was having fun - so I didn't care.

For some reason, I actually felt good this entire run. With Lindsey running a smart conservative pace, I got into a sweep pattern - going ahead of her, reversing and going past her in the opposite direction, before turning back and doing the same. In all, the route was just over 14.5 miles - so I figured I got at least an extra half mile out of it to call it 15. And it was sure good to get it out of the way in time for New Years.

I had hoped to run again on New Years Day, a few miles on the course, as part of the Wellie-Ellie unofficial run that morning - but my body just didn't rebound enough from Thursday's run - so I opted for the atmosphere and beers at Crossroads.

Yesterday I still wasn't ready - and it was snowing - so I paid a visit to one of my most favorite things in the world: The ArcTrainer! This is the machine at the gym you go to if you are the least bit hurt, or just want a good low-impact cardio workout. My goal was to stay off the thing the entire year after a boatload of bonding last year - but I realize that's just impossible. After 45 minutes on it, I did a 20-minute run/walk on the treadmill to give me at least some sense of fulfillment.

Today I returned to the roads with the YakTrax, with 5 miles through Arlington, Somerville and Cambridge, the minute the snow (finally) ended. Was a little rough and slushy, but overall, most of the roads were surprisingly down to the pavement. Like my past few shorter runs, I felt like crap - and never got into a good groove. Is it just me, or are these short runs actually more difficult than the longer ones?

With the snow out the way (at least for a few days), and a return to work this week, I'm looking forward to looping back into the regular training schedule this week. And as was the case last Jan 1, it's about to get a lot harder, and time-consuming.

Bring it on.