Snowmageddon 2016

It is mid week post Snowmageddon 2016. The trash and recycling haven't been picked up yet. I have no idea when they will be here. The mail finally came and it seems the schools are back in business. NPR says its a record snowfall. We got around 2 feet but other areas got more. I believe it. I beat myself up shoveling Saturday afternoon during the storm. The neighbors and I traded our dinner plans and drink options virtually but none of us braved the elements to each other's homes. I sat on the couch with this furball reading some soon to be discussed material.

The storm gave way to a glorious morning. I did a swan dive into the snowbank before I shoveled some more. It was fantastic. My 4 year old loved it. He played in the snow while my husband and I dug out.  He was where we left off on the drive way and I started to chip away at the wall of snow from the street. 

Photo courtesy of my iPod

My trail running friends were posting videos and photos of the Forbidden Drive Sunday afternoon. It looked like some kind of arctic wilderness. I saw one of them tromping through the powder like it was nothing at all. I had to do my own version of that because it looked like some kind of God kissed winter heaven that only a body in peak form could traverse.

Also courtesy of my iPod.

I call this magnificent scene Exploding Heart because that's exactly what it was for me. It is a park near my home that I normally run. I tromped through un-plowed snow to get to where I normally start. Just think high knees for what seemed like a blasted eternity. I thought frequently that I should turn back. I should note that the logic of, "I'm already in, I can't turn back now" is not sound. I walked a bit but tried to be efficient with the high knees to propel myself forward. Thankfully, I asked friends what they wore on their Sunday arctic tromp. I was grateful for my running tights, tall wool socks and my iPod (so I could feel moderately cool despite the oh shit what have I gotten myself into). I followed the path and veered off to what I thought was where the trail met a path towards a hotel. I ended up behind a train station. I must have run a mile, maybe a mile and a half? I have no idea. I didn't wear the GPS because I thought it would be fun and I didn't charge it.

I shoveled some more when I got home to widen the driveway since it was a bear to get out that morning. I took 3 Alleve when it was all done. I did nothing at all yesterday.

It is Week 4 and Day 1 of my Uplift training plan. I did something that would not have happened at Week 1. I ran a slow three and a half miles on the road AND my UpLift training. Today's workout was an Abs/Hiit combination. Google tells me that hiit training is high intensity intermittent (interval) training. I worked on my abs for three rounds and a plank circuit. If each plank based move were any longer than a minute it could probably be used to gain intelligence from me. I hope to continue both running and weight training towards peak-ish form so can eventually play a game of exploding heart with friends, aka winter trail running.