Running Into The Snow

Today I went for a 9 mile run from my house (instead of on the bike path) and ended up running into the snow that I thought had passed. I plotted a route out on runningmap.com last night. It is much harder to figure out a 9 mile loop than an out-and-back route, but I figured one out that only required me to get through one busy intersection.

I had more new running gear to try out: a new Polartech jacket from L.L. Bean that my sister-in-law gave me and new running pants I got on sale from Land’s End. I wore a short-sleeved tech shirt under the jacket and added my Nike iPod hat and medium weight gloves. And my Garmin, of course.

I saw that there was a light dusting of snow on the cars, so I figured that the snow “they” called for had come and gone. I selected my new “Best of 2010” playlist on my iPod Nano and started walking to where I would start running.

The first 3.25 miles of my route were the same as my usual “neighborhood hilly route.” Still, the hills felt particularly challenging today–maybe my legs are tired from the lunges and squats I did yesterday. At the top of the third serious hill I turned right instead of left, and got to enjoy a downhill stretch and then a flat stretch. Then I noticed how the road rose up again, and realized that this long, flat segment wasn’t really flat! At about mile 5 there was another killer hill–long and steep–but I plodded along. When I was climbing yet another long, steep hill at mile 6, I cursed myself for planning a route that is “just too d@mn hilly!”

Just as I was getting whiny, it started to snow! It went from zero to heavy snow in just a few minutes and it was pretty. We don’t usually get a lot of snow in the D.C. area–except for last year’s snowmaggedon blizzards:

Today, the snow coated the road and sidewalk amazingly quickly, but didn’t amount to much.

I had to be extra careful through that dangerous intersection because cars were being stupid–driving without their headlights on–but I made it safely to the other side.  When I got to my last steep hill (number eight I think!), the sidewalk was slippery, so I ran on the grass.  The rest of my route was flat (thank goodness!) and I only had to cross one more busy road.

 I had to run almost all the back to my house to hit 9 miles, so I decided to walk on the treadmill for a few minutes to cool down more. After that, I stretched and used my foam roller.

After a shower, I was ready for breakfast:

Adding raisins and a spoonful of peanut butter to my oatmeal is my absolute favorite way to enjoy it these days. Yum!

Do you like to run in the snow?

What is your favorite way to fix oatmeal?