Blizzard training

Yesterday was one of those days where it really tests your mental toughness. 

I had a 2.5 hr easy bike (in the comfort of my basement), followed by a 30 min run.

No big deal.  Except for the fact that it was near white out conditions and ~6-8 inches of snow had fallen.

*sigh*

Time to put on the snow gear, dig out the yak trax and hit the door.  Suck it up, Buttercup because Ironman isn't for wimps.

normally you'd be seeing my neighbor's house and the street behind me.

I wore too much stuff, but I decided it was better to be warm.  And my ski jacket is highly visible and I had a feeling there'd be snow plows out.  My ski goggles were awesome for keeping the snow out. 

Also: I realized that my running shoes match my ski jacket.  Sweet!

Running with Yak Trax is always a bit weird.  Your feet almost feel bouncy.  I was glad I had them, though, as there was ice hidden under the snow.  My HR monitor was acting up, probably because I wasn't sweaty enough.  I didn't bring any water to drink and I surely wasn't going to stuff a fistful of snow down my shirt to get the thing to work.  So I just listened to the thing beeping at me, thinking I was at ~170 bpm.


typical running conditions

Once I got used to the feeling like I was running on Hoth, I had a fun time.  I was hoping to keep to flat roads (there are none in my neighborhood) so I ran down to the trailhead.  It was plowed earlier and I ran about 10 steps and realized the snow was too deep and the footing was uneven, so I turned around.  When I turned around I was greeted by two deer (does) hanging out.  I love my neighborhood.

action shot

So up the hill I went, exploring roads that I haven't been on.  I enjoyed waving at the cars, full of people with the heaters likely on full blast.  I saw two snowplows and was thankful for my crazy bright jacket.  I was actually roasting by the end and removed both gloves and unzipped my jacket most of the way.  All my vents were open on my ski pants and jacket too.  Pretty ironic, roasting during a run in a blizzard.

This was one of the funnest runs I've done in a while.  It was really hard to motivate myself into going outside, from the warmth of my home.  But once I got out there, I enjoyed the quiet and the falling snow, and the overall feeling of badassery. 

Colorado is awesome, no matter what season.



post run awesomness



pretty sure Brooks didn't have this in mind when they designed the PureFlow2 shoe!