Running in the snow!

It was snowing all Friday and until Saturday early morning. Gossssh!! It was so gorgeous outside.  Looks like we are going to get lot of snow this weekend. Sweet! I love when it snows. w00t!!  A good five inch snow I believe. I dragged myself out of the bed to go for my run in the gym. A crazy idea struck me. Why not run in the snow today. I have never done that before though I know a lot of runners do. Okie dokie. Let's do it. Got dressed up in layers and wore my Hi-Tec trek shoes. Good time to put the 'Weather proof' feature of the shoe to test. This is how it looks like:

 

 

It was freezing cold. The snow hasn't got hard yet so it wasn't slippery as I expected. Is it really a good idea to run in this snow? I walked till the entrance of the apartment pondering and then just decided to run. I always remember the rule for running on the road, "Run against the traffic".  I decided to run till Percy Priest Dam and back. That's a good 4 mile run. I didn't want to push hard during my first snow run. Roads were in very bad condition and black ice was just starting to show up.  People were very cautious while driving, so I am safe. Couple of them gave me pitiful looks like I am one homeless kid running in the snow. Some gave the "Such a weirdo" glance. Running in the snow was worse than running in the sand, I guess. Breathing cold air was hurting my lungs initially but after the second mile I was just fine and was enjoying my run by now.
I reached the dam and stopped for a while to catch some breath. Man, it was really cold though It felt very good to be out in the snow. There were lots of people outside that I expected. Many stopped by to click pictures by the dam. 

 

 

Ran further down the road for half hour and got back to where the dam's gate opens up. There were lot more people down there having fun snow tubing down the frozen road. They were using inflated tubes, planks, packaging box and anything they could get their hands on to snow tube down the road. It was fun watching them. Wish I had one with me, anyhow I decided to turn back.

“How long have you been running”, a stranger popped that question. Three miles so far and two more miles to go, I replied.  It was Kelly and Susan. She said that’s crazy and I just nodded my head. We struck a conversation. Who I am, where I am from and where do I work etc, etc. When I told them about my work place they mentioned a couple of people and I was surprised when they mentioned “Diane Taylor”. Yes, its my colleague, Diane who has run overt 75 marathons.  “What a small world”! We were talking for a couple more minutes about our upcoming races, exchanged our FB Id's and then I started my run towards home. [Susan, don't forget my ID :)]. Clicked couple of pictures on my way back. Isn't it pretty?

 

  

 

A good half hour run and I was home in one piece. My Hi-Tec running shoes really stood up to the test in keeping my feet warm.  It does hurt a lot to run in the snow especially while breathing. Nevertheless I had a very good time and enjoyed my first experience running in the snow. Time for a hot shower and yummy soup.

Half, Full, 50K and 50M

After Flying Monkey I have been looking for my next marathon. That’s when one of my colleagues introduced to Diane Taylor. What a breath of fresh air she turned out to be! 75 Marathons and Ultra marathons so far. Amazing. She was there for Flying Monkey Marathon as well. Gosh, wish I had met her during that time. She managed to complete Flying marathon in spite of her stress fracture. I found her to be very humble and cheerful. It was very encouraging and inspiring talking to her. The outcome of getting inspired! I signed up for four races. Yeah Four races! Thanks Diane! You rock. 

Right after our conversation she sent me the list of races that she has signed up for the coming months and I was lucky enough to enroll in four of those races well before the registration cut-off. As the title of the post says, the race distance is going to be in incremental order. Starts with Half Marathon and will end with an Ultra Marathon. 

I have never done anything crazy like this before, so it's going to be fun. Here's my race schedule.

Cedars Frostbite Half-Marathon : 13-Feb-10     Lebanon State Park, Lebanon, TN
2010 Mercedes Full Marathon : 14-Feb-10    Birmingham, AL
Black Warrior 50K : 20-Feb-10    Bankhead National Forest - AL
Land Between the Lakes Trail run 50 Miles:13-Mar-10    Grand Rivers, KY

Wish me luck. I'll keep you posted on my survival rate.