Mush!

Had to get in a long run this weekend...with the ankle feeling better it simply had to be done. Before I had sprained my ankle I was up to 70 mile weeks and damn my running was good...like it was before I started all this triathlon business!

So...major snow storm on the horizon

(which turned out to dump a record snow on the DC area) I had to decide which day to go...Saturday or Sunday...

With an eye to weather reports I figured Sunday could be an icy mess, so Saturday it was...

Couldn't run the usual routes as the Park was closed and I needed to run roads not trails because of the ankle. So nothing for it but to run in the neighborhood. Laps. Lots of laps. Now I don't mind laps on a short course because, to paraphrase this other endurance type, I can crawl into this little corner of my mind and not come out.

Made it easier, too, to have the house for an aid station complete with warm air and smiling wife.

When I left the house the storm wasn't too bad although we already had about six inches on the ground. The plows had been by so the road was only covered by a thin snow pack. Run much in snow? Well, it can be like running in sand, which is tough. It changes your gait and has you working harder than you might normally. Add to that , my neighborhood has no flat areas. None. I looked for them. Nada. It's either UP or DOWN. Period.

The storm picked up in intensity...at times you couldn't see more than a tenth of a mile. cold...windy and ...well, it was a blizzard! I've been in blizzards where you'd expect them...Maine, Colorado, Canada, a Kansas wheat field, places like that. Saturday was a blizzard.

One foot in front of the other, stop at the house every 40 minutes or so for for an unfrozen water bottle, some Gu Roctane, a smile and a smooch and go.

Finished 19 miles in 3:16 which was slower than normal but, duh! To honest, my legs were trashed...like I'd just run a 50 miler or more. While a run of over 20 would have been good, I figure with the extra work involved...19 was just fine.

Starting the taper for Disney..will keep the runs easy ride the bike indoors and treat the ankle gingerly and just use the weekend with the mouse as a training weekend!

Oh, today is the 8th anniversary of Mom's death.

Yes Mom I'l still running. No, I'm never going to stop and no that's not why I lost my hair...