The weather threw a wrench into my weekend running plans. Originally, I was going to run the Warm Hearts 5K on Saturday. We are expected to get 3-8 inches of snow over night, so they postponed the race. I had to readjust my schedule.
I'm looking at possibly running another 5K on Sunday. It is near my house in an industrial park. It is called the Fast and Flurry-ous 5K. Hopefully the snow will be out of the way and I can run well. I probably won't run it if the roads aren't clear.
I didn't want to run the day before a 5K and I'm not sure how tough snow running will be tomorrow. Therefore, I decided to run tonight at 8 PM. The snow was coming down heavy, but there was only 1-2 inches at the most.
I was going to run the Saucon Rail Trail, but my parents convinced me not to drive. We actually went for ice cream before before the run. Who does that in the snow? Instead of driving, I opted to head to the other neighborhood and run the Blue Eagle 5K course.
I didn't want to run 3 straight days, but there weren't a lot of options. It was a great run anyway. The snow is so beautiful. One nice thing about running in the snow at night is that it does brighten everything up. I still wore a reflective vest. I also had on tights, a jacket over my shirt, gloves, a headband and most importantly a hat to keep most of the snow out of my face.
The snow conditions were actually pretty good. With my trail shoes, it was crunchy and had great grip. I was still slowed up by the snow, but it wasn't too bad. It just made me work a little harder.
The first mile was about what I expected, an 8:34. Most of the time, it was actually pretty warm. I put my hood down early and later around mile 2, I took off my gloves too. Going into the wind was a little uncomfortable. With the wind at my back, things felt great.
I don't like running in neighborhoods much. One of the big reasons why is because I worry about dogs. Around 1.5 miles I heard one barking. Thankfully I never saw it and it didn't actually come near me. There are usually dogs on the other side of the street in this area. I really worried about them tonight because who would think that anyone would be out running in this weather.
Approaching mile 2 is tough because it is uphill. I knew I didn't have too far to go to finish. There was only one more hill to go. I was working a little harder now. Before I knew it, I was up that final hill. A car was coming as I went up the hill and I had to cross the road. I was glad I didn't see too many cars out there. It was nice and peaceful. I thought I heard snowmobiles and I saw their tracks, but never came across them. Of course there were no runners. Just an occasional set of footprints with dog tracks next to them. Some people were out in their yards here and there, but it wasn't many.
I managed to see my watch when I completed mile 3. It was a fast 7:53. Not bad considering I had a lot left in the tank. With the cold air and wind, my breathing was a bit heavy. When the pavement is clear, I can always see the finish line marking from last year's race. Tonight, I just had to guess. I was pretty close as I ran 3.15 miles. The overall pace of 8:07 was quite impressive considering the conditions and the fact that I wasn't going too hard. I can't wait to see what I can do when I do push myself.
One thing I thought about a lot during the run was snowshoe running. I asked for cross country skis for Christmas, but didn't get them. I can't complain because we don't usually get a lot of snow. Recently, I came across the PA State Snowshoe Championships info online. They are actually next weekend about an hour from here at Nescopeck State Park. I have been there before, but didn't run there. I just explored it. It is near my friend Eric's house.
I was considering getting some snowshoes, although I don't really have the money. It would just be nice to workout in nearly all conditions. My friend Sue said she actually ran that race two years ago and won. She said it was fun and you could rent snowshoes. I might end up doing that. If you join the USSSA and finish in the Top 10 in the race you can qualify for the Nationals. Looking at the results, that looks fairly easy. Only around 20 people even enter the race. Maybe I'll shoot for that next year. I'd imagine that qualifying would be tough in a place like Colorado, but obviously snowshoe racing isn't that big in this area.
As I said earlier, I might run the 5K on Sunday. If not, maybe I'll run elsewhere Sunday. I'd like to run 4 days again next week. The Warm Hearts 5K is likely going to be rescheduled in March. I look forward to that race.
3.15 miles - 25:34 (8:07 pace)
Last hill car
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