Snow Run - The Sequel

Exactly one week after the snowstorm, we got hit with another round of snow from mother nature. Another 5-7 inches of fresh snow on the ground and another Tuesday night run with Peter.

This week we were gonna be smarter (or so we thought). We were only going to run for 45 minutes and we were going to run in a primarily residential area where we had hoped more people would be doing some shoveling.

We got rolling a few minutes earlier than usual, which was great. We started out uphill, but were pleasantly surprised by all the shoveling that had gone on that day. I'm guessing the fact that the whole city shut down early that day had something to do with it. The roads themselves were still a bit treacherous and as we crossed each road we had piles of snow to hurdle over. It started to feel more like a steeplechase and not a run.

The first 20 minutes of the run were great. We had mostly clear sidewalks and were enjoying the winter wonderland that our city had become. At one point Peter commented that we'd have to remember this route was good the next time it snowed. Famous last words Peter...

We came upon Tokay and Odana and from there back to Peter's was pretty much awful. The local businesses of Mobil, Westgate Mall and Research Park had not plowed or shoveled. The snow was fairly deep and solid footing was non-existent. We trudged along hoping for a clearing, but found no refuge. We turned onto Mineral Point road and started to hit the residential neighborhoods again. At least some of the sidewalks were cleared in this section.

At one point Peter noticed a box of food in the snow, then another and then another. We looked up ahead and saw a woman walking. We thought she must have dropped her groceries. So, we proceeded to pick up boxes of couscous, cans of nacho cheese, cat food, frozen asparagus, etc... and chased after the woman. When we reached her, we discovered these weren't her groceries and there was no one else in sight. I looked at Peter and was like 'What are we going to do with these? I don't want to carry them.' He said 'This is like $15 worth of groceries. We aren't leaving them here'.

Peter and I ran the rest of the way back to his house, arms loaded with groceries. I said 'This would only happen to us'. Somehow we always manage to have these interesting experiences when we run together. Like any normal person would do, we placed all the groceries in a snow-covered bush and took a picture to show off our find. We divided up the groceries and continued on with our evenings.

So here it is, a week later and I am home sick with the flu. No fun run with Peter tonight....or probably the next two weeks with the holidays and all.

Stay tuned for more adventures in running with Peter Nelson. We will be sure to make something up in case nothing interesting happens.

Snow Run with Peter Nelson

So far, we've had a snowy winter. I'm guessing we've had over 2 feet in total since the snow started several weeks back. One would think that some outdoor activities would cease in the midst of snow storm. Not the case when you run with Peter Nelson.

Every Tuesday, Peter and I get together to run and catch up on life. Usually we meet at Peter's house and run between 45 minutes and 1.5 hours. It just depends on the day and how we both felt for the day. It seems that Peter and I always have some sort of adventure on most of our runs. The past few weeks have been no exception.

Two weeks ago we got our second major snow storm of the year. I think we got about 6-8 inches during that storm. The snow was coming down, traffic was a mess...it was a perfect opportunity to go out for a run.

At first the run was pretty fun....the snow was coming down, it was beautiful out and a nice change of pace from the norm. We couldn't be fast in these conditions, so we just focused on trying not to fall down or get hit by a sliding car. We quickly discovered that our terrain was going to vary quite a bit. Many people were very diligent about clearing their sidewalks and then there were those who still hadn't shoveled from the storm 3 days prior.

It was such a refreshing change of pace running in the snow.....until about 35-40 minutes into the run when we started to get tired from the extra resistance that the snow and ice were providing. The bad part is we still had another 35 minutes until we got back to Peter's. Midway we stopped at McDonald's for a break. I worked on a makeshift solution to a brand new blister while Peter used the restroom. We continued our way back to Peter's, moving faster than the traffic on the street which isn't saying much as we were moving pretty slow ourselves. The majority of the way back was uphill and at one point we hit a stretch that was absolutely miserable. Every step we took, equaled two steps back. Some shoveling had been done in the first storm, but I think between the new snow and the plows we had our work cut out for us. I had one miss step that almost sent me to the ground in a busy intersection. Luckily I caught my footing and saved myself from being covered in snow. Eventually, we resigned ourselves to walking the sections that hadn't been shoveled at all. It was either that or end up with a twisted ankle.

8.3 miles and 1 snow storm later we were back at Peter's and vowing not to run that far in a snow storm again. I'm pleased to say my makeshift blister solution worked. If you are ever in a pinch and have access to a bathroom, a little soap and toilet paper go a long way!

Stay Tuned for the sequel to the Snow Run...