Do Not Try This at Home

J. and I decided to leave Pittsburgh Saturday morning, with the hopes of beating the snow across Maryland and making it home before anything major started to fall. It turns out we didn't make it. We didn't leave early enough so by the time we did leave the snow had already started to fall. We developed a false sense of security when we got to Morgantown and it was only raining, but then when we began to go up into the mountains the fun began.

The rain changed to snow as we went up, and when we got into Garrett County, MD, the conditions were terrible. Between the snow and wind, we couldn't see five feet in front of us. The wipers kept getting coated with ice and were actually making it harder to see. We pulled off twice to clear the windshield, and we tried to pull over a third time to get into a rest area. However, the rest area was up a hill which hadn't been plowed and we couldn't make it up. We cleared off the windshield again, and slowly backed down to the interstate. To add injury to insult, we skidded sideways at the top of a hill.

Once we made it out of Garrett County, conditions improved. The roads still had snow on them, but the snow had stopped falling from the sky. Overall, it took almost ten hours for what should be a five hour trip. It was also an experience I don't want to have again.

Calm Before the Storm

I'm in Pittsburgh for the weekend. I had Thursday off for the inauguration, and J. and I decided it would be a good weekend to take Puff and go see my parents, so I'm taking Friday off too. It is supposed to snow this weekend, however, so our trip back to VA might be treacherous. You'd never know that right now, though, as there's hardly a cloud in the sky. Don't let the sun fool you, it's still very cold.

I did 10 miles this morning. Weather.com said it was 9 degrees. It wasn't bad once my hands warmed up. I wore two pairs of gloves, but it still took two or three miles for my hands to get warm. I ran up to the trail, ran four miles there, and then did my six-mile loop. The six-mile loop goes right by the trail, so it's very easy to add mileage.

Running on snow seems to be harder than I remember. The trail was snow-covered, and the spots where it was packed down weren't bad, but it's difficult to get traction where the snow is still fresh. I was pleasantly surprised when I checked my watch after I finished to see that the snow didn't slow me down as much as I thought it might.

The First

I did my first run yesterday with the fuel belt that my wife got me for Christmas. I have to say the I like the product. At first I thought the sloshing sound would bother me, but I stopped noticing it after only 10 minutes or so. I took four of the six bottles with me since it was only 34 degrees outside. Three I filled with water and one with Gatorade. I also took one Gu with me. I ran out the Parkway for an hour and then turned around, ending up with 15 miles.

For next weekend's long run I'm taking more Gatorade. I ran the back portion of my run a couple minutes faster than the out portion, in no small part due to the fact that I had the Gu at the turnaround and the Gatorade on the way back. I only had some water on the way out.

Yelling in my Ear

Twice this week I've been yelled at while running. Both times it happened while I was running on the path along the Parkway. The first time someone screamed "Put some pants on!"(I was simply wearing running shorts, and not even the smallest ones I own), and the second time I couldn't make out what they said.

I wonder what possesses people to yell things out their car window as they pass by at 55 mph. Do they think that I actually care what they think, that some random stranger yelling something at me is going to make a difference?

Change in Plans

With the new baby on the way, I don't think I'm going to have time to train for a fall marathon. The marathon is not something I want to attempt half-heartedly, so it looks like the earliest I'll be marathoning is the spring of 2006. I can't say I'm terribly disappointed, only somewhat. This just may give me a chance to run the Shamrock Marathon in VA Beach; I've always enjoyed the 8k. I think what I'm going to do is make a half-marathon in July my goal race. It should happen right before the baby's born, so it'll give me some incentive to rest after the birth.

My back's been feeling better. I don't notice it while I'm running, and I've been making sure to stretch after I run. My hamstrings have loosened up as well, leading me to believe that they were a major factor in the back pain.