Snow Running

So it's been over a month since I last posted. Actually, it's been closer to two. As this suggests, I've been busier than usual, and I have not been running as much as I usually would.

I'm in the process of finishing off my masters degree in Control Systems Engineering here in Colorado. Part of that requires that I take more credits than I usually would, and the credits I am taking are harder than they usually would be. All in all, that would be enough to eat up my free time and spit it out in tiny pieces. On top of that, I'm writing a masters thesis. On top of that there's a girl Ive been seeing for a bit over three months now.

That said, this last week as been my spring break. Rather than go anywhere warm, I opted to stay in Boulder and a) save money and b) get some work done. I could add a c) run a bunch in there and it would work perfectly. I believe I have the primary theorem for my Masters proven at this point, so my break has already been a success.

On the running front. Saturday afternoon I took off for a Mesa run with my friend Jessica. Neither of us has been running as much as we usually do, so it was a slow run, as evidenced by how quickly the CU mens track team overtook us on the way up. It was slightly depressing. But then, that's not unexpected.

Tuesday, I got my first real intensity workout in: 8x90s hills up Sanitas valley. They went pretty well, though I think I could have pushed myself a fair amount harder had I wanted to. This is the first workout of any intensity I've gotten in since I quit the training club almost a year ago, and it really drove home how much easier it is to push yourself with a team around you. But, I finished the workout, and my legs felt better than I expected them to.

Yesterday I had planned an easy run, in anticipation of a tempo workout today. However, I woke up to 6 inches of snow. That's fine, not that much. But by the time I ran at about 1:30, that had increased to 13 inches. So I decided, what the hell, let's go for a trail run in the powder.

I strapped on my Kahtoola Microspikes and headed out. As ever, the microspikes gave me a near-perfect grip on both the packed snow/ice of the roads and the 12 inches of powder on the trail. I once again ran up Sanitas Valley, as I didn't want to risk the footing on other trails (where you cannot see any rocks or other obstacles under the snow), and a run that normally takes me 25 minutes took closer to 50. The only other people I saw were on snowshoes, out walking their dogs, one of whom quipped "Hey! That's not allowed!" as I 'stormed' past them up the hill.

Easy run it was not, but it was a ton of fun, and a great bit of strength training.

I'll post some pics as soon as I get them off my camera . . .