SNOMG!

Winter Storm Pax stopped by this week and left us with 14-18" inches of snow in Martinsville-Henry County. My family was fairly prepared for being snowed in a couple days - minus a serious craving for Doritos, which we didn't have. #Didn'tNeedThemAnyway

We enjoyed sledding, snow cream, building snow forts, making a snowman and making snow angels. All this trekking up and down the hill, packing snow blocks and rolling snow balls had to constitute some kind of cross training right? Two and a half days after the snow fell we ventured out to go restock on groceries...and yes, I bought Doritos!

35 Days to Go - H and I were enjoying the morning at home while Darrin went on an outdoor excursion to combat cabin fever. I planned to run at some point during the day but no firm commitments had been made. Mid-morning I received a text from Sharon inviting me to a group run. I knew going with a group would be more enjoyable than running alone so I jumped on the opportunity. H got to spend some time with his Gigi and Pops while I went out for a run.


While waiting for everyone to arrive, I continued my energy supplement taste testing and slurped down a tube of Hammer Gel in Apple Cinnamon. Unlike GU, which is more of a paste, Hammer Gel is true to it's name and flows like a gel. The gel is also thinner than GU. Apple cinnamon was not my favorite. It was good, in fact it was delicious- they completely nailed the flavor and texture of the thick sauce that accompanies stewed apples. The problem was that I personally like stewed apples piping hot so even though the right taste and texture was there, it seemed weird eating it cold.

A total of six ladies showed up at the YMCA parking lot to run: Sharon, Leanna, Tiffany, Tiffani, Theresa and me. It was 36 degrees and sunny. As we stood there getting ready, bone chilling winds gushed through making us all question "Are we really going to do this?" Yes. We. Were.

The problem with running after the snow is this...

Do you see the sidewalks?

No? Neither did we.


Running in the snow takes a little creativity. Since the sidewalks were out of commission we ran on streets and around parking lots making a most interesting route map. (Remember the Etch-a-Sketch?) If you saw six brightly dressed ladies running aimlessly around town, it was us!

The winds gushed throughout our run. As we ran past the Clocktower the wind blew the hat off my head and as we ran down Main Street the wind actually blew my entire body sideways. Someone in the pack shouted out that this was our resistance training for the week.

Despite the wind, we had a fabulous time talking as we ran and enjoyed the scenery. The group ran 9 miles. I dropped out at 7 which was my personal goal for the day.

I later discovered that our training team assignment was for 8 miles but I'm still quite pleased with my seven!

The RunKeeper app shows that I ran at an average pace of 9:50 per mile which is a personal best for runs in the 6-8 mile range. This means that I completed this run nearly three minutes faster than the 6.5 mile run last week! Yippee!

On my wish list of gear is a moisture-wicking hat that will keep my head and ears warm without drenching my hair. Anyone have recommendations for a good brand/type?

Also remember to comment below and tell me what your favorite supplement flavors are. I'll be visiting The Brick in Danville soon to check out their selection.

#KeepRunning #WeCanDoThis