Ten Great Reasons to Snowshoe!

With the massive east coast snowstorms this past weekend it's time to grab a pair of snowshoes and get outside and enjoy the winter weather.

There are many reasons to snowshoe, here are 10 of my favorites;

1. It's quiet out in the woods, no traffic to worry about, no crowds, just you and the snow.
2. What else are you going to do with the snow? It's here, just stop fighting it and have some fun.
3. Falling in the snow doesn't hurt as much as falling on the road or sidewalk. Usually there is just one Ooomph and then dusting off the snow.
4. Being slow can be blamed on the big shoes and deep snow, not the realities of age and fat.
5. Two miles of snowshoeing counts as five running on the roads.
6. The trails are mother nature's bathroom facilities.
7. It's still a weird, extreme, sport. Who wants to be like the masses? Choose to be different.
8. No need for headphones and music. Just listen to the sounds of the woods and your snowshoes.
9. It's fun to trip cross-country skiers as they glide by (kidding).
10. When you are finished snowshoeing a hot shower feels like heaven.

And one bonus reason - there are times I'm injured and struggling to run but can go out and snowshoe with little/no issue. Maybe my stride is different, maybe it's the slower pace or softer surface, but it  can surprisingly work.

It's just a dream...maybe?

My left knee has been in pain since I fell while running more than three weeks ago. Since then I have been doctoring myself with ice, Advil or Aspirin, mild stretching, wearing a knee brace sometimes, rest and elevation. The pain has subsided somewhat and I've been able to bike indoors, swim and lift weights (upper body).

Two nights ago I woke up from a weird dream. In the dream my sister-in-law, a long time nurse, was asking Amanda, my EMT daughter, to get her a Bic style pen. Patty took my knee and jammed the pen into it. I could see the pen go under my skin, make a big hole and immediately yelled in pain. Patty was poking and prodding into my knee and telling me to calm down, be a man and stop with the noise.

Next she asked Amanda to get her an x-acto knife. Evidently Patty was going to dig into my ligament a bit with the knife. When she took out the Bic pen and came after me with the knife I thankfully woke up. My knee did feel better than it had in a couple of weeks when I began walking downstairs. Usually I had to take one step at a time or go down sideways to avoid the pain. That morning, after the "surgery", I was able to walk straight down the stairs.

I also ran two miles, albeit slowly, at the track that day and another mile the next day, on the treadmill. It was the first time I had been able to run two consecutive days since pre-injury.

Maybe it wasn't a dream after all?

2016 Resolutions/Goals

It's difficult to write about running when I'm not running. The knee sprain due to my fall on December 24th is still holding me back. I have been biking indoors quite a bit and still lift weights. Swimming should start soon.

I did create some New Year's Resolutions for 2016 which include a few running goals.

1. I will use experts to fix things around my house more than I ever have in the past. Just this week I had an electrician come over and add an outlet and fix a plug in our powder room. I decided to call on a professional after the second hole I made in the wall still didn't identify an easy way for me to do the wiring. The Youtube videos instructing me on doing electrical work didn't help with our 1956 house wiring.

2. A treadmill repair man came over today and had it working in less than an hour. About a month ago Jan and I had installed a new belt over the course of several hours. The treadmill hadn't worked since that failed attempt at a repair. Instead of repeatedly getting frustrated and wasting time as I would have done in the past I took the major step of having a "guy" come over.

These may seem like two small jobs and no big deal to some readers. For me it's a major shift in philosophy. First, I feel like less of a man. Real men should be able to fix anything. Watch the miners in Alaska on Goldrush Friday nights. They regularly repair all their equipment that keeps breaking down in the Alaska weather. I would be fired in a couple of days. Of course it helps to have the right tools, but, again, a real man would own all the tools possible or figure out how to finagle the job and get it done. Then there is my thrifty side which hates paying for something that I think I should be able to do.

3. I may concentrate on racing 5k's, hopefully racing them faster than I have in several years. I should not be as slow as I am. So the general plan is to build up to 12x400 at a fast pace, running this workout once a week. I will also be going back to biking and swimming quite a bit. A few years ago when Jan was training for Ironman races and I was trying to stay up with her is the last time I had any speed. Why not use the same formula again?

4. I'm going to lose the 2 inches of blob around my middle. My abs are reasonably strong, but buried under a mass of fat cells. This can't continue.