Snow Shuts Us Down

Winter Storm in Alabama = State of Emergency. Ironically, what we got in North Alabama was nothing compared to our southern counties. My friends and family in Birmingham really had a nightmare to deal with! I heard of 20-30 minute commutes taking 3-7 hours! I even heard of some friends who had to walk home! And sadly there are many who couldn't get home at all! My husband had to go pick up his nephews from daycare and is now staying at his parents' house because he can't get back home. We are from the South - the Deep South. We can't handle snow. And I can promise that we certainly can't drive in it!

However, while my state may be lacking in a lot of things, it is number one in kindness and good ol' southern hospitality. For all of the nightmares I saw on Facebook today, there were so many wonderful stories of total strangers lending helping hands. I heard of people opening their homes and businesses to stranded drivers. People with 4-wheel drives were picking up pedestrians and using ATVs to shuttle elderly people to warm safety. People were walking down crowded streets handing out coffee to freezing drivers. I am so proud to live in a place where people come together in times of need. This is just a glimpse of the chaos people were dealing with in Birmingham.

Knowing most of the snow was supposed to be south of me, I didn't expect anything but maybe a few passing flurries today. So I was certainly surprised to step outside to a white cloud of snow blowing in what seemed like all directions. It was granular almost, and when the wind blew it on the sidewalks, it looked like someone had gone around throwing sand everywhere. It never accumulated more than maybe an eighth of an inch, and most of that was not on the road. So travel wasn't much of a problem up here. That was a welcome relief for me since I live on a mountain. 

I thought about trying to run in it after work. I've run in snow before, and it was actually a lot of fun. But when I left work today, the "feels like" temperature was 5 degrees. 5! Where is that global warming people used to talk about?

Needless to say, it was back to the treadmill for me. Tonight's 3 miles took a little longer, but the change up I did actually made for a tougher workout. I ran the first mile at a 10 min pace which was tiring in itself. Then, I slowed to a 12 min pace for the second mile. I ran the first quarter of mile 2 on a incline of 4. There were times I was sure I was going to just slide right off the back. I lowered to an incline of 2 for the next quarter mile then ran an easy flat 12 min pace for the last half of mile 2. I kicked it back up to a 10 min pace for the first half of mile 3, back down to a 12 min for a third, and finished at a 10 min pace again. Whew! That was tiring just trying to explain it! Those inclines really work my calves, though. And why is it that I can manage a 10 min pace so much easier outdoors? Am I the only one that finds that the treadmill is harder to run? I'm so ready for spring!