2ft of snow + extreme treadmill loathing = ZERO miles run

Doesn’t Mother Nature know that we have this kinda big race in New England that happens every April and people need to train for it in January, February, and March? Two feet of snow on the ground and snow banks on the sides of roads that are taller than the recent addition to the Boston Celtics, make it nearly impossible to run outside safely. I know most people have probably taken their training indoors for the past two days while the plow trucks do the heavy lifting and make the roads safe again, but I despise the treadmill and consider it a form of torture worse than water boarding.


SO, since I haven’t run in two days, here’s what I have been up to. On Wednesday, while most folks in the greater Boston area had a snow day because the governor asked everyone to stay home, I got up super early and went to work because Corporate America can’t take a snow day when there’s money to be made. The recording on the Snow Hotline where I work said “business as normal”, but drive carefully you can’t make us money if you’re stuck in a snow bank on the side of the road freezing to death. Just kidding, I made up that last half. Anyway, I got to work at 5:00am before it started snowing three inches per hour and it was still a nasty 10 mile commute with next to no visibility and only plow trucks on the road. Thanks again to the idiot that hit me on New Years Eve, I really would have liked to have my all wheel drive Subaru to navigate the roads in the storm, but instead I was stuck in a crappy rental Toyota corolla which does not handle snow very well.

The best thing about going to work in a blizzard, the gym is AT work. After I finished everything I needed to do, I changed into my workout clothes and continued my stair climb training. I repeated the 5 flights with burpees, squats, and lunges routine; still managing to make it up the 5 flights each rep in about 45 seconds. After that I bundled up and made my way over to the onsite fitness center. I did 20 minutes of upper body strength training and 30 minutes on the elliptical before calling it quits and heading home.

Yesterday, I was sort of hoping that the road crews were superhuman and could work overnight without any sleep to clear the roads and make them safe enough for me to run on, but in reality they are normal and they require sleep. So, the roads were safe to drive on but, with giant snow banks every where and sidewalks that will be buried for weeks, I didn’t feel safe enough to attempt running in the roads. On the bright side, while I was at work I got a call from the body shop that my car was all fixed up and ready. I skipped the gym and picked up my Subaru on my way home from work.

I was considering just taking a rest day after I got my car, but when I arrived home my neighbors had done an amazing job of parking their giant SUV in the middle of the only cleared out section of the street so that there was just enough room on either side of them for NO other cars to fit. If they had pulled forward a little or backed up a little we could have fit TWO more cars, but NOOOOOOO, they win the award for (excuse my language) the shittiest neighbors ever! I pulled my Subaru into the snow bank that the SUV left behind after they brushed off their car just enough to get it out and pull it into the cleared out spot and I went in my house and got a shovel. I figured since I skipped the gym to get my car shoveling would be a good form of exercise and great stress relief for the frustration I was feeling towards my neighbors.

I shoveled for almost 3 hours and managed to single-handedly move a snow bank the size of a house from one side of the street to the other side making room for at least two more cars to park. The Lowell Police actually circled the block 4 times while I was shoveling, parking at the end of the street and pulling people over that blow through the stop light at the intersection. On his 4th trip around the block, the officer stopped to say hi and that I had been out there for a really long time. I was tempted to give HIM a ticket……. to the gun show, (tehehe, from all the shoveling, get it), but I just said I’d feel stupid if I stopped now because I was almost done. A few more shovels full and I went in to my house sweaty, hungry, and exhausted.

Today, I plan to do the stair climb workout again and then maybe if it’s nice out I will try to do a short run outside with full reflective gear and blinking lights and my yaktrax if it’s icy. It’s been MONTHS since I’ve gone two days without running. I’m having withdrawals. If I don’t go for a run today my legs might start twitching and I could go mental. Hopefully, the sun comes out a little today and the road crews are well rested and can start working on removing some of the large snow banks that block the view of drivers that usually try to run me over when there isn’t a large obstacle in the way. Or maybe Mother Nature wants me to take a rest day……