I have not paid enough attention to know exactly how much snow fell overnight, but it was a lot. A buddy of mine from D.C. noted that they were hit with 20 inches. That’s a bunch of powder! So, of course, instead of celebrating the first snow of the season and that it will be a white Christmas, I immediately started wondering whether the city would have the common sense to plow the park sufficiently. Since it is the holiday season, NYC is flooded with tourists who enjoy a stroll thru Central Park. Therefore, I felt pretty good about the possibility of being able to run the day after NYC’s annual Blizzard of the Century. [insert eye roll over the blizzard stuff]
My wife served as the guinea pig as she runs first on the weekends, while I watch the kiddies and lounge around. If she came back within 30 minutes of leaving, I would have known it would be a rest day. I am happy to report she did not return for well over an hour. Clear sailing.
The sun was shining which made the 30* temp (20* w/ wind chill) feel down right balmy. After 2+ weeks of sub 30* weather, my body is finally adjusting. I had a notion to go for some speedwork today. With my new pre-dawn weekday running schedule, I don’t think I will have the time to do intervals during the week. Saturday is the long run. Therefore, Sunday needs to become speed day. Not an optimal scenario, but I don’t think I have many alternatives. Doing Yasso’s in the dark is probably not safe. Also, my body needs to be awake for more than 15 minutes before turning on the gas.
Anyway … once I saw what I was dealing with, the slippery conditions (despite good efforts to plow the snow away) made the thought of intervals a pipe dream. Next Sunday! Therefore, I settled on an easy recovery run. It took 2 miles to loosen up and shake out the junk. Then I picked up a second wind and picked it up a little to finish with 5.5 miles at 8:30 pace. I tend to like those shorter/recovery runs. If they are done properly, you leave energized and feeling really good physically and mentally. A great way to end the week.