As I might have mentioned a time or two this week, we had a big snow storm last weekend. A blizzard of that proportion is unusual in the DC area, so I might have gotten a little excited and rattled on about it a little too much.
As a result, I started my very active week with two hours of shoveling on Monday morning. With our street still covered with 34 inches of virgin snow, I couldn’t get out to see my clients, and they couldn’t get in to see me with the exception of two high school athletes who just happen to be my neighbors. They were able to trudge through the snow and make it to our Monday afternoon conditioning session. Believe me, they got bonus points!
Tuesday afternoon a tractor with a front-end loader made it to our street and rather than making a circle near our driveways, he plowed a straight line down the middle of our cul-de-sac.
After the tractor left, we joined our neighbors for a group effort in shoveling and snow blowing all of our driveways free to the newly plowed lane. From above it looked like an ant farm of little paths.
With a little rain and temperatures staying above freezing overnight Tuesday, we woke to our little plowed one-way path through the neighborhood being almost completely clear. The circle I live on is exactly a half mile if I run to my garage door on each lap. As I completed 5.5 miles, I saw my next-door neighbor and her dog Stella out playing. I asked if Stella would like to join me for my final half mile. It was her first time running with me, and she did great! She stayed right to my left the entire time, keeping my pace perfectly.
I had hoped to take Stella out on Thursday for my final mile, but my neighbor was on a conference call when I ran and couldn’t bring her out. Twelve laps around my neighborhood with the same scenery got a little old, but I was thankful to be outside enjoying the sunshine.
On Friday morning I finished lifting weights and decided to play around a little making exercises up – something my trainer friends and I used to do when I worked in a gym with lots of other trainers. I often put my Swiss ball on the bench to do hip extensions and sometimes I do a bird dog type movement while I’m on the ball holding on to one edge of the bench with the hand that’s not pointing forward. Just for fun, I decided to try the Superman pose on top of the ball and it worked. I felt rather badass and decided to set my GoPro up to capture the moment.
Friday evening brought a beautiful bluish/purple sunset with the promise of temps to drop into the teens overnight, and a very cold start to our Saturday morning group run.
After lots of back-and-forth on where we should meet for our Cruisers Saturday morning group run, we decided late on Friday to meet at our HOA and run along the nearby street. I sent the email out with our plans on Friday afternoon, and some of the Cruisers didn’t see it, so we have a very small turnout.
After my friends Alan and Shawn finished their run, I continued on solo until I reached eight miles. I found this plowed path connecting the street to an elementary school so I detoured down it. Without my Yaktrax on I was extremely cautious, and after a little exploring I headed back to the clear street.
Once home, I ventured into our side yard for the first time to see what kind of shape the trail was in, only to discover that no one has been on it. At places the snow was crusty enough that I could walk on top, but most places I sank down to my shins. I tried running, but spent more time trying to stay upright so I quickly gave up.
Yesterday was our youngest son Daniel’s birthday. We met him and his girlfriend for dinner at Legal Seafood, and had a wonderful time. Since I didn’t take any pictures, I’ll share one of my all-time favorites of him when he was about twenty months old.
This afternoon I spent an hour at Starbucks with my friend and fellow MRTT Ragnar teammate, Laurie, teaching her a little bit about using her new GoPro. We had so much fun and enjoyed a hot chocolate in the process. I just remembered that I promised about a month ago to write a GoPro tips blog post. I’ll put it on my to do list…
And just for fun, I’ll leave you with this evening’s sunset – another beautiful one…
Weekly Recap:
- Weights: Wednesday and Friday
- Shoveling: Monday – 2 hours, Tuesday – 1.5 hours, Sunday – .5 hours (Total: 4 hours)
- Runs: Wednesday – 6 miles, Thursday – 6 miles, Saturday – 8 miles (Total: 20 miles)
- Walks: Monday – .5 mile in knee deep unplowed snow
- Bike: Tuesday – 14 miles
- Stretching: Daily
- Average Steps Per Day: 14,819
- Average Hours Sleep Per Night: 7:17
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I’m linking up with Holly at HoHo Runs and Tricia from MissSippiPiddlin for their Weekly Wrap. Be sure to check out not only the hosts, but the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!
Have a great week!
- Questions:
- If you got snow from Winter Storm Jonas, are you dug out yet?
- Have you ever run in Yaktrax?
- Did you race this weekend?
Great week of workout!
Yes shoveling totally counts as a workout! My entire body was sore on Monday after my dig out on Sunday!
I have never run in Yaktrax but want a pair.
No racing-my race got rescheduled due to the snow.
Yeah, I was a little sore after shoveling, too! 🙂
I wonder how many races got rescheduled last weekend?
I’m from MN and i don’t think I’ve ever seen that much snow at once! Absolutely crazy!!
Gina Hanzel recently posted…Runfession Friday!
It’s rare we get that much snow, but our county was the bullseye of this nor’easter so we really got hit hard.
That picture of you on the ball? On the weight bench? Reminds me of that meme–why we have the ER…
I love your shoveling picture! Actually, I love all your pictures!
Wendy@Taking the Long Way Home recently posted…Big Sur Marathon Training–Week 0
It’s not that scary, and the bench is right there to grab if I lose my balance! 😀
Wow, I cannot believe how much snow you guys got. We are snowless in Toronto! In fact it was 8 degrees celsius here today! That picture of you on the stability ball on the weight bench is amazing. I’m pretty sure I’d fall over if I tried something like that! I usually use Yak Trax when we get a good dumping of snow but thankfully I haven’t had to break them out this year!!!
Phaedra @ Blisters and Black Toenails recently posted…#OperationTop5 Week 4: Not as Planned
I keep hoping that the trails will melt enough that I can go out for a run with my Yaktrax. It got up to 60° F here today, so if that keeps up for a few days, we’ll have some decent melting happening.
Great work on the workouts and the sleeping! I’m impressed! I am still amazed at how long it is taking this snow to go away. We’ve had temps above freezing every single day (below freezing at night) and everything is still covered. I was able to get outside for a ride today, which was fabulous. Looks like you had some good running and bonding time as well! And I love that snow shoveling photo with the snow in mid-air!
Kelli recently posted…Share the Road
Thanks! I thought that I might as well try to get a good picture while I had so much shoveling to do. 🙂
How neat Stella got to run with you, I bet she is going to expect you to come get her more often! That first picture of you digging out was just perfect for this post! I love how you are so creative with your pictures and I will be patiently waiting on the GoPro tips post! Thanks Debbie for linking up. I hope you have a great week!
Tricia @ MissSippipiddlin recently posted…Weekly Wrap #26 #epicfail 10k
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoy my pictures!
The second day when I stopped by to get Stella, she came to the door with her tail wagging (I could see her through the window). It was like she recognized my running clothes, but of course she was just happy to see me. It was a bummer that my friend was on a call and couldn’t let Stella out to run with me.
Great job working around the snow to get your runs done! That picture of you on the stability ball on the bench is pretty fierce 🙂
Michelle @ Running with Attitude recently posted…Weekly Wrap – January Rewind
Thanks! 😀
Wow!! So much snow!!! I bet that is a great workout..all that shoveling! I bet the cool air feels great while you are running. I haven’t ever run in the snow before. I hit the gym elliptical today because it was raining out. In my defense, it was super windy too! Have a great week!!
Diane recently posted…ShipRockin’ Miami to Costa Maya
Those first cool crisp fall morning runs after a humid summer are amazing! The cold winter air feels good once I’m warmed up.
You look awesome in the Superman pose. Our middle son’s birthday was yesterday! What a coincidence. We celebrated at a Japanese restaurant. There was so much going on this week that I don’t think I even went outside during daylight hours. The runs I did were before sunrise. I’m envious of your bright and sunny snow pictures as well as the sunsets. Thanks for linking with us, Deb!
HoHo Runs recently posted…Another Recovery Week (WW # 26)
Thanks, Holly! Happy birthday to your son, too!
Love the new shoveling category! I’ve thought about doing laps on the plowed streets of my neighborhood, but it’s so hilly I’m afraid too many loops would have me injured.
Coco recently posted…What Running Does To My Heart Rate
Hopefully the shoveling category will be blank next week! 😉
Those Arlington hills are no joke. I remember them well from Ragnar DC…
Definitely over the snow and ready to have my trail back this week! Cool pose on the swiss ball 🙂
Deborah @ Confessions of a mother runner recently posted…5 Races To Run In 2016
I understand that the W&OD Trail is plowed down your way. That’s a start!
Shoveling is quite the work out!
I am impressed with your superman 🙂
I had a hard time just trying to walk in the snow lol running was hazard here until this weekend. My run buddy finally got out.
What a cute picture of your son, it is fun to look back 🙂
I tried the trail again today before the rain, but it hadn’t melted much since Saturday. Hopefully by this weekend it will have improved!
Glad you like my superman! 😀
Iowa (at least my part of the state) is due to get hit with snow , starting Monday night and going through to some time on Wednesday. SO, yeah. Looks like I may be stuck on the ‘mill again …
Kim Hatting recently posted…Goals vs. Priorities:Thoughts that made me go, “Hmmm…”
Stuck on the ‘mill, AND shoveling! 😀
Great job on your workouts this week, Deb! The sunsets and sunrises have been so incredible lately! I live in Chesapeake, VA and I find myself staring out my office window most mornings in awe of the colors. Hope the snow continues to melt so you can get back to your trail!
I didn’t realize you live in Chesapeake. For some reason I thought you lived in Florida.
With a relatively warm week coming up, I’m hoping to be back on my trail by the weekend. 🙂
That’s terrible that they just plowed a line through the circle! I get mad at ours because typically they don’t get anywhere near our driveway (which in some ways is a good thing), and then I have to shovel paths to the mailbox and out to the street so I can get out with Lola.
Thankfully that hasn’t been necessary yet this year.
I know for sure I’d kill myself if I tried to do a superwoman on top an exercise ball on top a bench!
Judy @ Chocolaterunsjudy recently posted…I love you, Old Faithful, but let’s not see so much of each other!: 1/25-31 Weekly Wrap
I tried to look at the positive side and enjoy the opportunity to be outside in the fresh air; however, when the HOA kept sending emails reminding the residents that it was our responsibility to shovel the sidewalks, I got a little annoyed.
I’d heard about all the snow DC got, but seeing these pictures really brings it home. Good for you for getting out and doing laps around your neighborhood! I get really irritated if I have to repeat sections like that, and I need to get over that! Quick Go Pro question: does it use a huge amount of memory on your computer since you have to take a video to get the photo captures?
Jennifer @ Dashing in Style recently posted…Announcing My New Blog: Dashing in Style
I use the GoPro app on my phone, and as soon as I download the single frame picture from the video that I want, I delete the video from my GoPro. Sometimes I’ll grab the video and make a YouTube video, but I don’t save anything on my GoPro or laptop.
Thanks so much for the info!
Jennifer @ Dashing in Style recently posted…January Activewear Highlights
Glad you’re finally getting some relief from all that snow! I can’t believe that the plow didn’t at least do a circle in your cul=de=sac. Seems kind of lazy if you ask me!
Alison recently posted…ABC Reads: A link up
Yeah, I thought the same thing… Would it really be that much more difficult to make a circle sort of close to our driveways? Oh well, my neighbors and I got some great exercise shoveling our way to freedom! 🙂
Wow, that snow is incredible and I love your photos. We didn’t get snow in Columbus that weekend, but I’m super spoiled when we do get snow: I live in a small township within the city and we have our own plow. As soon as snow falls they are out plowing and salting. I don’t know what I’ll do when we move!
VDOT is usually much better about plowing, but this snow was too deep for the blades of many of their sub-contractors’ trucks so they had limited resources. Plus gasoline trucks couldn’t get to the local gas stations so the plows were close to running out of gas and had to limit where and how much they could plow. I sound like I’m make excuses for them, don’t I?
Are all your pictures taken with the Go Pro ? They are always so great ! Keep safe running in the snow and ice.
Karen – Fit in France recently posted…Weekend away
Thanks, Karen! Generally it’s safe to say that about half of my pictures are taken with my GoPro and half with my iPhone.
I love your pictures! The angles are really cool! That picture of you on the swiss ball is awesome! You do look like a badass!
Thanks you! 😀
Beautiful sites! I’ve been so tempted to get a go pro . . . can’t wait to read your tips.
Wendy @ Wholistic Woman recently posted…Weekly Update: Playing in the Kitchen
You would have so much fun playing with a GoPro. It’s the first thing I set out when getting my stuff ready for a run! 😀
Kudos to you for getting out in that snow! That plank on the exercise ball is impressive! I would have face planted. Nice job capturing it on the GoPro!
Debra @HappyRunningSole recently posted…Big Beach Half Marathon
HaHa, thanks! A face plant would have been painful.
That is such a cute picture of Daniel!!
Sounds like Stella did a great job running with you. She has grown so much since I last saw her! That shin deep snow is the kind of snow Barry and I ran a trail race in last year. I only did the 5K and I think it took me an hour. It was crazy!
Hasn’t Stella grown? She ran with me again today!
I can’t even imagine doing a “race” in that kind of snow.