Spring in My Step

I initially chose to run on Sunday so one of my friends could join me. He has 20 miles to run, and I’ll be running 17. The weather her has been real sloppy, but it looked like Sunday would be clearer and less windy than Saturday – my usual long run day.
Well, as the weekend approached, he decided to run inside on a treadmill, so that he wouldn’t riks injury on slippery streets. Luckily, one of my other running friends picked up the Yak-Trax I ordered for him at Dick Pond Athletics in Crest Hill. So, our plan is to actually seek out the snowier streets that have not been fully plowed and salted, because there is a hard snow pack, but it is not icy. We’ll run my 8 mile “Riivendell” loop twice, and then tack on an extra mile close to my house. We strap on the Yak Trax, and as we start down my block, they kind of make my feet feel springy (not surprising because they metal coils on the bottom of my feet. ) I let Alan known that he should the pace, because a better natural cadence than me, and I suspect by helter-skelter pace and dodging among the snow and pavement last week, may have thrown off his gait. I figured that he would opt for a steady 9:-9:15 pace which would be slower than our 8:45 goal, but understandable with the rough footing and rubber/metal contraptions strapped to our shoes. After a few miles, I see we are closer to an 8:15 pace – like I said ”springy!”
We have some hills on this route, and we have to cross plowed main streets about 5 times per loop. There are also a few stretches where about ¼ to ½ block are plowed, so we have to seek out the more snowier shoulder.
After 5 miles, we hit a long straight slightly uphill stretch. The houses are frosted with snow like gingerbread houses, and the snow clinging to bare branches glistens like crystal with the rising sun in the background. We are running in stride, in hard-packed, yet spongy snow, and the Yak-trax on both our feet beat out the same percussive rhythm – like a brush on a snare drum in a jazz combo.
The only real problem on this run is that once we take a drink from our water bottles, the spouts and caps get frozen, and they are no good they next time. Even if I can twist the cap off, the fluids(water and Gatorade) are turning to slush in the bottle.
When we get close to the end of the second loop, Alan decides he will forgo the last mile, so he can get to church. I open my garage door, and get us both some unfrozen Gatorade. As he stretches, I go to get my last mile in. When I get to the corner of my neighborhood, the streets have a dry strip across ¾ of the middle. So I take off the Yak trax, and I run a half mile out and back with no contraptions on my feet. Those things did a good job in the snow, but it feels good to have my Mizuno WaveRiders connecting with the road directly, with no steel, or snow in between. I have no problem hitting an 8:11 pace for this “cool-down” The overall pace for all 17 miles- 8:25.