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Snow Blows…aka "why I've done the vast majority of '14s runs on the dreadmill" (Read 337 times)

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rectumdamnnearkilledem

    Taken yesterday in my town, Grand Haven.  Right out by the Lake MI beach.  MI currently has the most snow-cover of any state in the US.  Yesterday was one of only a few treats of sunshine, too.

     

    We have no shoulders…not even snowy/icy ones.  We have icy roads and we have 3-6' snowbanks in most places -- no transition between the 2.  I got running/racing snowshoes for Christmas, but this stuff is too much even for those to be of much use.  During that brief spell between polar vortexes (vorti?) I was in the middle of 30+ days of bronchitis.  This is on top of losing Dec. to my abdominal surgical recovery, immediately followed by the illness and subsequent death of my 12 year old nephew.

     

    Winter can bite my ass.

    Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

    remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

         ~ Sarah Kay

    TripleBock


      You need the old fashioned big wood snowshoes that have a ton of surface area.  Years back were were up around Hurley when they had 5+ feet deep snow, but I would stay on top with the old fashioned snow shoes - I wasn't sure if they were for use or decoration in the cabin we rented on the Montreal river, but they worked great.

      I am fuller bodied than Dopplebock

        It is not even so much the state of MI, it is more specifically Western MI. You've got it way, way worse than we do in the east, because of all the lake-effect crap. I've talked to some folks out there, it is redonculous.

        For me, looking back it is 15 TM runs out of 26 total in Jan. Not as bad as I thought, although more recently it is 10 of the last 13.

        Good luck clearing out, as well as with the personal issues.

        Dave

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        rectumdamnnearkilledem

          You need the old fashioned big wood snowshoes that have a ton of surface area.  Years back were were up around Hurley when they had 5+ feet deep snow, but I would stay on top with the old fashioned snow shoes - I wasn't sure if they were for use or decoration in the cabin we rented on the Montreal river, but they worked great.

           

          You know, I was thinking that had I known what we were in for I would have purchased deep powder shoes…but then we probably would have a fraction the current snow (which is pretty much sitting at our typical season total average of 96"…and we still have half the season to go!!).

          Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

          remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

               ~ Sarah Kay

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          rectumdamnnearkilledem

            It is not even so much the state of MI, it is more specifically Western MI. You've got it way, way worse than we do in the east, because of all the lake-effect crap. I've talked to some folks out there, it is redonculous.

            For me, looking back it is 15 TM runs out of 26 total in Jan. Not as bad as I thought, although more recently it is 10 of the last 13.

            Good luck clearing out, as well as with the personal issues.

             

            Thanks.

             

            In the past month I've done a whopping 2 outdoor runs (no outdoor rides, not even on the fat bike), 1 snowshoe run, and the rest on the danged hamster wheel.  Meh.  "Lake Effect" is the most loathsome phrase in the English language.  Also "negative windchill."

            Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

            remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                 ~ Sarah Kay


            Not dead. Yet.

              Come to California.  We have been in the 80's for most of the year so far.

              How can we know our limits if we don't test them?

              snapa55


                Come to California.  We have been in the 80's for most of the year so far.

                 

                And this exactly why I moved from Rhode Island to San Diego.

                5K: 18:43 (12/13) 10K: 42:50 (12/12) HM: 1:30:10 (3/14) M: 3:34:46 (5/14)

                   

                  Thanks.

                   

                  In the past month I've done a whopping 2 outdoor runs (no outdoor rides, not even on the fat bike), 1 snowshoe run, and the rest on the danged hamster wheel.  Meh.  "Lake Effect" is the most loathsome phrase in the English language.  Also "negative windchill."

                   

                  I've lived in a not much snow area of Southern Ontario (just west of Lake Ontario without any lake effect due to the prevailing winds).

                  I left there and moved to West Michigan.  It happened to be about the same latitude.

                  We got a LOT of snow in West Michigan ("lake effect").


                  I still have family and Facebook friends in Grand Rapids and Holland, and I've been following your stories.
                  It's hard to imagine when the kids will get out of school this summer with all of the snow days they're getting.

                  There are some great pictures of the lighthouses (ie. Grand Haven).

                   

                  FWIW, I moved south of the snow line about 20 years ago.  Today, it's 55 and sunny.  Tomorrow, it'll be 73 and sunny.

                   

                  Stay warm, friends.

                  Brian

                  Life Goals:

                  #1: Do what I can do

                  #2: Enjoy life

                   

                   

                    You can also read the "in praise of the treadmill" posts from a couple of us (mikeymike & me). And we encourage you to join in...because, what else ya gonna do.

                    Dave

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                    rectumdamnnearkilledem

                       

                      I've lived in a not much snow area of Southern Ontario (just west of Lake Ontario without any lake effect due to the prevailing winds).

                      I left there and moved to West Michigan.  It happened to be about the same latitude.

                      We got a LOT of snow in West Michigan ("lake effect").


                      I still have family and Facebook friends in Grand Rapids and Holland, and I've been following your stories.
                      It's hard to imagine when the kids will get out of school this summer with all of the snow days they're getting.

                      There are some great pictures of the lighthouses (ie. Grand Haven).

                       

                      FWIW, I moved south of the snow line about 20 years ago.  Today, it's 55 and sunny.  Tomorrow, it'll be 73 and sunny.

                       

                      Stay warm, friends.

                      Brian

                       

                      There are a few more shots from the beach area clean-up from yesterday.  Unreal.  Our son has had "only" 5 snow days this year…would have had 6, but one day was already a teacher's inservice day or something.  Friends already have 11 for the year…9 since school started back after the holiday break, alone.  3 this week.  I think DS's school builds-in 5-6 days, so hopefully he won't have to make any time up…but it's not looking good, since Feb. is frequently the worst snow month.

                       

                      Oh, and it's whiteout snowing as I sit here…again.

                      Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                      remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                           ~ Sarah Kay


                      an amazing likeness

                        What's going on in that picture -- it looks like the backhoe is pulling down the snowbank and there's a (hidden) snowblower behind blowing it across the road to our right.  But...look at the height of that snowblower plume!  I want that....that's got to be a Toro 46XXXL or more.

                        Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

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                        rectumdamnnearkilledem

                          You can also read the "in praise of the treadmill" posts from a couple of us (mikeymike & me). And we encourage you to join in...because, what else ya gonna do.

                           

                          Ha, I think I'd actually prefer a gym treadmill with maybe semi-accurate calibration and a deck wider than 18"--paranoid that I'm gonna run a bit too far to either side and introduce my face to the concrete basement floor.  Ours was a freebie and only reads in MPH…and is at least 1.5mph off, at that.  I sorta have to guesstimate how fast I'm going by feel (and am probably way off, since feel on the treadmill always feels like I'm sprinting-all out and time stands still).  I recently picked-up a Garmin foot pod, but I need to run outside to calibrate the blasted thing…and, well… Tongue

                          Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                          remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                               ~ Sarah Kay

                          zoom-zoom


                          rectumdamnnearkilledem

                            What's going on in that picture -- it looks like the backhoe is pulling down the snowbank and there's a (hidden) snowblower behind blowing it across the road to our right.  But...look at the height of that snowblower plume!  I want that....that's got to be a Toro 46XXXL or more.

                             

                            Here's another angle…how high are power lines, typically?

                            Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                            remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                                 ~ Sarah Kay

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                            rectumdamnnearkilledem

                              This one is impressive, too:

                              Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                              remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                                   ~ Sarah Kay

                              duckman


                              The Irreverent Reverend

                                Whoa. Only 5 of my 26 runs have been outside so far this year, but that's mostly due to some iffy surface conditions (poorly plowed roads, sidewalks not cleared of snow, etc.) and some really cold temperatures. I have zero interest in doing tempo runs or intervals outside, though I have done some easy and long runs outside.

                                 

                                Luckily, I leave near a great recreation center that has an indoor track. 8 laps to the mile is no fun, but it is better than the treadmill. But even then, I've done several runs on the 'mill, too ... including 14 in one day (broken into segments of 11 and 3).

                                 

                                Good luck!

                                Husband. Father of three. Lutheran pastor. National Guardsman. Runner. Political junkie. Baseball fan.

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