Saturday, February 23, 2008

I Must Be a Runner

ARGH! We got 9 inches of snow last night (yesterday and through the night), with more still falling. It's 90 minutes before race time, and I have to shovel the driveway. That is my cross-training today instead of the 5K race.

Problem is, I am sure that even though my driveway will be done in a half hour (my husband shoveled 3 times yesterday, so there isn't 9 inches to do today), the rest of the area will still be snowy! I had a very hard time racing when there was ice on the sidewalks. This time it would be through snowdrifts.

Hmm, maybe a real runner would see the snowdrifts as hurdles and keep racing. Not me. Maybe I am not really a runner. I am just frustrated that I can't race. Last weekend I couldn't go, and next weekend the running club is sponsoring a 30K that I will be volunteering at, so likely won't be able to race next weekend either. It is starting to sound like excuses. I am going to get creative in the snow with running. I'll walk the dog wearing boots - so I get milage in. I'll do 30 minutes of lifting (snow - it is heavy) - gotta keep those arms happy. I'll set the timer and do 5 sets of 3-minute stair intervals - going up and down the two flights of stairs in my house. Possibly, I'll get in sit ups as I keep getting out of a sled, oh and then more lifting/dragging my son and the sled up the hill again.

Anyone got other ideas for indoor/outdoor snow cross training?

4 comments:

Joy | Love | Chaos said...

You're an engineer, right? The third week of classes, if you were stuck on a question did you think, "maybe I'm not really an engineer after all?" Nope! Because it takes time to learn something that's valuable. Give yourself that time. You just started!

I love the sound of your crosstraining. The key is consistency, so getting your heart rate up even when snowed in makes great sense. Have fun with the stairs!

And, as an aside, I got your lovely comment on my blog. You wouldn't have reason to know this history, but I only learned to run less than three years ago. In fact, three years ago I was "graduating" from an intensive rehab at the tail end of 15 years of alcoholism, smoked a pack a day (and had for over 10 years), and couldn't run a full block. Trust me when I say persistence counts for quite a lot! :)

Tracie said...

I am so proud of you. You are so incredibly motivated - you really want this. I wish I could lose 30 pounds!!! You are making HUGE improvements - it will only get better. Really Impressive!!
Tracie

Andria said...

Oh my! I love the ab work of taking TK up the hill. That's such a hilarious picture in my head! LOL!

Ken said...

Cross training is fine. There are days here in the summer where it is so hot and humid that I just run around the house like an ant and pick up after the children. I also have a free stairmaster in my house. I go up and down my stairs several times to cater to these children each and every night.