Friday, February 1, 2013

The old man and the snowblower

Stubbornly, I did not get a snow blower until I was 40.  I love being physical and snow blowers are for old men.  I turn 44 later this month and I have come to hate shoveling snow.

It rained a lot on Tuesday night and then it snowed 10 inches.  About 1/3 the way through my snow blower broke.  This left the snow / slush the snow plow leaves at the end of the driveway and the 40 feet in front of the mailbox of the same heavy slop.

Not only was it heavy, but it did not want to come off the shovel.  90 minutes Wednesday night and another 45 minutes Thursday morning (Thank you snow plow) left my back, hips and legs tired and tight.

Only in week 4 of my current training cycle, my workouts are still pretty easy.  Last night I planned 15-17 miles with 12x1.5 minutes (Treadmill) faster (Think mile pace).  I take plenty of rest 2.5 minutes between reps.  This workout is just glorified striders to work on form and to get comfortable at faster paces.

I knew I was in for more work than I bargained for right away.  I guess moving a few tons snow is not good for your training.  I had thoughts of passing on the workout.  I knew I would not have another chance as we are going out of town this weekend.

In the end it was not that bad.  Usually I do 5 reps a bit slower than add .1 mph to each of the remaining 7 reps.  Last night I ran 16 miles and did all the reps at 10.4 MPH.  Yes I am slow, but it is early in the season.

I need to get the snow blower fixed, because us old men have an aversion to shoveling. 

Today it is sunny, -5F with a wind chill of -26F.  I love the sun ... I need the sun in winter, but this old man does not like running in the cold either.

Good running to all!

1 comment:

  1. We must think alike because I'll be 44 this year and have yet to jump on the snowblower bandwagon. All my neighbors have them while I'll continue to be a slave to the snow :). Eventually it will happen :).

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