Green in Winter

Well, the temperatures haven't improved any since the last report when it was 17 degrees F....in fact, the temperatures are now WORSE.  Yesterday morning it was -1, this morning it was minus 6--yes MINUS 6 degrees F (NOT including the effect of any wind)--so maybe I can use this as an excuse for not adding to my blog sooner--my fingers have been frozen :)))!  Frozen fingers or not, the picture below depicts how I have felt recently.



"Trailturtle" in Winter--GREEN and VERY COLD

Needless to say, I find it impossible to run or cycle outdoors in this weather, so I have been doing mostly walking, with some fast walking, outdoors and only running on the "DREADmill" and small indoor track, along with some elliptical and weight work at the local Y.  I had hoped to do more Spinning/indoor cycling, but it just hasn't worked out yet.  My hip joints are still bothering me some, likely a progression of my OA after all of the tough downhill trail running and scramble/down-climbing from US/Canadian Rocky Mountain peaks last year (I plan to post some highlight recaps of these adventures in the future).  Because of the joint issues and just not being "built" for distance running, running of any type is never completely comfortable for any continuous period of time, despite optimizing biomechanics, shoe fit, warm-up routines, etc.  The cold and frequent barometric pressure changes resulting in storm after storm after storm don't help.  Then there is the fatigue factor from spending at least 10 hrs shoveling and manually throwing snow over the past 2 weeks.  We have a VERY large driveway, and we do have a gas-powered snowblower,  but I like to "be green" (at least, for SOME things) and get some exercise while accomplishing a task that gives me 'instant gratification." So, anything under 4 inches is usually shoveled.  My hands are getting "bad" from OA  though, so I may have to give up that activity in the future.  I estimate that I walk an average of 3 miles total to clear the driveway and steps with a shovel.  I also get tons of partial squats and modified lunges in, too :).  I actually confirmed part of this estimation with my recently acquired, first Garmin watch ever :).  For about 2/3 of the area, my Garmin read 2.12 miles over 2 hrs 22 minutes.  The Google Map of this is a riot, and I may post a picture of a future complete job if I ever figure out how to do that.

My husband and I also do a lot of walking, with/without running, as another way to "be green" while getting exercise.  Since January 1, we have probably walked 10 miles for every 1 mile driven.  And despite the frigid temperatures, I got in almost a Half Marathon yesterday, 10 walking (split up into 2 time periods) and 2.5 easy running on the treadmill.  One of the benefits of walking is that one gets to see things that would otherwise be missed in a car. Critters, birds, and plants/flowers, and common, everyday humans are some of the expected sightings, along with occasional "close encounters" with some of the funnier and/or crazier examples of such.  Case in point--while we were walking on Saturday, we "walked into" a young woman wearing a true-to-color, aqua blue Statue of Liberty costume and standing on the sidewalk, in single digit temperatures and wind chills below zero, dancing around trying to call attention to a tax/rapid refund business called "Liberty Tax Service." I wish I had been carrying a camera then, for I would have taken a picture of her with all of the snow around and one of us all bundled up beside her--hilarious and amazing at the same time.  I don't know how she could stand being out there with "so little on."  I am going to carry my camera this coming week, and, if I get a photo of her, I will post it here--(added note--got 'em!  See next post).  For now, here is a neat bird's nest (probably a Cardinal's--my favorite bird) with residual snow inside that we saw on a recent walk around the neighborhood:

A final anecdote on the "green in winter" theme:  My husband (whose middle name really should be "Frugal") and I love Whole Foods, even though you can forget about even thinking about being financially frugal shopping there (my husband tries to make up for it by eating all, and I mean ALL, of the samples!).  There isn't one here at home in central PA, but we find them wherever we travel, so we have quite a few paper bags stocked up.  A couple of Xmas' ago, my husband decided to be funny and "be green" (and frugal) at the same time and use a Whole Foods grocery bag as wrapping paper.  Here is the final product:

I can't wait until I can finally write about something "being green" because Spring has arrived.....this winter "thing" is getting old and making me feel old, too!!  If it weren't for the blue skies and sunshine that go along with these colder-than-normal temperatures (clouds help trap the heat below; clear skies let the heat escape) I think I'd be curled up hibernating somewhere.  In the meantime, I have to be content visualizing myself running in "green in winter" with images like these:

 







March 2009 PCTR Pirate's Cove 30K

Marin Headlands

Golden Gate Nat'l Recreation Area
I  am wearing my 2008 Big Sur Marathon finisher's shirt

If you click on the picture on the left, you will be able to see a lot of the non-"trailturtle" runners WAY ahead on the trail, appropriately called the "Coastal Trail."  Thanks go out to my husband, Gary, who, because he IS built to run and CAN run a lot faster than I but CHOOSES to shuffle along with me at what must be a painfully SLOW pace, ends up taking LOTS of photos of me. 

Here's to staying well, warm, and green in winter!  Ann