No Business Like Snow Business

Feb. 22, 2013

Today I am 194.4 pounds of rolling thunder.

I've got to say that it was a day better suited for mushers in the Iditarod dogsled race than stomping around my neighborhood, but riding that stationary bike in the basement was getting pretty darn old.

Besides, somebody once said that if you wait for perfect conditions, you'll never get anything done -- at least nothing worthwhile. So I bundled up and took advantage of a snowy but otherwise sunny day.

Unfortunately, my excitement to get back out on the road was not met with the same vigor by homeowners who were yet to clear the 12 inches of snow off their sidewalks, or the additional pileups provided by the snowplows who had swept the roads relatively clean.

Overwhelmed by the promise from sunny skies and light winds, I decided to chance it and get back out on the streets, only this time it literally was the streets because hardly any sidewalks were visible, let alone navigable. So I ran in the road, which normally I don't like doing, but stuck closely to the side of the lane facing traffic.

It was nice getting back out in the open, even if it met mixing it up with people trapped inside those motorized metal boxes. Most were polite and gave me a wide path, even quite often changing lanes to make way for the world's slowest human.

And while it wasn't a great run -- I could feel those tight muscles in my back, drawn taut like piano wire by two days of snow shoveling -- it was a good run. So good, in fact, that I didn't beat myself up over my periodic bouts of walking.

There's definitely no business like snow business, and if you wait for the perfect day in the winter to go for a run, walk or ride, you'll be well into March or April before you get outside. Sometimes, you've just got to put on your boots and make do.

So if you see me out on the snowy roads -- thank you Storm Q -- just give me a wave and wide berth if I'm running in the streets again.