Whether Weather

   It snowed this morning. Not a lot, just a dusting really, but it was still snow and a reminder that I live in Canada. Where we get snow. Occasionally, lots of snow!

Running in the fog

   There are several reasons why I'm not particularly fond of the snow--I have a double driveway and have not yet been able to invest in a snowblower, I drive a lot for work and this is always problematic, you never know what a ton of snow will do to your roof, and I'm not one of those winter sports kinds of people.
   This year, however, there is an added concern. I need to run in it.
   I have a target race, the 5K Brita Resolution Run, coming up on December 31st. Given that it is the end of December here in Canada, there could be snow. There should be snow. And quite likely ice, while we're at it.
   I am just in the middle of getting the hang of running on dry pavement, let alone snow, slush and ice so I am having more than a little trepidation (one of my favourite running words) as to how this might work out. More than anything, it's the footing which concerns me, naturally enough. I'm not as nimble as I used to be and the vision of me flying through the air, feet first, and landing on the back of my head rather haunts me right at the moment.
   I was running last night in 0 degree (freezing) temperature, and it didn't bother me too much--dress in layers, protect the extremities and you're okay. A couple of nights before that, the warm ground combined with the very cool night air produced heavy fog. This was not a major problem either, just make sure you're even more highly visible than usual. It's rained more than once as I've been on a training run and that's pretty par for the course.

Yaktrax--a little pricey but apparently they work

   It's just the snow which has me concerned.
   Fortunately, in this day and age, information is at your fingertips and I was able to go to several websites which offered advice geared toward running on ice and snow.
   There are a variety of devices which you can strap on to your shoes which hopefully give you the required traction in bad weather. They apparently go on and come off pretty easily and quickly, as well. They have metal cleats or rows of metal coils on the bottom which, obviously, grip the ice. Of course, there is some expense involved here and, if you've followed this blog at all, you are aware that I am a Broke Runner.

A cheaper alternative

   Fortunately, I have come across a cheaper and, frankly, cooler solution. Simply screw some sheet metal hex head screws into the bottom of your run shoes! This trick has been around for years. Depending on your running style eg. heel striker vs. midfoot striker, place the screws in a pattern you feel will give the most traction. Screw them in from the outside of the shoe until only the hex head protrudes from the bottom of the sole. The shape of the hex head is what gives the great traction. From what I read, it's not even uncomfortable to go from ice and snow to dry pavement and then back to ice and snow, all on the same run. If I end up adopting this method, I will let you know how it works out.
   I had to convince myself to go out and run last night, our cozy, warm little house was way too inviting, especially after a long day at work. It became a question not so much as to when to run but whether to run. This is was pretty well the first time whether had popped into the equation. Then it occurred to me that, winter-weatherwise, this was probably as good as it was going to get. If I didn't want to run in temperatures that weren't even below freezing then I was pretty well toast(y) as a real runner in Canada. So I got out and ran and it was no big deal. The weather will get worse and I'm going to need to pretend it's still no big deal, when it does. Will update you all, when the snow really flies!