I woke up yesterday morning to as close to a winter wonderland as we get in Texas. I was thrilled. I could not wait to go on a trail run with the fresh snow. I've never run on snow before (in, but not on). It is times like this it is beyond convenient I live on trails because I would not have driven anywhere to run, but was able to get to the trails on foot.
I was talking to my mom on the phone on my way through my apartment complex to the trails. She was telling me I was crazy to go run and that it would be slippery and bad. I kept telling her I'd be fine, but kept having little squeals here and there. What hadn't occurred to me was how hard it was going to be to actually get to the trail! It is maybe 200-400 yds from my apartment through the parking lot/apartment drive to the trail head. Um...it was completely frozen! I walked up on the grass where I could because that was just snow, no ice, but the pavement was frozen solid. Once I made it to the trail though - wow - it was absolutely beautiful. The snow was light fresh powder that crunched under my foot each step I took. I was so marveled at this world He created. I was absolutely in heaven and just tried to take in the beauty of it all. The trail looked so different in snow - in an odd way, the snow makes some things more clear. I was able to find/follow new trails that I'd never been on before - the snow seemed to outline the trails so well. I also followed footprints of someone who had beat me out there. Those footprints took me to two new parts of the trails I'd never been on and I was so entertained seeing where they would take me. I almost messed up though by following the wrong set of footprints on the way back - I had planned to go back the way I came so I didn't get lost but then realized I wasn't backtracking on my own footprints, but someone else's. Oops. I stood there and stomped my feet to make sure I knew what mine looked like! If anyone had been watching any of my playtime in the woods I'm sure they wouldn't have been impressed. I went 2.5 miles in 50 minutes. Sooo I'm not sure you could exactly call it a "run," but I did run some...and stopped a lot, and took a lot of pictures, and explored new trails, and walked some.
It is funny that things some people see every day and are even very, very sick of can provide the biggest thrill to those of us who don't see it on a regular basis. This is definitely the most snow I've ever had in a place that I've lived. Apparently we got more here in Austin on February 14, 2004, but it didn't seem like it. That's funny they mentioned that date - it was a Saturday night, and my birthday. I ran my first marathon ever here in Austin the next day. I missed quite a part in the streets of Hyde Park in the middle of that night because I had to sleep, but everyone else went out to play in the snow. I remember seeing a little snow on the ground on my way to the race, but absolutely nothing like we had yesterday. I guess maybe it warmed up quickly and melted quickly that year. There was still some snow this afternoon even in some of the shady places, and it was nearly 70 degrees.
Enjoy my pictures!
I was talking to my mom on the phone on my way through my apartment complex to the trails. She was telling me I was crazy to go run and that it would be slippery and bad. I kept telling her I'd be fine, but kept having little squeals here and there. What hadn't occurred to me was how hard it was going to be to actually get to the trail! It is maybe 200-400 yds from my apartment through the parking lot/apartment drive to the trail head. Um...it was completely frozen! I walked up on the grass where I could because that was just snow, no ice, but the pavement was frozen solid. Once I made it to the trail though - wow - it was absolutely beautiful. The snow was light fresh powder that crunched under my foot each step I took. I was so marveled at this world He created. I was absolutely in heaven and just tried to take in the beauty of it all. The trail looked so different in snow - in an odd way, the snow makes some things more clear. I was able to find/follow new trails that I'd never been on before - the snow seemed to outline the trails so well. I also followed footprints of someone who had beat me out there. Those footprints took me to two new parts of the trails I'd never been on and I was so entertained seeing where they would take me. I almost messed up though by following the wrong set of footprints on the way back - I had planned to go back the way I came so I didn't get lost but then realized I wasn't backtracking on my own footprints, but someone else's. Oops. I stood there and stomped my feet to make sure I knew what mine looked like! If anyone had been watching any of my playtime in the woods I'm sure they wouldn't have been impressed. I went 2.5 miles in 50 minutes. Sooo I'm not sure you could exactly call it a "run," but I did run some...and stopped a lot, and took a lot of pictures, and explored new trails, and walked some.
It is funny that things some people see every day and are even very, very sick of can provide the biggest thrill to those of us who don't see it on a regular basis. This is definitely the most snow I've ever had in a place that I've lived. Apparently we got more here in Austin on February 14, 2004, but it didn't seem like it. That's funny they mentioned that date - it was a Saturday night, and my birthday. I ran my first marathon ever here in Austin the next day. I missed quite a part in the streets of Hyde Park in the middle of that night because I had to sleep, but everyone else went out to play in the snow. I remember seeing a little snow on the ground on my way to the race, but absolutely nothing like we had yesterday. I guess maybe it warmed up quickly and melted quickly that year. There was still some snow this afternoon even in some of the shady places, and it was nearly 70 degrees.
Enjoy my pictures!
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| View out of my window when I woke up! |
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