Fire and ice

Mother Nature has spent the last two days dumping snow, ice, and everything in between all over Cincinnati. I was torn about where to do my run today - inside or outside. I knew I didn't feel like waiting for the group tonight, since I wasn't sure if they're even going and I'm stir crazy RIGHT NOW.

Interval work on the hamster wheel seemed to be the way to go, given that there are at least six inches of snow outside with a layer of ice in between. I don't really like the treadmill but I was grateful to have one handy and was actually enjoying my warmup playlist (Mark Ronson and Ratatat). Then, about 3/4 mile into the warmup, the power went off. Then came back on. Then went off. On. Off. You get the picture.

Not in the mood to break my stride, I put on my pants and jacket and headed out to brave the snow. What a mess! The powder on my street was really slippery but once I hit the main road, I was able to run in the tire tracks. I got about 1/4 mile from my apartment when I saw a Cinergy truck in the middle of the street. And then I smelled smoke. There were two guys standing in front of the truck and one came up to me and said "There's a utility pole on fire up here. Is there any chance I can convince you to go back the way you came?"

Without even thinking, I blurted out "Please? I'm really, really bored." Never mind that this poor guy was trying to contain an electrical fire and help restore power so people could have heat - I wanted to run dammit! I realized I was being a nuisance and was about to turn around when he said "Ok, ok. Just stay on the other side of the road and run in the snow." He was really nice about it! Maybe he is a runner too.

I trotted on up the hill and sure enough, there were four foot flames shooting out of a utility pole across the street. There was also a fire truck, four firemen, and a police officer watching the thing burn (I'm hopeful they had a plan). They were staring at me like I was crazy so I put on my best "Everything here is completely normal" face and said "Good morning!". The firemen said good morning back and the police officer glared at all five of us. Doh.

I ran up to Grandin and did a quick loop, trying to avoid hills and falling on my @ss in general. I started to wonder if I really was crazy for going out when I looked down and saw footprints in the snow. Clearly running shoes from the look of them. Ha! Crazies unite. :-)

I steered clear of the whole electrical fire mess on the way home and instead opted for a route through the woods. The trees were dripping with ice, frozen and bent to create a passageway just for me. So beautiful.

Ironically, I made it through a very snowy, icy 2.5 to 3 mile run without falling, then managed to bite it right in front of my own house. Ha ha. That's going to leave a mark.

This run ALMOST takes the cake for being my most interesting workout. Almost. The half-naked lady I saw running in the rain this summer still holds the number one spot...