Running in Falling Snow

Today was supposed to be a rest day. However, when I looked out the window and saw the first snowflakes of the season falling thickly in my back yard, I thought - "BEAUTIFUL! What would it be like to run in that?"

I quickly put on my heart rate monitor and GPS watch, then donned my warmest running gear: Nike running pants, a long sleeve Brooks tek shirt, a rain-proof cap and my Brooks (thin/breathable) dayglow yellow running jacket.

I stood on the porch and my iPhone MapMyWalk GPS quickly zeroed in on my location but the GPS function of my Garmin was taking forever to pick up the satellite signals.

Off I went into thick snowfall of big fat flakes. I loved it. Then I remembered I had left our two small parrots sitting out of their cages in the house with two dogs and two cats. I made a u-turn and ran back. When I got home, I noticed the Garmin did NOT track ANY of that run but the iPhone did. (YAY!) I put the birds into their cages and then went back out to enjoy the snow.

Things I discovered running in thickly falling snow:

• No run has been more beautiful or visually stunning to me than today's
• Snow sometimes comes in sideways and hits eyeglasses 
• Exhaling out in snow causes eyeglasses to steam up
• Running in snow you will be hydrating as you ingest snowflakes (LOL!)
• A running jacket rated for an hour of rain seems to get wet/cold faster when it is snowflakes adhering to and melting on it.
• Even running in snow, I still sweat. A lot.
• Even running in snow, I have to unzip my jacket to cool down a little (after a mile or so)
• My shoes got wet - as did the Garmin shoe pod (but luckily it kept working)
• Gloves would have been an extraordinarily smart thing to have worn (ooops)
• There was no ice on the street so running was easier than I expected. Easier than night running in fact.
• People driving by yell and cheer you on a lot MORE when you are running in snow more than when you run in fair weather.

Distance: 1.95 miles (Just did one lap around since it is a rest day)

Time:  22:33 minutes

Average Pace: 11:33 (YESSSS!)

Best Pace: 9:25 (WOW!!!)

Weather: Thick snow fall at 31 degrees with 2mph winds
Average HR: 171 bpm
Max HR (short but steep 35 foot hill): 182 bpm
Ave Cadence: 75 spm
Max Cadence: 84 spm