LET'S BLAME CANADA!

That's what I heard on the weather on the way to work this morning. A blizzard was blowing in from northwestern Canada causing our "blizzard like" weather today. Bye bye global warming!

I also heard that northern Michigan is totally closed, more from whiteout conditions than anything else. Too bad they don't have gates across the highway like they have in Wyoming and Montana when the weather gets this bad. Also, over half our office staff is out today, so maybe it will be quiet around here??

I was glad I did my workout last night, anticipating it would be a slow go in the morning. I didn't sleep very well either, because the wind caused my motion lights to go on and off most of the night and it was still doing it this morning. A couple of times I got up to check to see why the light was on, then realized it was the wind and blowing snow. Most of the windows on one side of the house were so plastered with snow I couldn't see out anyway. When I looked out the front door, all I could see was blowing snow coming out of the west, blowing down the street, like a ghost or something whooshing past. And all the yards and street were now covered with drifting snow. Eerie.

Again, I was glad for the 4 wheel drive. There really wasn't that much snow out there; I have driven in much worse. And I have to say living in the city, where the speed limits are much lower and whiteouts less likely to happen except on the highways, makes it possible to get around at least in a limited capacity. Still, I rode behind 4 different people driving 4 wheel drive vehicles who were only going less than 10 mph. I'm telling you, it wasn't that bad!

On an up note, winter is almost half over! Or at least the snowy part. We don't really get rid of cold weather (and sometimes snow too) until well into April or even May, but just to have some sunshine would be a nice plus!

I continue to work on my 5k speed. I have found a couple of training programs that are supposed to help me build speed while building endurance. The workout I did last night was a 10 minute warmup, which I did just below my usual run speed on the treadmill, then you set the speed for your desired 5k mile pace for 3 minutes, then a slow easy jog for 3 minutes, and repeat for 3 sets, then 5 minutes again at your usual pace, then another set of the 3 fast, 3 slow x 3, and a 10 minute cooldown. Total time then is just over an hour. Its a good workout, and by the last 2 fast sets I was able to again get my pace down to 9:40. I know that's stretching it for me right now, but I do think it is do-able eventually.

I have also been reading many articles about base building. I'm planning a post on my summary soon. In the meantime, those of you in the cold Arctic snow belt, stay warm and safe! The rest of you? No complaining (but of course stay safe)!