Sunday, February 6, 2011

Snowtorious B.I.G


These week was filled with lots of snow, some forecasted, and some rather unexpected. The meteorologists had been forecasting this crazy huge snowstorm to hit us on Wednesday, and we got a decent amount of snow, but no where near what was predicted. Then on Saturday, we got a surprise snowstorm that dumped on me while I ran.

On Monday, Keira went to school and I went to the gym. I debated on doing the responsible thing, and hitting Meijer while Keira was at school, but opted to go to the mall instead to do a return. I am really glad I made this decision. Apparently, everyone decided to hit the grocery stores today, and they were all pretty much insane from everyone stocking up for the "snowmaggedon" that was forecastes. I figured I still had Tuesday to shop, but it would probably be nuts then. Soren had fun playing at the mall.




Keira made this really cool mosaic picture today. She really loves cutting and gluing paper to other paper, and most of her at home projects are of this type, so this project was right up her alley. In fact, hers had the most paper pieces stuck on it by far.


On Tuesday, we went to the gym for my tread and track class. This might be my last week of doing this class. It is early so we have to rush around yet another morning, and it hasn't been as much track as it has been just other strength. I know I need strength training, but it has left me so sore the past two weeks that it has really detracted from the rest of my training. I was really worried about my two longer runs due to this soreness. After the gym, we went to Meijer, which was practically empty. I couldn't believe it. Apparently, everyone had gone to the store yesterday. We spent the rest of the day in anticipation of the snow.


It was supposed to come around 3pm to Canton. Around dinner, schools started to call off for tomorrow, but we still had no snow. Finally, after the kids were in bed, it started snowing, and Novi called school off for tomorrow. I think they were one of the last ones to call off.

Wednesday morning, we woke up to quite a bit of snow. It was groundhog day, and they are actually predicting an early spring. I hope so. Ryan went into work, as Ford does not call off for snow. Sometimes a supervisor will send you home early or let you code it as a special day off, but things always run. We hung out in our pjs for a while and had a pancake breakfast (buckwheat for me). We played in the house for a while. Keira and Soren set up blankets like towels in the living room and played "beach". I thought it was pretty funny they chose that on a snow day.

Laying out and pretending to swim:






Once the snow stopped coming down, we got bundled up to go outside for a bit. It was pretty cold, so we didn't stay outside too long.










Ryan came home fairly early this afternoon, and we just continued to hang out around the house. It was nice to have a day where I didn't need to do anything with the kids and we were all healthy enough to enjoy it. I was super sore today from my class, and actually welcomed the snow day as an excuse to do nothing. I had thought about a trainer ride, but didn't want to push it too hard.

On Thursday, it was back to normal. It was pretty much like nothing had happened. We didn't get any additional snow over the night and the streets had all be cleared. We hit the gym for my long midweek run of 7 miles. I warmed up and did the run just fine, and was actually less sore afterwards than before. We went to Target to get our Valentines Day supplies for Keira and Soren to take to school and church. They had fun picking them out. I also got Soren and Keira each a different hot wheels mustang. They loved them, and it was so much cheaper than a trip to McDonald's and even more happiness. I also started digging out the Valentine's decorations for our house.


On Friday, I really debated on doing a long swim while Keira was at school. I was hesitant since it made me more tired for my run on Saturday, but with Wed being an extra rest day, I felt like I had to at least do something. I did some swim drills, which I need to get back to doing more often. Hopefully once I start really running on Tuesdays instead of going to class, it can free up some time and energy to get a third swim in again each week. I also took Soren to storytime. We ended up checking out books that we already have at home. We found the Freight Train book and Soren just wouldn't put it down, and a picture book that we purchased in Germany, but this was the English version. It was funny to compare them. There were only a few differences in the covers, due to the fact that German book had more characters on the cover with fewer pictures.






We had Valerie, Katie, and Luke over after school. Keira and Soren were so happy to have them come over to play. They couldn't play long, but it was a nice time. That evening, we went out to Noodles as a family and then to REI.

On Saturday, Ryan was back to staffing the church cleaning. He went to get everyone started at church and then went to his indoor trainer ride. Kent found these new cycling DVDs called Sufferfest, which he was able to purchase and download online. They are tough workouts, and they did more than one. While Ryan was gone, I headed out to Ann Arbor with the kids to pick up some snowpants on sale for Keira for next year, to match a coat we got for her at our REI. After that, since I was all the way out in Ann Arbor, I stopped by Two Wheel Tango to look at tri bikes. They actually had a black and pink women's Trek in size XS. It is such a pretty bike. Ryan was a bit bummed that we went without him, but I knew with a 19 miler on the plate for me, there would not be much time to do that afterwards.






Cristina had called me on Friday asking me if I wanted some company for today's 19 mile run, and I was so excited to have her run with me. It is great to have company and she will not let herself or me stop until we have reached our goal mileage. We planned to meet up at 2, and it was snowing lightly when we got back from Ann Arbor. It continued to snow lightly while I got ready and waited for Ryan to get home. The roads between our house and the freeway were pretty slick and slow, and I was a bit worried about the run. At Kensington, it was snowing pretty good when we got there. We got started, and it was snowing for the first several miles and then stopped. We ran just under 6 before we got to the far bathroom, and then we figured we would turn around at the halfway point (which we forgot we were doing 17 and turned around at 8.5 instead of 9.5) and go back, so that we wouldn't have to get back to the car and do a huge amount. When we got back to the far bathroom for the second time, we came out to massive snowflakes falling fast. Due to our miscalculation, we still had around 7 miles to go, instead of just 6 (we realized it and were able to tack on a little extra running through a parking lot and back). We really had no choice but to run back to the parking lot where the cars were. Once we got back, we only had about a mile to go, and that went fairly quickly. It wasn't fast, but we got the mileage in. It was very beautiful running in the snow, and it wasn't terribly cold. The sun was just starting to set as we were leaving. Ryan called, concerned about the drive home. I completely hadn't thought about that. Thankfully, there was not as much snow out where we were as at home, and it wasn't until I was almost home until the driving got bad. Our street had already been plowed, but not our court. My car had a rough time getting from the mailboxes and into a spot due to all the snow. Ryan took his truck out to get some pizza. It doesn't fit with my diet, but I do get a cheat day, and after my long run, I felt like I deserved it. Keira had been complaining that we hadn't had pizza in a long time, so she was happy, and Soren ended up eating a full piece and a half. Needless to say, we don't have hardly any left over, so that is a good thing for my diet.

Here is the car covered with accumlated snow during the run. We ran through a bit more, as there was some snow on the ground when we started.

Pretty views of Kensington in the snow:



On Sunday, we had a relaxing morning. I was still very tired from my run yesterday. Ryan's friend, David, was in town visiting with his family, so it was great to see them at church. They worked on hashing out their century ride schedule for the summer. With Ryan, Kent, and David in different cities, they were trying to plan rides in many locations. After church, we went to Kris and Linda's house for dinner. We hadn't gotten together for a while, so it was nice to hang out. Linda had Valentine gifts for Keira and Soren. Keira was very excited about her new dress, and Soren couldn't get enough M&Ms.





Up for next week, we have more of the same. I am really hoping to have a long run with better weather!

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