Janathon 2013 Day 20 - Walking in the snow

Walk - 4 miles, Time - 1h 15m, Weather - cold, raw, heavy grey sky, light snow

When the weather is like this most of my attention is focussed on the ground a few feet ahead, looking where I step, trying to keep upright. The paths are ice with a light covering of snow and when I place my foot the heel will sometimes slide to one side or the other and I make adjustments. At times I can look like a bad tightrope walker but at other times I can crack on. Walking is hard though: the stride is shorter and less regular and it is difficult to drop into a rhythm. The coldness of the air and the snow on the face make you want to hunker into yourself and the obvious question should be: ‘why am are out here when there is no real need?’ But that is not what I am thinking. I am both enjoying myself and not want it to last too long.

Sometimes I listen to the silence as all noise seems to have been dampened. I appreciate the hazy, grey beauty and they way outlines become blurred and more mysterious. There are a few people about but for stretches there is no one in sight and it is pleasant to have the illusion of being alone in the landscape.  

There is every reason to be out. I did though make sure I left promptly, at 8 o’clock, so there was no time for procrastination. On that subject this quote from marcus Aurelius seems appropriate:

At dawn when you have trouble getting out of bed tell yourself ‘ I have to go to work - as a human being. What do I have to complain of if I have to do what I was born for - the things I was brought into this world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?

• But it is nicer here.

So you were born to feel “nice”? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants and spiders and bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren’t you running to do what your nature demands?

Many, many times do I need to admonish myself in this way

Running in Snow

Last Sunday snows fell and it was a glorious day of outdoor play. Whole families were out. Kids looked for any slope to slide down whilst the parents built snowmen, with the pretence that it was really for their children. It was a communal and friendly day with many more random 'Hellos" and brief conversations than normal.

Days like this, on a non-work day, somehow change peoples attitudes: make then more open to play. Good.

For my running however it is rubbish. Although I saw two people gamely out training I was not tempted. When the snow is fresh it is not too slippy underfoot but when it is deep each footstep is harder work and the snow will seep through the mesh to soak your feet - and I hate cold, wet feet. On subsequent days when the snow becomes packed-down, churned and rutted, and then freezes, it is treacherous. If you fall you risk damage that will be far worse than a few lost days of fitness.

I can live with being a wimp and, as my target is a marathon in October, I can afford the time.

However my soft attitude contrasts rather starkly with a Chinese father who has been in the news for forcing his 4 year old son to run in the snow dressed only in pants and shoes. Taking inspiration from the book 'The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother he styles himself an 'Eagle Dad'. The thing is Amy Chua is an intelligent woman and her book has a certain amount of ironical distance in the description of her behaviour. She might have harsh words for an indulgent western model of child rearing but she knows she also went too far on some occasions.  The trouble is her blueprint is really scary if taken too far and running unclothed in the snowy cold seems way, way too far to me.

Snow Again

Another snow day so another picture.

It is just a record of something in my garden and cannot really compete with Fit Artist who built a couple of beautiful snowmen. If I was going to give a prize of snow person of the week I would give it to her and use her picture to illustrate this rather silly article on snowmen fashion.

The weather makes me think of another thing I never quite got round to: increasing the insulation in my loft from 100mm to 270mm. So instead of running I will be doing something far more useful - scrambling about on my hands and knees trying to lay a carpet of insulation. Not so much cross training more a case of 'bolted horse door stable'.

Snow Day

On Monday the snow came and as this picture, from my window, shows the conditions for running were not good. However there were plenty of opportunities for fun. I could for example watch cars trying to struggle up the hill but there was not a lot of that as most people realised it was a waste of time and did not go anywhere. In some way it was as if people had been given a licence to relax and go-out and enjoy the conditions. The atmosphere was different from a normal weekend day, there was a greater feeling of camaraderie.

A very small example: I was walking down to town and clumping up the hill was a boy of about twelve, we were the only people on the street, and when we passed he looked up and said "wonderful weather isn't it". There was such enjoyment in his voice it made me feel good for the rest of the day.

Coming back I passed a gang of youths on a corner, hoods up, occupying space in a way that can look threatening. Except that when I passed they had sledges and plastic snow shovels and were reliving their tobogganing exploits. Again there was enjoyment in their voices. Again the world felt good.

Inside I listened to the news and everybody was talking about the weather. There were, of course, any number of miserable voices lamenting the lost hours of work. The most predictable, and depressing, comments were along the lines of: ' We are no better than a third world country', 'this is pathetic, a little bit of snow and the whole country seizes up', 'I travelled from Stockholm to the Artic and that train was five minutes early', 'it's the same every time why can't we cope?', 'when I was young we didn't close schools I can remember trudging across the fields', etc, etc, etc.

If something only happens once every 18 years (and with global warming, probably, less frequently than that, in future) it is not worth building the infrastructure to cope with it. Canada is a good example. Most of the country knows it will get snow, prepares for it, and can cope. Vancouver though has a climate like ours and this winter they also had heavy snow and just like us things got gummed up.

But it is no use arguing. If people want to be miserable, they will be miserable. Me I prefer to think of that twelve year old boy and how his eyes sparkled.

Next time I am out running I want to remember that joy , as a reminder of the excitement that comes from being outside and being active.