I Was High

Regardless of location I don't think we saw as much snow as we thought we would.  Turns out the heaviest band of snow ended up going to our south.  Philadelphia saw more snow than Allentown did.  The models ended up being incorrect.  Shocking of course.  If there is one thing I did get right it's that we never saw a changeover to ice or freezing rain.  Keep in mind amateurs the dominance of what cold air can do.

Now let me delve into my Saturday.  Since the hardcore trails are almost unrunable I went to the flat trails of Hamburg with the intention of getting in 16-20 miles.  Of course I waited until I figured it would be snowing without being dangerous on the roads.  By mile three it was coming down hard enough I couldn't look straight ahead.  The trail at Hamburg is flat and wide and I knew the conditions would be good enough to allow for a steady pace.  I didn't realize the fourth and fifth miles were untouched and made running horrible.  It was like running on a tight rope while being drunk.  I made it to the end and turned around with the eventual intention on running to the 10 mile mark and turning back around.  Thankfully the podcast I was listening to before I went out was talking about frostbite so I went out with gloves and a winter hat, something I've done exactly once so far this season.  Really glad I did as the wind kicked up during the run and even made me cold.  Instead of returning to the car and going back out for more running I stopped to take a gel at ten miles so I could turn around and run back.  This was mainly because I figured if you make it back to the car you won't want to go back out.  I went to wash down the gel which is like drinking a paste and found that the camel back of water I was carrying had actual froze.  I couldn't get a drop.  I've never had that happen before.  It made it an easy decision to go back to the car.  When I made it back I didn't even realize that between the snow and sweat I had a beard of ice chunks.  No wonder I was cold.  It was also the first time at this trail I never saw one person.

If you don't mind the cold this week might actually be decent for you.  There is a slight chance of very light snow or flurries on either Tuesday or Wednesday.  Accumulations would be very light.  The next big storm system is a southern hugger so shouldn't see anything from that one.  Have to keep an eye out on the weekend.  Something seems to be brewing.  Can't say it will have an impact on anybody but the cold air is firmly in place for the rest of the work week and weekend.

I'll be back shortly with more information and with a post related to extend forecasts that I decided to look into a few weeks back.  Enjoy your Sunday as temps will not get close to 40 for awhile again.