Spring Flowers

April 22 and it's hard to tell but it's snowing.

The Horta!

We found a bunch of Hortas, perhaps living off of the salt (or dilithium) in the Wal Mart parking lots!!

Thoughts from the Road - #2111

Crazy B*tch

I was born in Washington DC and we lived in an apartment complex in Silver Spring, MD. I can't imagine that during the couple of years we lived there that they got as much snow as the DC metro area is getting this year! Many of you readers know that folks south of the Mason-Dixon line don't always know how to drive in the snow. A lot of times their tires are bald and they don't get enough practice knowing how to pull out and when to brake.

It was the winter just before I turned two that the area got a snowfall. I guess Dad hurt his back pretty badly trying to help a car that was stuck in the snow get out. The driver had been giving the car gas and spinning their wheels at such a speed they were screaming and whining. I don't know if his exasperated, "Crazy b*tch!" remark was before or after he hurt his back but it became one of the DC stories that was shared from my childhood.

My mom gave up her job with the FBI to raise me. She took me out to the park when the weather was fine and visited indoors with friends and other tenants during the rare times DC became unnavigable with snow. That same winter we were visiting one of Mom's friends in her apartment when the lady's priest stopped by for a visit. The way I imagine the next part of the story is that the adults had just enjoyed coffee and cake and clean-up was taking place. The lady turned on her in-sink garbage disposal and it gave out what to me would have been a very unusual squeal as it did it job. My comment was, "Crazy b*tch!" It must have sounded to me just like the tires I had heard spinning in the snow.

Forty-seven years later and no tire spinning for me today. School was canceled from another crazy winter storm but the weather is to turn even more icy in the next 24 hours. I got out and got my run in before the roads got even worse. I thought of Jim cheering me on, "Go, go, go!" This is also based on when I turned two and would say that as I held my two index fingers in the air. (See 1964 archives at this link.)

Today I started from the far end of our road, through a deep snow covered hill then up and into Stern's Crossing. I was really surprised that the roads in that fancy-shmancy development were so poorly maintained this morning! I dropped down onto Houserville Rd via October and Creekside Drives to add in an extra mile and was thrilled that next to no traffic was out.

Almost everywhere I ran only half of the road had been maintained. Luckily it was the side I was running on and it was a day to make certain to run facing traffic. As I jogged up Trout Rd a few people were out cleaning off their cars and I wished them a good morning. I don't think they were expecting to see me and there was a bit of surprise in their expression and voice as they returned my greeting.

I did a couple of laps on Spring Valley Rd but even the horses were staying in the barn this morning. The sky stayed grey and a spitting drizzle had started by the time I had made it 5.5 miles.

The 2 miles to home were very sloppy along Shilo Rd and through the Walmart complex. People were finally making it out into the world to get their shopping done. A Walmart employee was taking her smoke break and reading a book out in front of the store as I ran by. She looked up at me and her face had the same surprised expression as the residents on Trout Rd I had greeted. I suddenly got a clear picture of what they were all thinking about me, a seemingly insane woman running in terribly foul weather. "Crazy b*tch!"

Morning Deer!!

Thoughts from the "Road" - #12811

An Unsatisfactory Start

The huge drifts of snow in January 2010 caused my running schedule less problems than the much smaller ones this year. Last year, darting out for a few laps on a local street easily ate up 20 minutes. Even when it was bitterly cold I got out, started to sweat and was back in and stretching in no time at all. This year has been harder to rally knowing I will be out in the cutting breeze, stepping through icy hummocks and looking for safe places to run for an hour or two at a go.

My right knee is a little swollen from the uneven running-on-beach-sand type workouts I have lately in the deep snow on the bike path. This morning I had a plan to mix it up a little by utilizing Penn State's indoor track at the Ashenfelter Multi-Sport Facility.

I have been scoping the location out for about a month. Firstly, it was locked because it was the day before classes resumed. I had wrongly assumed that because PSU staff had been back to work for well over a week that the facility might be open.

Next, I went on a weekend when the track had an event going on. I could at least read the track rules and building hours, 8AM until Midnight. Over this period of time, I had unsuccessfully scanned all of the web pages associated with the facility to try to determine when classes or events were being held and if the general public were limited to specific hours.

The day of the track meet there was no one on hand to ask so I spent the next week trying to call for information. No one ever answered the phone so I planned on trying a run there the following week just after lunch. I entered the building for my third time during lunch so it was pretty much abandoned. There were a couple of people using part of the sprinting course within the track so I knew it was open. With no one at the reception desk, I went to change my clothes. When I came out, the desk was manned and I asked about public use. I was told Monday - Friday 8 AM until NOON. I was a little exasperated and shared that I had been trying to glean that information but no one had been answering their phone all week. I asked if I could, for just that day, use the track since it was being under utilized at that moment. I was given the ok with the understanding that I would have to leave if students, a class or a coach needed to use the area. My use of the facility was 20 minutes, not even 2 miles of running, before students began trickling in. At least I got to try out a pair of new shoes before I bundled up and walked across campus to my bus on one of the most bitter cold days this winter. What a lot of trouble.

It wasn't the bitterly cold but the piles of snow and slush that had been a challenge this week so this morning I was ready. I had planned last night to have my gear ready to go when Jimmy-the-Eye started out for work. When he dropped me at the facility @ 7:45 AM, I wasn't concerned if I couldn't get in for 15 minutes. Sure enough the doors were locked but I had warm up clothes over my shorts and t-shirt. I was dressed to run indoors but not yet sweaty so the wait would be fine. I only had to wait about 5 minutes until someone unlocked the door. I asked if I could wait in the warm lobby until the building was open and I was told that the building would be closed all day because of an event. I wanted to scream but thanked the fellow for cluing me in as I hustled off. Even if I changed into my new sneakers and dealt with my back pack banging around, I wasn't dressed to run outside. I chose the closest bus stop to try to get home and missed the bus by 2 minutes. I was forced to call Jimmy-the-Eye for a ride home.

I am trying to get over sulking about it. It seems I have put a lot of effort into this morning for nothing. I am trying to turn it around and make something good out of a bad start. I am like that on runs and races too; if things start off badly I have a difficult time turning it around. I let my head get in the way and it can dictate the mood for a while.

I am having a second cup of tea, finally writing in this blog for a bit, planning Jimmy-the-Eye's birthday weekend as well as my my parent's 50th wedding anniversary. I have a couple of art projects to get into and can revel in completing my taxes. I may not be out in the drifts of snow working out but I will plow my way through the day and strive to have a smile or two along the way.
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addendum
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I did get a shorter more intense run in this morning. I took a round-about route in my studded shoes. Starting with a lap on my unplowed street, a quick down & up our hill then off to return a Redbox dvd to Walmart made it almost feel like I got a run in.

Thoughts from the Road - #11911

Images from Winter Runs

Mile 4/6 on Spring Valley Road, past the horses. I saw a juvenile Northern Harrier near here this day and ran directly under an American Kestrel sitting on a line.

Mile 5/13 today. I 99 passing over the Bellefonte Central Rail Trail which was 6 miles of sloggy slush, the whole way to Waddle and back.

Detail of above.

Long Run in the Snow Success

I reviewed how my snow studs did on an initial light run but wanted to give them a real trial over a much longer run. Today was the perfect day, the cold temps had kept the bike path snow covered and the day was a sunny one.

The biggest challenge was psyching myself up for going out into 22° weather for 2 hours solid. I keep telling myself that I know I got out no matter the weather or temperature last year but that was 30 minute work outs maximum when I started the Couch to 5k plan. Now that I look at it, the first few weeks were only 20 minutes each work out. I worked up a sweat but was in and showering soon after that.


I shivered and puttered around until 10:00 this morning and finally pushed (and shoved and kicked) myself out the door. Armed with a couple Gus and a new Cucumber Mint Nuun tablet for my water, I had a lot of gear to juggle in my very cold hands.

This run was probably 85% on packed or 2" - 3" fluffy snow. The bike trail over the weekend had been well used and there were even some icy patches that I make a beeline to, no matter if it was on a hill or not. About 10% of the run was on clear road and 5% was on snow covered gravel or dirt. I logged over 10 miles and surprisingly made a little bit better time than I had expected. Running in the snow takes some effort but the studs on the shoes really were amazing. I didn't ever slip and I only lost one stud from one of my heals. I didn't miss it, thankfully, on any of the descents.

Because I overestimated how long it would take me, I was left with quite a while to stretch out and wait for Jimmy-the-eye to pick me up. This is when the cold kicked in as I walked around the park and tried to stay in the sun. When I got home I saw it had only warmed up to 25°. I was grateful there was very little wind today.

I am thrilled at how good this 10 miler felt. I hadn't logged that distance in over a month and I am not feeling too badly after my shower. I like the possibilities the snow studs have opened up for me but will still be glad for warmer weather.

snow studs

We finally got a substantial snowfall to justify my winter running project. With Miles' help, I screwed in some 1/4" sheet metal screws into my oldest sneakers. I have decided to mutilate my oldest shoes since Yaktracks Pro do not come small enough for my size 6 New Balance 758's.


After an easy 2.5 miles on many different surfaces I returned home to find I had lost one outside stud. The remaining ones showed no wear even though half of the running had been on slushy or just wet road surfaces.

They handled best on snow pack where tires had driven on the 2" of unplowed snow. They were also really nice on unshoveled sidewalks with 2" - 3" of fluffy snow. I was able to get a nice grip to keep moving up a 3° - 5° incline and felt just as confidant descending the same route because of the studs on my heals.

The surfaces I felt less confidant about were the wet roads where I wasn't certain if the studs might cause me to slide if I would pick up speed. The snowy trail I was on was just more difficult to navigate because of the added effort to get through the snow. I will say the same for the hill with road grade gravel.

I look forward to trying them again when I have a few ice patches to test out.



Birbanto helped me with the follow up shots.

Thoughts from the Road - #1211

Back Tracking

The run down near Benner Springs on Thursday sounded so enjoyable that Jimmy the Eye chose that location for our run this morning. The morning was again a crisp 17° but instead of a crystal clear sky a persistent glowing haze and contrail tracks muted the sun's rays a bit.

We parked at the commuter lot at the top of the hill and carefully started down the, now maintained, steep road. I could see the road could easily be icy so we kept a careful pace. When we reached the bottom there were about 4 cars in the parking area but no one was around. Jimmy joked that because the gates were open and the hours allowed they were probably taking advantage of the visiting hours at the fish hatchery.

We chose to run on the trail the whole way to the no trespassing area. What a difference a couple of days made on this trail, there were tracks of all kinds! The first thing we noticed were something like sled tracks in and out. Sadly, with a trail of blood drops, we pieced together that it was a carcass of an animal that had been shot and dragged out by hunters. A gut pile, somewhat off trail, soon confirmed that.

What is sad and gross to some made for an amazing morning buffet for others! Jimmy was actually able to determine the location of the pile well before we reached it because it had drawn the attention of crows, ravens and 2 bald eagles! Pace calculator be damned, I stopped and took photos of these beauties!

Deer tracks were now all along the trail as well as what looked like bobcat and a bear! I saw them on the way out, made Jimmy the Eye come back as we jogged back and forth and I showed him again and again the super large pads along the trail. On the way back I stopped for a photo of one of the best with my hand for scale. Such an awesome print in the snow, leathery pad wrinkles and all.

Even the shoulders going up the hill had a lot more signed of animal life. I saw a lot of deer tracks and again some very large cat-like tracks. They were all welcome distractions and my lead legs took their time. A car needed to pass us and we went single file to make room, Jimmy the Eye took the lead. Zoom! Up that hill he went and I can't blame him, why prolong it when you can open up your stride.

Back at the car we stretched out and looked at our photos. We were both so pleased to have back tracked to get them and share them on this blog.

Thoughts from the Road - #1209

Making Tracks

I rose to a 16° morning but it was quite pretty out. The dawn had the promise of sunshine when the morning haze would give way. The road and yard had a thin layer of snow from the night before and I had to get out in it. I needed to shake the grumpy thoughts I was having lately and make some tracks even though it was time to take a day off.

I waited until the temperature rose to 19° until I set out around 8:30 AM. The sun had risen over the edge of Nittany Mountain by that time. I knew the battle between enjoying the protection my sunglasses offered and steaming them up to 70% opacity was on.

Still in a generally grumpy mood, I couldn't decide what route to take or how far to run. "I just want to see some f***ing beauty," I thought. Almost immediately I started remembering some of the things I loved about running in the snow when I started last January. There were some cat tracks going in their tell-tale straight line. Some leaf-bare trees now allowed me to see tiny bird's nests in their branches.

My pace was still quite slow; footing on the road was unknown and I wanted to take it easy. I was warming up quickly because of my general fatigue from the past week. The sun made it feel warmer than it was and the wind that had been relentless over the past week had finally abated. I easily broke into a sweat during the first mile.

Just beyond mile one I came across some solitary footprints in the snow. They were cutting behind a building where a letterbox used to be (gone, I assume, because the wall it was hidden behind has completely toppled). The shoes or boots the person wore had extremely pointy toes, no tread and the gap between the imprint of the ball of the foot and the small mark the heel made me imagine a pair of ridiculously high heeled boots. The the toes on these shoes were so pointy that impression of the front part of the tracks looked like a series of ice cream cones leading me to a snowy parking lot.

The tracks of the high heeled shoes made me think of a conversation I had with a couple who made fun of women who wore sneakers with their dress clothes until they reached their office buildings. Their attitude was that those women were wimps. I was shocked at their judgment and know that my reaction showed it. I didn't go into defending my reaction (that's right, I avoid confrontation) but will choose to look foolish in comfortable shoes over bunion surgery any day.

I lost the high healed shoe tracks just about the time I had to make a decision which way to go. Actually, following the tracks had taken me off the way I usually went and forced me downhill and onto Dreibelbis Road for a while. I had avoided this road for about a month because Jimmy the Eye warned me that there was a dead raccoon on it. I gave him heck a few nights ago when he turned our car onto Dreibelbis to use that road as a short cut. I told him that I had avoided seeing the dead raccoon for so long and then we had to drive by it. It was but a shell so I knew I could certainly run by it in the snow.

Darned if those same high healed prints weren't on the sidewalk along Dreibelbis. There they were, coming out of the swanky gated community where I never see anyone alive. A ghost in cruel shoes walked the same route I had, albeit in reverse.

I decided to turn up Shilo and run at least until Spring Valley Road and see the horses. I wanted to see more beauty and the prospect of the valleys and ridges from the road that leads down to the water treatment facility was quite nice. I told myself that if I saw any horses from Shilo, I would keep going down into Benner Springs because then I could have a double dose of beautiful images. I looked at the farm and the area where they let the horses out and I couldn't see any horses. I ran past the turn onto Spring Valley Road and tried to see if the horses were behind the barn. Still no horses. Hating to back track, I chose to continue on the way to Benner Springs.

After Shilo passes over route 220, it takes a long steep decent down to the Benner Springs Fish Hatchery. For the first time, I read a sign at the crest of the hill that warned the road from that point on was not regularly maintained in the winter. Today was a day of no maintenance. Choosing this long and tricky hill was the best decision I made all day. It was snow covered but not icy. The lack of wind as I descended into Spring Creek Canyon allowed the 1- 2" of snow to stay quaintly perched on the branches and dead goldenrod plants.

I decided to delay my return, a serious uphill, by crossing the bridge and running on the trail along Spring Creek. This was the first real snowfall since hunting season had started so I was wearing blaze orange. No cars were parked in the lot where the fishermen park and there seemed to be only one set of booted footprints in the freshly fallen snow on the trail.

It took me a while to sort out whether or not I might meet up with the booted person but I then determined that the same footprints also retraced their steps back to the parking area. I looked down through the enchanted canyon that was glittering with snow and knew I was indeed alone. This gave my heart such a lift and I looked ahead with joy and wonder I haven't felt since some of the hikes we had taken to find a new letterbox. That had been well over a year ago.

No animal tracks were on this trail, just the hearty bootprints of the person who had preceded me. I told myself that I would follow them for a while and if they passed the cabled gate so would I. They did and I decided to continue on to the series of pretty rapids I knew lay ahead.

When I heard the rushing water of Spring Creek, I knew the rapids were close ahead. There they were, glinting in the sunlight with just a hint of vapor rising off of the creek in the frigid morning air. When I reached the crest in the trail that was parallel with the rapids, I saw that the booted prints continued on. I wondered if I too should lengthen my journey yet again to the sign were trespassing was not allowed. A glance at my watch showed I had been on the go for 39 minutes and I knew the snowy hill was going to take a long time to climb. With my lead-like legs in the cold, turning around to descend the little rise was a good choice.

It was but a few yards after I had turned around where I had a good chuckle. Initially I was surprised to see an unfamiliar tread in the prints that lay in the snow in front of me. It was the first time I had ever seen the imprint of my trail running shoes and there were all of these tiny little added footprints to the route I had just taken! I deal with just a few difficulties of my smaller shoe size. Not every store carries a 6 in women's running shoes, if they do it sells out quickly and additional things like YakTracks don't accommodate that size running shoe at all. Seeing the little prints in the snow made me realize, they are kind of small for adult feet.

My return also had me wondering just how far the booted person had gone beyond the point I turned back. Were they hunting? Was hunting even allowed out here? Were they fishing? There was one place where the prints went off the main trail and down to the edge of the creek. I chose to follow them on my return trip to see if the stopped to fish along the way. They wandered here and there, following smaller trails that gave pretty vantage points to the stream before they finally met up with their own (and my) prints on the main trail. This person was just enjoying the area! They hadn't been hunting or fishing or walking a dog. They were out enjoying the beauty of the land just as I had set out to do on my run.

The booted tracks disappeared in the parking area exactly where a bunch of car tracks picked up. It was also the start of my climb up and out of Spring Creek Canyon. The snow made the climb even slower for me than the few times I had run this route before. I had only been able to make it to the top commuter lot without stopping to walk maybe 2-3 times and it was when I had been training for the Nittany Valley Half Marathon. I allowed the very few rabbit and squirrel tracks to distract me as I followed my own tiny prints up and up and up. I took the hill so slowly that I made it to the top without walking and I think I was even less winded than usual.

Retracing my route went pretty well for the most part. The wind picked up and made me struggle between wanting my mittens on or off. I opted for off but pulled my coat sleeves way down to keep the chilly wind off of my bare skin. I know the blaze orange vest added visibility as I ran back Shilo Road but as I got closer to home it felt kind of silly. Sometimes retracing my route can be a bore but following my own tracks that had lead me to wonderful scenes of beauty kept the final miles fresh.