Why bother with snow shoes when you can wade through it?

Long run-day today, with four new runner-friends plus a small border terrier. 17k on snow, in snow, and even more snow.

 
OK, I may have short legs but running in knee-deep snow is hard work! Probably about a foot deep, but felt like more. For next time though: I need to get me some trail gaiters! Still, my feet were nice and toasty, thanks to my fab socks.

I can already feel where I’ll hurt tomorrow. Or rather where I won’t – the top of my head, basically. Scrambling up hills on all fours, try to run in the tracks made by two faster runners with longer legs than mine, running in a narrow “ditch” which means attempting to behave like a Lipizzaner doing capriole but with my legs almost crossed, and ideally also not sliding nose first downhill, into snow-covered shrubs or into deep snow in general, is hard work! Excellent cross-training though!

 
Only a little bit hilly. Kilometres 9-12 were completely off-road…

…and a wee bit slow.

 
For once my pulse seemed to behave in a completely rational way – I’m now using ultrasound gel to help with the connection between myself and pulse band which seems to do the trick.

This little route took 2:21, not bad considering the deep snow and the fact that running was near impossible through it. I feel like I’m coming down with flu and my whole body is only a little bit stiff (understatement of the year), but I’m still googling trail gaiters – and how to make them myself so I’ve got them before the snow melts (as it will as soon as I’ve ordered them…