CORRECTION: I love Metro Transit!

OK, so I know last week I had a bad Metro Transit experience, but thankfully I did not let that sour my mood completely on taking using Metro Transit as part of "commuting toolbox." Even for someone who does a quasi-reverse commute, using public transportation is important.

Today is the perfect example. I rode my bike to work today, in spite of the dire predictions of snow/sleet/locusts. Why? Well, if I hadn't, it wouldn't have snowed and I would have regretted not biking. So I biked, knowing that by biking, I was screwing all of us into bad weather fortunes. But I thought I could be hardcore and bike home. Well, come 3pm the winds were gusting over 40 mph (a headwind no less) and a sideways rain was turning into snow. So I decided I just couldn't stomach the thought of biking home in that. So instead, I turned to the handy-dandy Trip Planner option and found out I could be door to door in about an hour. Not bad, considering I knew the highways would be so bad as to make the commute an hour of sheer tension and gridlock.

So I ran to the bus, took the bus to MOA, the train home, and 1 hour and 1 Newsweek magazine later, I was snug in my house! While 1 hour would have been unbearable if running/biking/driving had been more pleasant options, in this situation, it was perfect!

This is Bullsh!t

We're having a fantastic spring, weatherwise....or not.

Instead of shoveling out of another foot of snow, stay inside and watch this awesome song!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow...

8 inches of freakin' snow? Are you kidding me??? Check out my blog post from 1 year and 5 days ago. Yep, 81 degrees. And today we have over half a foot of snow on the ground.

Last night I went to the Twins Opener with Misty Mike (he calls me Nasty Nate for no other reason than alliteration, so I thought I'd return the favor), Dr. Em, and one of my friends (and by far the biggest Twins fan I know...nah, 2nd biggest Twins fan I know. NO ONE is a bigger Twins fan than Beth. Check out her blog for a recap on the game). Anyway, I'm sure you all already know that since we were prominently featured by national TV. During the standing O to Torii, the cameras lingered on us. Why? Because we're beautiful people, that's why! Then the text messages started pouring in from friends who saw us on TV. Good to know so many people are watching the game!

The game was incredible, great pitching by Livan. Good hitting, base running and all-around great small ball baseball which is always fun to watch. Hopefully the power turns on. We've got a lot of guys with that capability. I'm going back tonight for the game, so hopefully we get a power display! Come on Morneau, earn that huge salary! One guy who DID earn his salary upgrade was Joe NATHAN. He is so money! I was proudly wearing my Joe Nathan shirt, and he did not disappoint.

In other news, I'm going back and forth on this snow business. For one, I'm really tired of it. I'm so sick of walking through it, running through it, and mostly, NOT being able to pull my summer bike out of storage yet, although I'm sure the winter bike is enjoying the extra attention this year. BUT, this morning, I ran to work, and while it was the toughest 12-mile jog (and probably the slowest) I've done in years, it was also the most beautiful. The Minnehaha Parkway wasn't plowed, but that made it more picturesque. Seriously, it was really magical out there. I may have even had a runners high (there, now officially every running blog on earth has linked to this NYT article), and I didn't even need a harvest moon to get excited about running! But as magical as it was, I'd like the snow to magically disappear so I can get back to training for Boston and get back on the soft trails.

Favorite Overlooked Run

Tonight I was a ZEN runner. I almost didn't run today. I certainly would have been more than ok NOT running. But on my way home at 9pm, it was snowing. A nearly perfect, peaceful snow. I previously wrote about how I love running on freshly fallen snow. Well, there's only one thing better than that, and that's running on freshly fallen snow while a light snow is STILL falling. And tonight, that's what was happening. There was about half an inch on the trails, and a light snow coming down. So I laced up and hit the trails, even though I don't usually like to run after 9 or so. But the snow was calling. And it was peaceful. No traffic, the streetlamps illuminating little oasises of falling snow. It was like running from one island of light to the next.

My only debate was which trail to take. My default one hour run is the Lake-Ford loop, but I am getting sick of that, and I thought there might still be traffic on the river roads. Then I remembered I could take the Minnehaha Parkway to Nokomis. I rarely do that for some reason, even though it's so close to my house. The reason is that then it's doubling back on the parkway, and I hate running the same terrain twice. Give me loops! But the section of Minnehaha Parkway from the falls to Nokomis is in my opinion the most beautiful part of the Minnehaha trail. It is completely separate from the actual road by several blocks at that point, so there's no traffic nearby. And the floodplain is pretty wide so you're further from houses too. And to top it off, the foot and bike traffic on this stretch is oddly very light.

All of these combine to make for a perfect night of quiet zen running. I was just in awe of the beauty around me, and it just gave me a chance to clear my head and feel some peace. I usually pray a little while I run, but usually not too much because there are too many distractions. Tonight there were no distractions other than the peacefulness that enhanced my prayer. I'm rambling here, but basically it just felt great to get out and feel good about running outside again, instead of slogging through the run which is how I've felt lately.

Below I've inserted a map of that stretch of trail that I love. I think it's my "favorite overlooked run". What's yours?




View Larger Map

Snow Running

I was feeling a little under the weather today, but nothing could keep me from running today (although it could keep me from going any respectable distance). Why, you ask? Well, it snowed an inch today! That is my favorite time to run. An inch of snow is perfect. It's just enough to muffle the sound of running, and the sounds of the city, and not too much to make running extra difficult. So here's to running, and here's to snow!

What are your favorite conditions for running?