Storm's a-comin'

 

Description

...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM FRIDAY TO 10 AM EST SATURDAY... ...WIND CHILL WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM FRIDAY TO 10 AM EST SATURDAY... WHAT...Multi-hazard winter storm with a combination of strong winds, very cold temperatures, snow, and blowing snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 2 to 4 inches. Winds gusting as high as 60 mph. Dangerously cold wind chills expected. Wind chills as low as 30 below zero. WHERE...Portions of north central and northeast Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania. WHEN...For the Winter Storm Warning, from 1 AM Friday to 10 AM EST Saturday. For the Wind Chill Warning, from 4 AM Friday to 10 AM EST Saturday. IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. Widespread blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility and potentially cause hazardous travel. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning and evening commute. Very strong winds could cause extensive damage to trees, power lines, and blowing snow. The cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.

We've been hearing about this oncoming storm for a week, but now it's just about to arrive. What's a runner to do? Get his/her miles in while we can. And that was the plan for today.

Actually, the planning began last night. Realizing that Friday through Sunday are not going to be good for running, I decided that Thursday would be my day to get a long one in. A couple of my friends would already be running on the Lester Rail Trail; all I needed to do was arrive earlier to get enough extra miles in to call it "long." (That's by my definition - 18 or more miles = a long run. It would be no more than that this time around, but hopefully, no less either.) So I contacted Andy Wolff to see if he'd like to be my early companion.

Andy and I ran one six-mile loop from 4:30 to 5:30. It went pretty well. At that point, Andy had to head off to work, but Chadwick Sunday and his dog, Ella showed up for my second six. That was nice as well; I hardly noticed the miles going by. But now that it was 6:30, Chadwick (and Ella) had to leave for work as well. Of course, that's when Michelle Wolff showed up to accompany yours truly for his final six.

Yours truly was beginning to get a little tuckered out, but Michelle was okay with that, having just completed a strenuous strength workout.

We finished up around 7:30, just as it was beginning to get light. We beat the approaching bad weather by twelve hours or so. And I got my long run in.