Boost your running training with performance enhancing white powder

About 2 or 3 times a year I get the chance to do a snow run. Its like christmas day on my running diary. I get all excited and it makes every part of a familiar running route magical and new and sparkly.

Me dressed in Hi Viz black for todays snow run

As Claire and I had run over 15 miles on Saturday we chose a route close to home that started from my back garden and would take in a small part of the Greensand Way. As we ran down from my house we caught up with my wife coming back from her shorter run. She has told me to shamelessly plug her excellent vintage blog which can be found here www.drgvintage.blogspot.com

Dr G taking a pic of me whilst I take a pic of her

We ran out through Busbridge Woods and over the road running up and over Hydons Ball. Turning left at the Pumphouse we joined up with the Greensand Way running round the scenic part of Vann Hill. The snow was around 2 or 3 inches (real inches not man inches) deep so running through it involved lifting your legs up higher than normal.  Running in snow is much more tiring and we run about 25% slower because of it. Its an excellent form of resistance training.

The Water Pumphouse hidden in the woods in Hydons Ball

Sheep on Vann Hill

As we ran along a small stretch of the Greensand Way we realised that it had taken much longer than we thought to do the first 3 miles of our run so we took a diversion off it and ran back using Markwick Lane back towards our start.

With the snow even the lanes looked fantastic and with almost no cars (except the bemused policeman and his car totally stuck at the bottom of Markwick lane)  it was like running along a bridleway.

running up Markwick Lane

Our run totalled 5 miles and took a very long 1 hour 21 minutes but I was smiling almost all the way. I liked the schumpf schumpf noise of snow as we ran along, the silence of the woods compared to normal, how bright it was with the light reflecting up again and the patter splat noises of the thawing snow as it dripped off the trees........ oh..... and for some reason snow makes your running trainers REALLY CLEAN too.