Winter Canal Running

"People ask the way to Cold Mountain.
Cold Mountain? There is no road that goes through.
Even in summer the ice doesn't melt;
Though the sun comes out, the fog is blinding.
How can you hope to get there by aping me?
Your heart and mine are not alike.
If your heart were the same as mine,
Then you could journey to the very center!"~Han Shan, 750

Run: 7.4 miles in 1:00:12 min. @ 3:50 p.m.
Pace: 8:08 min./per mile

Weather: Light Snow, 30°F, 66% Humidity, Wind: From ENE @ 5 mph; feels like 24°F.
Course: On the canal beginning at Lock 33 (Edgewood Avenue) to Mitchell Road (2.39 miles each way). The distance was determined by using the Erie Canal Running Distances Chart (out-and-back, paved path, flat) available on the Greater Rochester Track Club website.

When I set out for my run, the snow had not yet started falling, although here was already a "Weather Advisory" in effect, but there was little evidence of its necessity. The running weather was actually very favorable--cool enough to be of comfort as one's body heat rises with miles, but not s cold as to chill the skin, and too little wind to be truly abrasive.

On the canal, the leaves had all fallen from the trees and presumably had been layered at the base of the brush, now hidden beneath snow. The drained canal was now even more visible at certain points and a few ducks remained behind, dipping their feet in the small puddles that were visible toward the centers of remaining frozen puddles... further down the path where the canal's water surface had frozen more fully, and the now falling snow had begun settling on the ice, some small footprints (maybe rabbits, cats, and possibly raccoons) were visible crossing the ice...

I had not run on the canal following a snowfall in the past, but enjoyed the small challenges, like the hardened footprints left in the snow before a freeze, which had been created. There was a bit of "black ice" on the few areas at which some shoveling of snow had been attempted moved previously, but even that wasn't truly a concern except for the final 1/2 mile or so during which time the sun had fully set.

Embrassez votre été invincible!