fitness · running · winter

Tracy finds heaven: Winter running on snow-packed roads in above zero temperatures!

Tracy I

I know I’m all over the place. First I’m gearing up for winter running. Then I can’t even! And now, after one weekend where the temperature went up above zero Celsius and I was in my favourite place in the world (at my parents’ house at the lake), it feels do-able again.

When Sam tagged me in a weather post about the rising temperature, I got very excited about it. The first thing I packed for my weekend away with some friends (my parents, whose place we were at, are in warmer climes for a bit) was my running gear.

On Saturday morning I ventured out and here’s a short photo essay of the heaven I experienced.

My favourite lane:

Image description: Snow-covered lane with tire tracks on it and leafless trees on either side.
Image description: Snow-covered lane with tire tracks on it and leafless trees on either side.

The road was snow-packed and kind of slick, so I wore ice grippers on my shoes. They work really well as long as there is snow or ice. Not so well on bare asphalt or concrete, which is why I never wear them in the city.

Image description: A patch of snow with Tracy's left foot in a robin blue running shoe with black ice grippers in the bottom of the image. A single brown leaf is in the snow just ahead of her foot.
Image description: A patch of snow with Tracy’s left foot in a robin blue running shoe with black ice grippers in the bottom of the image. A single brown leaf is in the snow just ahead of her foot.

There are lots of deer up in that area, and I saw evidence of one at the 2K mark of my outing.

Image description: Another patch of snow with Tracy's left foot, robin blue shoe and ice grippers. This time there is animal paw print (probably deer) in the snow just ahead of her foot and a tire track to the right of it.
Image description: Another patch of snow with Tracy’s left foot, robin blue shoe and ice grippers. This time there is animal paw print (probably deer) in the snow just ahead of her foot and a tire track to the right of it.

As you can see, I was pretty happy that day. I mean, you have just got to appreciate these small breaks in the weather and when they come on a weekend getaway, well! How do you spell “H-E-A-V-E-N”?

Image description: Head shot of Tracy, smiling, wearing a pink, blue, purple and yellow buff, white ear buds, and a purple shirt with white specks, snow and trees in the background, and a sign post with surnames on it indicating the people who live in the lane.
Image description: Head shot of Tracy, smiling, wearing a pink, blue, purple and yellow buff, white ear buds, and a purple shirt with white specks, snow and trees in the background, and a sign post with surnames on it indicating the people who live in the lane.

When I got back to the house everyone was eating homemade waffles and fruit salad. Once fortified, we took a drive down the road to visit the Haliburton Forest Wolf Centre.

Image description: white wolf standing on snow covered ground among trees, head turning towards the camera.

Published by Tracy I

Writer, feminist, vegan, runner, philosopher, yogi, knitter, co-founder of Fit Is a Feminist Issue, co-author of Fit at Mid-Life: A Feminist Fitness Journey (Greystone Books, 2018). Current project: a work-in-progress book on imperfect veganism.