Running movie theater
Here in Reno we have been hit with 2 major snow storms in the last 10 days. Our house, which sits at 5600ft, is almost the altitude of Lake Tahoe… oh the snow. Last Friday we saw a total accumulation of about 1.5 feet and we thought that was bad. Wake up on Saturday morning and another 1.5 feet fell. I call that an official snow day. We could not dig out or leave the house. My lovely trails were covered. I had planned on doing a 20 miler on Saturday.  It occured to me that I could go dig out the old snowshoes and attempt a long run/hike in them or two, get my butt on the treadmill and just burn it.
I opted for the latter and decided to make the best of it. I put my laptop on the top of my armoire that faces my treadmill. I wanted to watch a movie and considered several choices. Do I watch a comedy like the “Hangover,” for the hundreth time? Do I go with a cute chic flick like “Sex and the City?” Or maybe I pick an inspiring running movie like “The Runner.” After a good ten minutes of weighing my options,  I chose “Lord of the Rings Return of the King,” as I considered the shear length of the film, the fact that I could watch Hobbits miserable journey to Mordor and of course Viggo Mortensen never hurts. I was so pumped on this idea, I almost made some popcorn to snack on.
So the running began. I decided just hit it fast and get it done with and throw in a few hills for fun. I had done some decent hill work that week and really needed to work on my leg turnover and speed. Its amazing what gains you can see when you start to get out of slow mode. Speed work is my new best friend because thats what I lost the most during my little 9 month break.
Watching Sam make his way to Mordor
I was mezmerized by how much I loved having that time to just zone out and watch a movie. As a new parent, movie watching is pretty rare and much appreciated. At the 9 mile mark, I just paused the treadmill, nursed Eva and got some more water. At the 12 mile mark I made an almond butter and jelly sandwhich. At the 14 mile mark I put the wet clothes in the dryer and started another load of wash. Yep, this multitasking, movie-watching treadmill was pretty rediculous but I got so much done!
My own little Hobbit watching her silly Momma run
Well, I would take trails over the dreadmill anyday. But, I got to at least run a bit and not totally call it a snow day.
