Winter Training

This has been quite a start to the winter.  Boston has had its full share of snow, and we are only two thirds of the way through January.  It's been snowy and cold - so the snow hasremained on the ground more than usual.  

Running on streets just doesn't seem worth it - too much work navigating ice, cars, plowed and unplowed surfaces.  I generally run around the pond (even a higher percentage than usual) when I run at all.  

I purchased an elliptical machine through Craig's List.  I got a really basic one for $30 to see if I even liked the work out.  And, what do you know?  I did like it.  So, I negociated with another woman in Weymouth for a good, solid machine at a great price.  Brenda and I had a wonderful time meeting this woman (teacher) and her husband and two girls.

So, I've been learning to work out a good bit on an elliptical machine.  It seems to have the potential to build leg strength for hills because you can set its difficulty.  It really seems to give me a good workout.  The muscles being worked are a little different from running, so it is a good cross-training, but I still need to run when I can.  However, it can be hard to motivate to run in the cold, on packed, plowed snow.   It's a little slippery.  My runs in these condtions are usually about 4.5 miles long.