Suck it, winter.

When I was moving to Michigan seven years ago my boss at the time, in attempting to dissuade me, said, "Michigan? Really? You know it's cold there." My last night in Norfolk was unseasonably warm - in the 70s. We even had dinner outside on the Oceanview Pier.  It's about a 12 hour drive from Norfolk to Lansing, and we expected to do it all in a single day. We had three vehicles - my dad driving my car, my mom and brother following in my parents' car and me driving the moving van. We got to the Ohio Turnpike and stopped for dinner when it started snowing. By the time we left dinner the weather was treacherous. I discovered as I was trying to call my parents that my cell phone appeared to be missing. We pulled off onto an exit and decided to stay the night. We ended up at a hotel in a room with the four of us and two cats. Quite the start of my life in MIchigan.

With my parents, siblings and niece my last night in Norfolk
When we arrived in Lansing on Super Bowl Sunday in 2006 it was 7 degrees. SEVEN. My dad looked at me at one point and said, "Are you sure about this?" I wasn't. It was freezing. But I was here, and it was an adventure. I'd been to Michigan in the winter before, and I thought I knew what I was in for. I didn't. 

In my seven years in Michigan there are a lot of things I love about living here. The winter is not one of them. I like winter until December 26, and then I'm over it. I spent this past weekend at Crystal Mountain in northern Michigan for a work meeting. I ran 8 miles on the treadmill on Friday evening because it was cold and snowy. I don't mind running in the cold or snow, but it was getting dark, and I wasn't really sure where to run. I also didn't want to get chased by a bar. So while I hate running on the treadmill, but I had to knock out a long run. 

Yesterday, while driving back from a work meeting in northern Michigan, I ended up in a white out. I was the only car on the road at multiple points, and it was stressful. Today in Lansing the temperature was in the teens with a bitter wind chill. Despite a mild winter the last two years, I am immediately irritated by the super cold weather. I have been enjoying the freakishly warm 50 degree January.

There's a lot of winter left in Michigan, and that means running in the bitter cold and working in more cross training. I am continuing my winter trend of cross training with the world's toughest trainer, Jillian Michaels. I have moved on from the 30 Day Shred to Ripped in 30. Just when I think Jillian's DVDs can't get any more difficult I discover level two of Ripped in 30. Holy wow. There are still two more harder levels. If nothing else comes from this bitter cold, my shoulders will at least be ripped. In the mean time I'll just be counting down until spring. It's going to be a while...

Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 22, 2013 at 10:44 AM

    Someone fantastic is missing from the photograph. Oh, and it will Spring before you know it. Maybe I shouldn't beg to see know so often.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJanuary 22, 2013 at 10:45 AM

    I meant snow! Snow so often.

    ReplyDelete
  3. SamanthaJanuary 22, 2013 at 11:35 AM

    I don't know who is missing from the photo. Jared? Snow is one thing. It's bloody freezing here. It sucks. I'm moving back!

    ReplyDelete

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