Running Update (12/10/08)

Pat — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:10:44 +0000

I was able to run 10 miles in the windy, blowing snow last Saturday and hold an 8:00/mile pace.

I haven’t run as much this week. The weather really hasn’t helped with that: between Monday and Tuesday we got a ridiculous amount of snow. Monday night it started out as ice, which I had to scrape through about a solid 1/8 inch covering my entire car. Tuesday, I was on the way to work when WPR tells me that officially we shouldn’t leave home unless necessary -it should have sunk in when I was the only non suv on the road and my car (which is decently heavy) felt like a sled.

So, I did some running and cross-training indoors, then I tried a longer run outdoors tonight. There is an insane amount of ice, especially on hills. My run was more dancing, balancing, hopping, and slipping than anything else.
I did manage to make it six miles.

Oh well. It is winter.

Tuesday morning:

A Smart Idea? (Pun intended, sorry…)

Pat — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:17:26 +0000

Smart Car in Downtown Sturgeon Bay, WI

This past weekend I saw a Smart Car parked in downtown Sturgeon Bay in Door County, Wisconsin [map]. I found this really peculiar. I realize that Smart cars have recently been introduced the US market to probably fill the demand for fuel efficient and smaller vehicles. They’re very ideal for urban settings: both parallel parking and U-Turns in downtown Chicago must be a relative breeze and they have been used in Europe for years, where the tiny roads nearly require them. Door County is hardly this kind of environment. There are lots of long, wide open 55mph+ roads, and plenty of space. Generally, one sees Ford F-150s or cars with 150+ horsepower. According to Autotrader.com the Smart has 70 horsepower with rear wheel drive and weighs about 1850lbs. While it’s not ideal for the setting, it’s nothing too bad and it’s fuel efficient… I just hope they don’t attempt to drive it up there in the snow.

Pat Jordan » cars

Running Update (12/10/08)

A Smart Idea? (Pun intended, sorry…)