It has been DUMPING snow in Vail lately and my dog still needs to run. Not that I need my dog as an excuse to get out and run more but, it helps! I know he loves being out in the snow and so do I. This was the first time I wore snowboard goggles while running. I thought it may be a little silly at first and that I would over heat but, they had good venting and I kept the pace down till the end. We started off about the same as our last run and just went over the pedestrian bridge to Lionshead and over the skier bridge to forest road. Running in the snow is kind of like running in sand where it tests your footing and works more muscles. I also like running in the wind and snow for “mental toughness training”, I’ll tell myself, “I bet not too many other runners are out training in crap like this right now!” We made it over to Vail Village and wondered around the town and base area letting Rooster socialize a little. I picked up the bike path over my Golden Peak and passed the covered bridge cutting back through town and back on the bike path through Lionshead. This is where I decided to make it a longer run, I was dressed appropriately and feeling good so we decided to keep going to West Vail. This is also where the bike path got DEEP; we were breaking knee deep powder for a while. I love pushing through deep POW on a run and really feeling your core get worked. The bike path was beautiful with fresh snow all over the rocks in the river. We made it over to west Vail and through the traffic circles then took the back way home through the west Vail neighborhoods. There are a couple small hills on the roads getting back to my place, I had some good tunes going and crushed the last couple miles. If felt amazing to get out there in a snow storm and get a good longish run in the books. I wore my Max protection DryMax socks with GTX Scarpa Spark shoes. I had Pearl Izumi Thermal running tights under Under Armor pants. I had Scott Mittens, Patagonia Soft shell jacket and Thermal. I had a Buff around my face, Anon snowboard goggles, and a Salomon fleece lined winter hat. I wore my Nathan vest and ate some of a Kate’s Energy bar. After I made a smoothie with soy protein, almond milk, spirulina, blueberries, yogurt, and kale.