Nu shooz / The (Running) Troubles, Part 4

After taking a two-week break from running, I bought a new pair of Ghost 3’s (the snazzy blue piping version) at Running Wild yesterday and immediately dirtied and soaked them in the rivers of melt water flowing down the streets and sidewalks.

Two weeks after The Blizzard of ’11 — the very thing that prompted my break — a big melt has set in. Snow destroying temperatures in the 40s and 50s are forecast for the remainder of the workweek, which, hopefully, means the sidewalks will finally be dry and clean for the first time in a while. It will be very nice not worrying about packed snow and ice, but I will need to deal with cold puddles in the meantime.

Though winter is far from over (technically March 20, but I am sure Jack Frost has a couple more cold snaps and storms in store), one thing I learned from running in the Iowa deep freeze is that it is conquerable to a point. The cold is surmountable, and so is a little ice and snow. What makes it difficult is when it unleashes its full fury and lazy assholes do not clear their sidewalks.

But as the snow melts and temperatures warm, gradually transitioning to spring, the problem of puddles rears its ugly head. You never realize how poorly drained the sidewalks are until 15 inches of snow starts liquefying. Every dip becomes a miniature lake and every stretch an obstacle course. Needless to say, running was interesting yesterday.

Running in the street is an option, both when the sidewalks are covered in snow and melt water. Thanks to the efforts of the city plow crews, the streets are usually cleared and perfect for running. However, the streets in Little Cedar Rapids and IC in general are nothing like the wide, dead end stubs of Springdale and Talbert in Huntington Beach. They are narrow and often lined with parked cars. There is little room for maneuvering, and motorist need to (by law) give runners, pedestrians, and bicyclists a wide birth, meaning they have to drift into the center of the street to pass or — GASP! — stop if there are cars coming in the opposite direction.

What also does not help is the fact that 90 percent of Iowans become egoistic assholes when they get behind the wheel. As I told one of the shoe guys at Running Wild, Iowa drivers are fucking pricks. They stop on crosswalks and do not yield to pedestrians when they turn. (Just like in California, motorists in Iowa always need to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk.) I always wave to motorists who do yield, hoping they will make it a kind habit, but love pissing off the rushed assholes whenever I can, preventing them from turning right or keeping them from making a left turn onto a side street during a break in oncoming traffic. (Also, you would be surprised how often motorists want to pull into or out of driveways just as you are running by.) But the fact remains: in the battle between runner and car, the two-ton gas hog will always come out on top.

Basically, running in the street in IC is dangerous as hell and I only do it during the day when traffic is light. However, until the miniature lakes of Little Cedar Rapids are drained it may be necessary.