Thundersnow

Sunday's afternoon seven miler started as a gray, typical early February day. A mile in came a rumble like a jetliner at low altitude or...thunder. Surely not, not with 10 or so inches of snow on the ground and freezing air. Mile two, another rumble. Mile three, a flash of...lightning, yes, lightning, a crack this time not a rumble. Snow started as a flurry but mere minutes later was a downpour.

Thundersnow. A few more miles home in the driving sheets of frozen precip through the bizarre world of this rare phenomenon. Watched the rest of the show with a glass of wine in hand from our kitchen window. Seven not-so-boring miles on a gray Sunday.

Reading. I've delved into a few books lately. Most notably, "Feet in the Clouds: A History of Fell Running." This is a tough to find, but interesting book about the characters involved in fell running, which is basically mountain (fells) trail running in Great Britain, largely in the Lake District of north England.

I have a new hero--Joss Naylor, sheep farmer and mountain runner:

http://www.planetfear.com/article_detail.asp?a_id=818

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19960609/ai_n14048643

The chapter on him is well worth tracking this book down for. Actually, the rest of the book is good too--a mix of profiles, history and lore of fell running, and the author's firsthand accounts of his foray into the sport.

"Hard Road to Glory" Another British book, this one an autobiography of former Cruiserweight boxing champion, Johnny Nelson. I've been a big fan of Nelson's almost chessic boxing style since the 90's. He's virtually unknown outside of the U.K., and actually, probably isn't all that well known outside of his hometown of Sheffield, although this is a good read about a thoughtful and interesting boxer.