12 in a snowglobe by abby

it was very cold, and it was very snowy, but it really was beautiful. i lost the horizon a few times, which is a dizzying thing, but each time i just plowed through my own sphere of visibility, the pavement black and shiny, giant gauzy snowflakes clobbering me, accumulating on my hair, eyebrows, eyelashes. snow has a way of quieting down the raging world, of cancelling out sounds, of creating the illusion of peace. maybe that's what it's like inside a snowglobe: silent, and kind.

i had measured out this route last weekend with the GPS, which claims to be accurate to within a few feet. my time was 1:50:36 == 55:39 for the first 6 miles and 54:56 for the second 6 miles, or about 9:10s. that seems fast. it makes me question the distance. but then again: how do you argue with satellites? i finished cold and soaking wet but feeling good and strong. i squeegeed off my face with my fingers, shivered my way into the warm car and promptly steamed up all the windows. i'm not sore at all today; i guess i'm getting used to all of this. next week: same route plus one mile.