Snow is definitely worse than sand

Certainly as a vacation destination, I'll take sand over snow pretty much any day. But I suppose that's because I grew up in snowy climates.

But that's not what I was thinking about today. I was thinking that snow is definitely worse to run in than sand. Easier than in sand above the tide line, but definitely more difficult than sand below the tide line. Not only is the snow an obstacle and a shifting surface that you have to negotiate, the additional challenge of snow is that the snow we have now has been subjected to wind and sun since it fell, so it has a little bit of a crust on the top. But it's not thick enough that you can run on top of the snow. So when you run through it, the crust makes the slippage of your foot as you break it unpredictable. First you lurch to the left, then the right, then the heel, then the toe. It breaks your cadence and makes for a challenging run, that's for sure.

I was so excited about the possibility of running outside again. A chinook has finally blown in after some below seasonal temperatures, and the snow has stopped falling after a week of constant shovelling. The city here is really pretty good about clearing the walking trails, so I figured it would be the perfect day to go.

Alas, the city very efficiently cleared the snow several days ago, but the south end of the canals is all exposed land - housing developments are non-existent or just beginning - so there was a lot of drifting. At first I hopped over the drifts, actually enjoying myself, but then I turned a corner and the pathway was nothing but drifts! After ten minutes of slogging through them to come to a clear path again, I came to the conclusion that I'd rather run on the beach, than in snowdrifts!