In case you’ve been living under a rock, the DC area has been living under nearly three feet of snow for the past week. It was great to have three days off work (plus two days of three hour delays), catch up on sleep, spend some quality time with Moose (oh yeah, and Elliott), and see the neighborhood in a new way.

However, it can drive you insane. Here’s how I coped.

1. Lots of time on the bike. When the storm was approaching, I asked my coach if I could have blanket permission to bike up to two hours and run up to 10 minutes each day of the storm. She agreed, probably not realizing that DC isn’t as resilient to snow as her hometown of Rochester, NY. There were many, many spin and tread

   

   mill sessions over the past week. To keep things interesting, I used my go-to app, Trainer Road, which has over a thousand workouts and will automatically adjust your trainer’s resistance if you have a Kickr (or provides virtual power based on an ANT+ stick and your cadence meter if you have a regular trainer). After a few days, I also ventured into Zwift territory. Zwift basically turns your trainer into a video game and allows you to ride in a virtual world with strangers or other bored friends. I have many thoughts on Zwift, so will save them for another post once I’m more familiar with it.

2. Netflix…and Hulu. (Different from this.) I know, I know, I should have taken the opportunity of the storm to stock up on library books, write my memoirs (though I did blog!), or at least finish my taxes. But those are hard to do on the bike and treadmill. So instead, I caught up on the Daily Show, started Orange is the New Black, and reminded myself what I was missing with The Office.
3. Snax. While I mostly make good food choices, the biking + shoveling + snowshoeing called for some delicious food and drinks. Don’t judge.
   

   
4. Sewing. Yes, yes, so domestic. But what if I told you I made a wine tote? And am such a design dork, I even made prototypes using an old shower curtain and tissue paper?!
   

   

 

But the snow has stopped, the plows have come through, and next week I’m facing a whole FIVE DAYS of work. Sigh. How did you weather the storm? Any recommendations for the next one?