Interesting Wave Phenomena

Time of departure: 7:25ish
Why so late? (Confessions of a bad running buddy...) I slept in. I don't know how it happened. It almost never happens. But if my two alarms couldn't pull me out of my sleep, I must have been having good dreams.

Return: 8:45amish
Sunrise: 6:56am
Temperature: -1°F(-18°C)
Wind Chill: -17°F (-27°C)
Dew Point: -12°F (-24°C)
Water temp: 33

Sky cover/ environmental observations:
Obviously, it was cold. The sun was out and shining, the sky was a clear blue. The lakefront looked like a holiday greeting card. There was approximately an inch blanket of very white snow covering everything. The sun was still low on the horizon, and everything from the trees to the ripples in the snow cast blue shadows on the ground. It was very pretty with all the blue-ish white everywhere.

Matt and I both guessed that the lake would be frozen up to the shore. We were totally wrong! It was open water almost as far as the eye could see. And what an interesting sight it was! The waves came in to the shore from the northeasterly direction, then reflected off the wall (south of Foster Ave) in a southeasterly direction. Just like a billiard ball would bounce off the side wall on a table at an equal and opposite angle. But the interesting part was that the waves, as they were coming in, would break against the waves that were heading out. I wish I could make a graphic, I would post it here as it is difficult to convey the simple beauty of this phenomena. I had never seen wave patterns like this before. They were so organized, as if Lake Michigan were a wave table.

It made me feel really good and happy inside, seeing this open water!! Oh, how I love the water when it's moving and talking and jumping and grinding....I mean.. :) Anyhow, it was great to see it alive again.

[Matt, I have another idea. Perhaps part of what made this wave pattern seemingly unique is that there wasn't enough force in the waves to cause them to break against the shore so they were able to just reflect back out. More typically we would see the waves breaking against the wall, would we not? Which would then not create the pretty pattern we saw today.]

The running path had an inch of snow on it too. This was different from previous runs in that the snow was not light and fluffy. It felt hard and crunchy and uneven beneath my feet. It was harder work, like running on sand. Good exercise for the ankles! Other observations? Matt said he smelled the pine trees, but I haven't smelled them in days. I haven't smelled anything in days.

Lake Shore Drive: Not terribly noticeable. Is it during warmer weather that the taste, smell, and sound of the cars is more of a problem. (Matt-- score another point for cold weather).
Route: The usual.
Running buddy: Obviously Matt.

Clothing: The usual "extreme cold weather wear." Oh, it's so nice that I don't have to debate what to wear each morning. It's nice I just have to scurry around my apartment looking for all my cold weather adornments.
How did I feel? I felt like I didn't eat my banana this morning. But good. (Sorry, Eric. You're going to have to start your own blog if you want complaints. But thanks for your feedback).
People spotted from the hill: One person walking. No soccer, no rugby, no kites flying, no little kids running and screaming.....oh, I can't wait for summer! Uh.. Did I just admit that? Shame, shame, I'm must be weakening.

People tally:
4 walkers
2 runners
3 cyclists
4 people with dogs
1 person standing and looking at the lake, then walking to his car. He was seriously underdressed.

Dog Beach: Empty
Destination: Dry clothes
What do I like about running? Well, lately I've been thinking a lot about the relationship I had, and in a sense continue to have, with my dad through my relationship with running. More to come on that later.