Waiting a day until the roads are clear and getting one 16 mile run in on a treadmill is of greater benefit than a long run of 10 miles imho.

Plus, think how dumb you'd feel if as a 'hardcore' outdoor runner you slipped and injured yourself when you could have been safely getting a quality workout at a gym.

There's no reason to be hardcore when what you are doing is a hobby. Unless you're putting bread on the table from speedy running, be smart and run safe.

Have fun out there!

Running on treadmill during the cold snowy winter days allows you to stretch out and it is important as well; but running in the snowy condition also has its value as well. Use a good balance and common sense and don't shy away from either of them. In fact, I would take painfully slow run through the snow , even if it's "only" 12 miles instead of 16, any day over boring run on treadmill. In fact, it would probably have added benefit of lifting knees more (sort of like resistance work), working more on your ankles, developing more supple running form. Just like cross country running, those who don't like running in the snow are the ones who would benefit most from. Go easy because it stretches your Achilles more (from slipping); obviously try not to run fast. You cannot run as fast, so forget about minutes-per-mile business. It is so irrelevant anyway. Go by effort and feel.

Don't underestimate the "fun" element of running in the snow either! I personally LOVE running in the snow. In MN, of course, that means it's not too un-Godly cold either!

Finally - I found the boards. And it'll even let me respond. Apparently the new system only accepts certain browsers - the clunky, slow ones (not the one I had been using). Just curious what others are using. My Netscape 7.1 just gave me empty spaces for the "Discussion boards" - and it takes 3-5 minutes to change screens in newer version. (And I thought RW had really messed up in their fiasco 1.5 yr ago.)

Anyway, to the OP, yes, enjoy running in the snow -at whatever pace. We use "snow" generically, but there's many flavors and each has its own joys and issues. There's heavy, wet, slushy snows. There's the light new fallen snow that's so fun to run in while it's falling and accumulating. For general running, there's no real need to use the tm - except for ice or specific types of running - or some folks find the tm helps with getting consistent runs in when all they're available time is dark and roads are bad (assuming they run on roads). And if you're training for a winter race, there's the specificity issue. If I'm doing 10-16 miles - or equivalent time - I'll be training on a route that's specific to a race or rolling hills or whatever. And it'll be done as a continuous run (or run/walk, run/walk/eat, whatever). If you're not used to running on snow, and you've got some loose stuff, then you may want to switch the run to a different date, run less as you chose to do - whatever.

FWIW, we're just now starting to get cooler temperatures and some snow cover (and most people have been really grumpy in the warm, snowless terrain esp. since it's dark without snow). Last Tues I did about 2 hrs in fresh snow on unfrozen ground (south-facing slope) with some patchy ice on north-facing slopes. Great run. Wed I did a route with more hills and more ice on north-facing slopes, mostly single track - ok, but not so good. Thurs, noticing that the wide trails had more snow the day before, I used my cleated running snowshoes and had a pretty decent run - good firm traction on all my hills - well on the uphill, anyway. Sun I did an easy run on my out-the-door flat, straight trail that had been pummeled into having hard-packed snow. Great run - almost like dirt. A little 10-20mph wind at one end of the trail just provided some extra resistance. Good training for a potential winter race I'm considering. Now that things are freezing, we can go run the frozen swamps where the winter races occur. And even if I don't do the race, it's a change of pace for winter running and fun.

Point being, don't get too concerned about pace. Be concerned about the objective of your run and having fun. Some runs can be most anything anywhere. Some are best under certain conditions. Winter is flexibility season.