Can you run fatter tires at lower pressure on that frame? If not I think you would benefit from a more appropriate bike, something like a Surly Crosscheck on 700x40 tires. Life is just too short to deprive yourself of a pleasant commuting experience due to riding the wrong sort of bike for the conditions.
__________________
"Surely one can love his own country without becoming hopelessly lost in an all-consuming flame of narrow-minded nationalism" - Fred Birchmore