Runnin' in a Winter Wonderland

Well the weatherman was right, darn it. We did get a couple inches of snow as you can see from these first sights that greeted me this morning...

The good news was that the snow had stopped. So it was just a pleasant 22 degrees with a windchill of 16. Not a bad day for a run.

My next-door neighbor Niki came over at 10:30 and, armed with my lucky new Twins stocking cap, we headed to Stevens Point.

Part of the fun of the Frostbite 5 is people dressing up in funky winter hats and full-blown Christmas costumes, too. Some creative -- and fast -- elves were on the scene. And a Mrs. Claus kicked my butt!

We were lucky because they got even less snow up in Point and some of the streets we ran on were perfectly clear. So I was feeling good at the start of the race. In fact, with sunny skies to boot, the first 2 miles went great and right on my pace schedule. Then we turned up the river road -- street following the banks of the Wisconsin River -- and we had a mile of snowy running. I hate running in snow. I'm a Nervous Nelly about slipping and falling. So that part slowed me down a bit.

I had a small sideache from mile 3 to 4 but I breathed through it. I knew my time would be slower than my best "practice run" but I was determined to finish close to it. And I did! I guess it's my best personal time for a 5-mile race since this was my first effort. So yay me!

Would I do it again? You bet. It honestly didn't feel as cold as I thought 26 degrees would feel. I somehow managed to wear the exact amount of layers to be warm but not too warm.

I'm pretty sure it was all the lucky hat *(:^)

Prep Work

I have been getting excited for my upcoming race -- which is suddenly tomorrow already. I did some training over the past month or so and, coming into this week, felt prepared to do OK for my first 5-mile race.

But that feeling has been dwindling a bit this week as I've kept an eye on the forecast. Naturally, a race called the Frostbite 5 should conjure up images of running in frosty temps and even rain, sleet or snow. But I wasn't thinking that. I was just thinking I would do pretty well (for me) with any temperatures -- as long as the roads were dry. Now it looks like we're going to get 2-4 inches of snow overnight and into the morning!

So the prep work sort of goes out the frosty window. Now I have no expectations of making good time. But I do expect I'll have one heckuva war story to tell! That should make it fun in a cold, wet, possibly slippery way!

Ahhhh, why do we do this to ourselves??

Because we can.

Carter said he is trying a new exercise regimen, too. This for a kid who loves ice cream as much as his mother ... and eggnog and Christmas cookies, too. I guess it's better to start before Christmas than wait until New Year's when you might have to dig out of a bigger hole.

His basketball coach suggested they do 100 push ups a day. I couldn't even do 100 in a week! I said I'd do them with him as a show of support -- but not until after my race! I don't want anything hurting tomorrow... except maybe my pride if I fall on my butt or my face.

But that just makes for a better story anyway, doesn't it?