Well, I did it...

Smiling because it's almost over

It was clear last week that the weather would be snowy for the Gingerbread Pursuit.

I left the house in the dark a little after 7am, and made my way very slowly downtown. Friday night, I'd looked up parking and our start location.  I parked in a parking garage to avoid having to shovel snow off the car post-race, headed to Berry Street, then quickly realized that I had left my gloves in the car, so went back and grabbed them. After walking a couple of blocks (it was light now), I realized that I had made a massive miscalculation and had no clue where Berry Street was.

Downtown was pretty deserted, as one might expect on wintry Saturday morning. I was on the lookout for anyone in brightly colored running gear, with no luck for blocks and blocks, when finally spotted one of our running mentors running eastward. I'd been walking north.

So, I ended up having a good, brisk walk as a warm-up and made it to the packet pick-up locale with plenty of time to spare.

Good to have the ambulance handy

We started the race on a main road that had been plowed at some point. But then we moved to a side street. And then to sidewalks and paths where we went over bridges, along a river, and by the historic old fort. My main goal was to run in tread marks or places where people had packed down the snow to make it at least a little easier. It was like running in sand. 

This is my running friend who does her hair and make-up before the run. I could use some work in this area.

So, it was totally the hardest running conditions that I've ever run in. On the bright side, it wasn't icy, and the temperature wasn't bad--high twenties.

I would never apply for this person's job.

I did make it to the end where the poor person working as The Gingerbread Man (I hope he/she was paid well for this) stood for pictures.

Or the reindeer handler's job, for that matter.

In addition to the Gingerbread Man photo op, we were served water, a large gingerbread cookie and a muffin in a lovely warm room. My time per mile was a minute and a half less than the four mile run two weeks ago, which made me very happy, and I placed tenth in my age group. I'm sure there were plenty of people who were registered who didn't come, so it's not like I was ten out of fifty, but still--ten sounds good.

We couldn't get the ears to stick up enough.

Back at home, we got ready for our extended family Christmas celebration. Anna dressed Pepper in her reindeer costume, not Pepper's favorite thing.

My foodie brother.

We had tons of wonderful food, including my brother Chip's beef wellington.

Sprinkling herbs...

I'd never had beef wellington before. It's totally impressive.

Almost ready to roll...

Prosciutto, foie gras, mushrooms...

I'll be buying puff pastry in January for our galette des rois

puff pastry...

Just out of the oven. It was seriously delicious.

Here's link to a local news story that includes coverage of the run. The two people speaking were in our training group.

Weather Report--Balmy for the Run

At the beginning of October, I started running with a local group. Going into it, I wasn't sure  if I would be a part of the Walk/Run Group or the Running, But Very Slowly Group, but after running a mile the first night without dying, I claimed a spot in the R,BVS group (They don't actually call us that, but we all know that's what we are.)

We've been training for the Gingerbread Pursuit four mile race which will take place this Saturday.  Justin and I ran four miles on Thanksgiving morning at the Galloping Gobbler, so I know I can do this one.

Are everyone else's kids way cooler than they are without even trying?  Maybe if I practice a blank teenager stare and raise an eyebrow sardonically?

The problem with training this time of year is that it's cold outside. I've learned when I need to layer pants, how long I have to run to feel warm, and at what point my face won't feel warm no matter how long I run. All helpful things to know.

Here's the weather report for this week...

I had to look up what Sunday and Monday's weather symbols meant--mass flooding? It's fog.

I saw this and was happy. Saturday will be positively balmy! A high of above freezing for the day may mean high twenties in the morning, which would mean that though I need a double bottom layer, my face won't be frozen during the run. Or it may still be 18 when we run at 8:30, which will be, um, painfully cold and may call for a third bottom layer.

The snow shouldn't pose a problem since the my path will be cleared by all the speedy runners ahead of me. 

So I can now add running to my very short list of things that I'm willing to do when it's in the twenties outside--get the mail, walk from my car to the store, shovel snow, and um.. that's about it. I'll slowly make peace with midwestern winters, one activity at a time.