Since Madison marathon I wanted some new challenges. We were all thinking about doing the Tecumseh Trails marathon again - but decided not to - long drive etc. I decided to plan a last long run of the year instead - free and fun and just because. It was scheduled for the 7th of December - same day as the trail marathon was supposed to be. The weather ended up being cold - VERY cold - 12 decrees cold, and at the time I though that was very cold. We had quite a few people say they would come on the FB event I made - but ended up with 5 of our regular runners - and 3 runners from the Midwest Misfits who were going to run the trail marathon - however it was canceled because of a big storm. So not a bad group for the weather. It ended up being a very nice 22 mile run starting at starved rock Visitor center, going down to the I&M canal trail, through Ottawa where we picked up another runner, and back through the trails to the start. After that we changed in the nice visitor center bathrooms - I forgot an extra coat :( and then we went out to eat at a place in Utica. Overall a really fun way to spend a Saturday - Yeah, I know, i'm a strange one....
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| Frosty.... |
After that - the next thing planned was 100 miles in 10 days - it started on the 10th of course. That was a Tuesday, I figured that would give us enough time to heal from the 22m fun run. We had a few people that originally said they would do it with us - but the weather did not make it easy for anyone. We ended up with 4 in our group, my sister and 2 neighbors Mike & Angela. And my sisters cousin did it remotely - he lives an hour and a half away - so he ran them all alone. Well, like I said, the weather did not work with us - the rules were - 10 miles ever day for 10 days - the miles could be split up through out the day, but no roll overs were allowed. On Tuesday it was -8 degrees - we though that was really cold and almost decided to do it inside. But we did not - we got our butts out on that road at 4:30am starting at my house - for a 10.3 mile loop - Surprisingly it was not that bad however my legs were super numb and cold after and a little wind burned - I added a layer of shorts over my 2 tights after that day. The next day was 18 degrees, but was basically a blizzard
(seemed like it anyway) Huge beautiful snow flakes that all seemed to be aiming for my eyes. The snow blows were not out yet at 4:30 and it had been snowing for about an hour - so the roads were covered. I think that was the hardest run - deep snow, some wind, and I HATE snow in my eyes. But we made it...It was funny that we though our 12 degree run was cold, because on day 3 we ran in -20 degree including the wind chill - now that was really cold. We made it though.... Day 4 was three degrees - not bad actually...
Day five we got snowed on AGAIN - yuck. It was Saturday morning and we met at 5:30am so my sister could make it to work in time... This time I tried running with my motocross goggles - they were great for a while till I was blinded by frost.... after that I just had to deal with the snow in my eyes again - they did get me through the head wind part of the rout. We did see daylight that day, so that was nice. running on snowy roads is so much harder than clear roads. We were all getting a little sore because of this. Day six was ten degrees and windy. It was Sunday and we met at 7am at silver springs for a hilly rout... That was a cold run - the wind just bit into us, not too fun... Most of us were under dressed for some reason - maybe because Saturday was actually pretty warm - Angela did not have her face covered and I can not imagian how much that must have hurt because mine was mostly covered and hurt...She's a tough one. Day seven was 10 degrees - it was nice out - one of our better runs - Day 8 was alright - Angela's knee was really bothering her - She though she would have to drop out, but she didn't... day 9 was ok for my sister and I - the mood looked amazing - really bright with cool ripply clouds around it... Mike got sick though - he and Angela were going to try to go later in the day - Mike could not and Angela went alone - sore knee and all... Today - the last day the 3 of us (mike still sick) headed out on our last and warmest run. it was 21 degrees and not windy. We finished pretty strong and got back with time for me to actually make lunch. Clear snow free roads are awesome. I'm happy with all of us for getting through it. Mike with 80 miles... he looked pretty miserable in this mornings pic. Bad timing to be sick - that's for sure. I think the hardest part was getting up so early. My legs stopped being sore for the most part by the end - kinda strange. I'm really looking forward to sleeping in for a few days. Another strange thing is that I did not lose a pound. I was so hungry i'm sure I ate more than usual, but not a ton though I don't think... I'm wondering what the deal is with that - hoping a few pounds will come off now that I get to rest and maybe my body will stop retaining water if that's what it is doing.... It was a fun experience though believe it or not. I would do it again next year. Something abut making a commitment and sticking with it no matter what (just about) - Something about that makes me happy.We also got called "crazy" and "Idiots" by a friendly motorist on Saturday, some drivers did not get over very well for us, but for the most part, the weather was our greatest trial. SO that's it for now.... Next up is probably the Polar dash... Then Debi and I signed up to run Catilina Island Marathon on March 15th... That will be amazing - really looking forward to that - I don't even mind that that means I don't really get a break before training starts the first week of Jan... 10 miles is not that long - put 2 together and that's our longest training run... piece of cake...
Since Madison marathon I wanted some new challenges. We were all thinking about doing the Tecumseh Trails marathon again - but decided not to - long drive etc. I decided to plan a last long run of the year instead - free and fun and just because. It was scheduled for the 7th of December - same day as the trail marathon was supposed to be. The weather ended up being cold - VERY cold - 12 decrees cold, and at the time I though that was very cold. We had quite a few people say they would come on the FB event I made - but ended up with 5 of our regular runners - and 3 runners from the Midwest Misfits who were going to run the trail marathon - however it was canceled because of a big storm. So not a bad group for the weather. It ended up being a very nice 22 mile run starting at starved rock Visitor center, going down to the I&M canal trail, through Ottawa where we picked up another runner, and back through the trails to the start. After that we changed in the nice visitor center bathrooms - I forgot an extra coat :( and then we went out to eat at a place in Utica. Overall a really fun way to spend a Saturday - Yeah, I know, i'm a strange one....
(seemed like it anyway) Huge beautiful snow flakes that all seemed to be aiming for my eyes. The snow blows were not out yet at 4:30 and it had been snowing for about an hour - so the roads were covered. I think that was the hardest run - deep snow, some wind, and I HATE snow in my eyes. But we made it...It was funny that we though our 12 degree run was cold, because on day 3 we ran in -20 degree including the wind chill - now that was really cold. We made it though.... Day 4 was three degrees - not bad actually...
Day five we got snowed on AGAIN - yuck. It was Saturday morning and we met at 5:30am so my sister could make it to work in time... This time I tried running with my motocross goggles - they were great for a while till I was blinded by frost.... after that I just had to deal with the snow in my eyes again - they did get me through the head wind part of the rout. We did see daylight that day, so that was nice. running on snowy roads is so much harder than clear roads. We were all getting a little sore because of this. Day six was ten degrees and windy. It was Sunday and we met at 7am at silver springs for a hilly rout... That was a cold run - the wind just bit into us, not too fun... Most of us were under dressed for some reason - maybe because Saturday was actually pretty warm - Angela did not have her face covered and I can not imagian how much that must have hurt because mine was mostly covered and hurt...She's a tough one. Day seven was 10 degrees - it was nice out - one of our better runs - Day 8 was alright - Angela's knee was really bothering her - She though she would have to drop out, but she didn't... day 9 was ok for my sister and I - the mood looked amazing - really bright with cool ripply clouds around it... Mike got sick though - he and Angela were going to try to go later in the day - Mike could not and Angela went alone - sore knee and all... Today - the last day the 3 of us (mike still sick) headed out on our last and warmest run. it was 21 degrees and not windy. We finished pretty strong and got back with time for me to actually make lunch. Clear snow free roads are awesome. I'm happy with all of us for getting through it. Mike with 80 miles... he looked pretty miserable in this mornings pic. Bad timing to be sick - that's for sure. I think the hardest part was getting up so early. My legs stopped being sore for the most part by the end - kinda strange. I'm really looking forward to sleeping in for a few days. Another strange thing is that I did not lose a pound. I was so hungry i'm sure I ate more than usual, but not a ton though I don't think... I'm wondering what the deal is with that - hoping a few pounds will come off now that I get to rest and maybe my body will stop retaining water if that's what it is doing.... It was a fun experience though believe it or not. I would do it again next year. Something abut making a commitment and sticking with it no matter what (just about) - Something about that makes me happy.We also got called "crazy" and "Idiots" by a friendly motorist on Saturday, some drivers did not get over very well for us, but for the most part, the weather was our greatest trial. SO that's it for now.... Next up is probably the Polar dash... Then Debi and I signed up to run Catilina Island Marathon on March 15th... That will be amazing - really looking forward to that - I don't even mind that that means I don't really get a break before training starts the first week of Jan... 10 miles is not that long - put 2 together and that's our longest training run... piece of cake...
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