17 Jan 2009

Okay, everyone, I want you to do something for me. Go back through this blog, check out the archives, and anywhere I mention the cold, immediately have a hearty laugh at my expense, because I have been naive and disillusioned about this. TODAY was cold. When I woke up, I turned on the Weather Channel, which said Richmond was 6 degrees. Fifteen minutes later, that had fallen to 5. I think when I met the group at Byrd Park to begin our run, it had warmed considerably, to
around 12.

The run itself was spectacular. I ran with, and got to know, two more of my teammates, Jamie and Lexi. Jamie is our team rabbit, always well out ahead of the rest of us; but today he hung back and kept pace with me. Jamie is a Mentor with the Team, and (not to sound redundant, because I think I've said this about everyone I've
met so far) he's an incredibly nice guy. I had a great time running with him until about the 3/4 mark, when he finally kicked it up and disappeared ahead, leaving a little puff of smoke, a la the Road Runner.

About a third of the way into the run, Jamie and I caught up to Lexi, a fellow first-timer, training for the Virginia Beach Shamrock Marathon in March. Lexi and I kept each other motivated (okay, it was much more HER keeping ME motivated) through the last REALLY tough three miles, when we got to go back up all those
lovely hills we'd descended on the way out!

In all, it was a great run! I was originally scheduled to only run 12 miles today, but since that would have meant turning around early, and running by myself, I decided it would be better to add an extra mile, and stick with Jamie and Lexi. It worked out.

When Lexi and I got back to Byrd Park, I asked her to take a picture of my beard, which was absolutely coated in ice (not frost, but ICE) from my breath. It was uncomfortable trying to drink my post-run Gatorade, but since the Gatorade was frozen solid, it wasn't that big a deal. And still, I got a kick out of it. So, have
another laugh, on me.