Race Report

Well, I did it!

It was as bad as I could have predicted, weather-wise. At least 60%, if not more like 70%, of the course was completely covered in snow, ice, or slush. It was very slippery in patches; in the third and fourth miles, I was repeatedly losing my footing, though I never actually went down. It really had a negative impact on my time, which was 54:01 for the 8K. Still, I’ll take it; that puts my pace under the 11-minute mile mark, which isn’t too bad for my first time running in those conditions. I’ll do better next time.

I think this is a very similar course – starts at the same spot, anyway – as the Blarney 5K I want to do in March. Actually, yep, that’s it, except that they cut out the part where we ran through a park area across Swan Boulevard. Nuts! That part was actually sort of fun, although it was one of the icy parts. Went over a little footbridge and in wooded areas…very pretty.

Worked up a good lather, too! Even though the temperatures were in the mid-20s (Fahrenheit), I still took off my balaclava for the last portion. Gabe giggled when he saw me at the end. “Sweaty!”