We knew the weather was predicted to be cold for Saturday morning. My dad had been planning on making the 4-5 hour drive from South Dakota to run with me at the Jingle Bell Run, but when they started predicting single digits and possibly windy conditions, he finally reconsidered and cancelled his plans to join us. It was disappointing, but ultimately the right decision, I think.
I had not adequately prepared for this race, I'm afraid. With the crazy schedules, snowy weather, additional appointments this month and solo-parent travel to Florida over Thanksgiving, I hadn't run as much as I had planned to, and I hadn't run outside at all in over a month. I had winter gear, I just hadn't gotten out there to test it with running. I wore it to shovel snow one time, and that was it.
I had new shoes with Gore-tek. I had new smartwool socks ($14!!) I had a windblock fleece jacket. I talked to Austin and my dad a few times about what I should wear. It was the best I could manage, somehow. The new stuff worried me a good deal.
Saturday morning, I got up early and put on the more insulated, non drawstring pants (the drawstring ones seemed not warm enough) and the winter running pants I had gotten the day before at the running store for 30% off. I had washed them, though. I put on the wool socks and two long sleeved shirts under my windblock fleece jacket. I got my fleece running gloves and the running mittens to wear over them as well and my blue hat. I rearranged my playlist in my iPod Shuffle so that all my BEST songs were in the front. I put my Garmin on over my jacket with some difficulty. There is a longer band for winter use, but I had a hard time finding the tool you need to change it.
Finally, I was ready to go. My husband and older son were ready to go (they were planning to walk the 2K) and my younger son was....still fast asleep. We finally managed to get him up and brought some breakfast along for him to eat in the car. We were getting going a lot later than I had hoped to. You never know how much trouble there will be parking or how long registration will take or lines for bathrooms even. So I was nervous as we headed out. And of course, on the route that we took, there is a railroad crossing. And of course, there was a train. But it wasn't crossing - it was already across the road, but it wasn't far enough to allow the arms to go back up again. So we sat there for a few minutes. Some people turned around and left. Some people drove around the arms. DH said "Well, I'm not driving around the arms. There's a cop right behind us." The cop drove up on the shoulder and I don't know if he radioed someone, but in a minute, the train started moving again, far enough that we could all proceed.
Well, we finally got there, and had plenty of time to get the kids into their snow gear, get checked in at registration, put jingle bells on our shoes, visit the facilities and decide that two shirts and a jacket was one shirt too many. There was a brass...quartet or quintet playing Christmas Carols I also met up with Austin and then Amy, and her husband Dean arrived as well. Amy goes to nursing school with Austin's wife. At the registration table, they stamped our hands for t-shirt pick up afterward. Except DH who was to distracted to check in, evidently. The stamps were snowmen, but the red ink ran so badly that it looked like a big spider-shaped rash. Eventually, this guy:
got up to tell us about the program our registration fees were benefitting, some of the safety considerations (run on the left hand side of the road) and that we would sing Jingle Bells to start the run. He said two choruses and then when we got to "Dashing through the snow," we'd all start running. Then we all headed outside in a big clump. The horse-drawn wagon was part of the 2K - it collected people as it drove the course. My family ended up mostly riding on it, though my older son trotted along beside it a good part of the run, or so I was told after the fact.
Waiting for the race to start:
Austin took this one, though he said he couldn't push the button with his gloves on. Evidently he managed, though. DH and DS are behind me.
DH took this one. Austin and Amy are behind me, not that you could recognize them with all the gear on. Amy is wearing the black balaclava and hat. Austin's mitten is right behind her.
So we sang the chorus of Jingle bells, and I thought we were singing Jingle Bells, jingle all the way a second time as he said, but people started into Dashing through the snow, and I was caught a little off guard, but started running and started the Garmin. Amy had said she was probably going to run 10 or 11 minute miles, which is on the faster side of what I usually do, but I thought maybe I could keep up with her. Well, she went out fast - like 8 minute miles? And I was trying to catch her, which was, I decided, a very bad plan, as my lungs were kind of surprised by the temperature and I ended up feeling like I was overexerting too soon in the race. I slowed down. I got passed by Santa. I tried to catch my breath. I readjusted my hat and remembered that I had my headphone in one ear and I just needed to turn the music on. "Love in an Elevator." I ran some more. I pulled off into a sidewalk to adjust the tongue of my shoe which was bunched and bugging me. Gotta fix that. And started up again and thought that I was in big trouble. It was right around zero degrees according to the car. It wasn't windy, but it was quite cold. I kept going. Then there was the first marker. I was kind of expecting it to be marked in miles - all the other runs I have done were marked in miles. This one was kilometers. I realized there was a long way to go.
My sunglasses kept fogging up, probably due to my gaiter and continued breathing. I felt like there was a thin coat of ice on my nose and cheeks and decided I needed to pull that gaiter down or I would continue to form a thicker coat of ice on my skin.
It was a pretty run through a small town. The snow was lovely at times and I thought about taking a picture from time to time, but had mittens on and didn't end up getting the camera out of my pocket. It is NICE to have pockets - a benefit to running in the winter, I guess. I just kept going at my more comfortable pace. At the beginning of the second mile, I felt fairly comfortable - my feet were warm, my legs were warm. I was a little sweaty inside my jacket. I was carrying my sunglasses due to the fogging and freezing. Eventually, I put them inside my jacket. Eventually also, I unzipped my jacket halfway to allow more venting, but I didn't want to freeze. A man passed me and said that I looked "steamy" which was probably about right. I had frost on the outside of my fleece jacket. I could feel it on my eyelashes.
In the last mile, I wanted to walk, but kept talking myself out of it. The music helped. In my lowest moment, Sexyback came on, and I can always run to that. Thank you, Justin Timberlake! And then it was the final stretch! I picked up the pace as much as I could and lumbered on toward the finish line - and there were Austin and Dean and Amy, cheering and waving. Amy commented on my lashes and Dean took a picture of me right after finishing.
Then I stumbled away to keep that secondary pump going - don't want to pass out, after all. I got back and they were ready to go in. I took another couple minutes and went inside as well. It was a big party in there, with delicious cinnamon rolls, cookies, scones, hot apple cider and bottled water. It was the best post-race food ever! DH and the kids were already inside, living it up.
We also collected our t-shirts, even DH, without his hand stamped. Apparently it is a pretty casual organizational element.
So I ran the whole thing in 33:35. It was slower than I had hoped for - I had hoped for 32, but not a lot slower. It was still a PR, and Austin consoled me by saying that the cold weather slows you down, too.
Thanks, Austin. It was a kind of a fun event, but not as much fun as events in more, uh, temperate temperatures, somehow.
My shoe decision worked out well - I had no blisters and my feet stayed warm the whole time. Austin said his feet were cold, although he had run the course 8 minutes faster than I had. He's asking Santa for Smartwool socks, evidently.
The only issue I had was that I ended up with a chafe from something in one of the pairs of pants on my left hand side. I don't know if it was a section of elastic that was laying wrong or a tag or what, but I'm going to investigate that before I run in the winter gear again.
Oh, and of course, later in the day, the temperature got up to 20 - that would have been so much less miserable. Oh well. It was my second 5K, and I bettered my previous time by almost 5 minutes. I have to be happy about that!
So look out - I'm a blue belt in Kung Fu, and I can do a really laughable scissors kick!
Congrats, girl!! (and the same to your DS!) I know how exciting it was to watch my DS do his karate tests when he was doing karate. 
But on to the Minnie. I am considering, tonight, whether I should sign up for both the 5K and 15K and do the Minnie version of the Goofy. It would be fun to have the chance to possibly run with Stacy. But on the other hand, I don't want to be completely out of hand or over-reach. Especially with all the park touring we are having in mind - trying to squeeze the Thanksgiving trip ito 3 days for DH who missed out. 
I am 34 years old, mother of two. What possible need to I have to be able to stretch that way? And why run 10 miles or even 9? Somehow, actually, 9-10 miles seems less silly than this foot behind my head business. I promise I will stretch carefully, won't push it. Will not stretch to the point of discomfort etc. etc.
MAJOR kudos to you for getting out there and running in those temps. You are one tough girl!!! 
And your pace was excellent...under the circumstances you should be sooo proud of yourself. That was excellent and it was a PR for you. PR = PR = PR!! 
