The Gift of Foresight

Christmas season is in full swing, so we've had to juggle our schedules a bit to accommodate all the holiday cheer.  We're actually doing really well sticking to the training schedule.  Saturday was our office Christmas party and if previous parties have taught us anything, it's that we'll be in no shape to run 10K at 830 the morning after.  As you see below, Christi did her run on Friday morning, so to avoid her showing us up for the week, Crystal and I met at the Weaselhead by the reservoir at 830 on Saturday morning for our weekly long run.  We headed out quickly, as it was REALLY cold and Crystal couldn't find all her layers (I watched her bare ankles with trepidation throughout the run) and I have to say it was amazing. The sun was still coming up and the trees were glistening with frost, it was really a Christmasy wonderland! 

The paths weren't cleared, so we had to run single file through the path carved by previous runners, but I have to say the whole route was breathtaking. I know I ran all summer and fall there, but it was totally different in the winter and I loved it!  We noticed that winter runners were a bit friendlier and everyone says hello, and that the path was also being used by walkers and cross country skiers, which we thought would be great for future crosstraining.  On the way back, all we could hear was our feet crunching through the snow and our (ok, my) heavy breathing. By the time we got back to the car, our eyelashes were starting to stick together and we both had frosty goatees. 

It's a good thing I had done this route before, because my trusty Nike Plus crapped out after 2.5K.  I'm not sure if it was just the fact I hadn't charged it all week or if the cold contributed, but we were left without it pretty early into the run.  I had a pretty good idea how far around to go before turning back, and we arrived back at the car an hour and 10 minutes later, so I think we were pretty close.  I checked on Google maps too and it looks like we were pretty bang on our 10K, but even if we were a bit short, I was still double proud of us all for planning ahead and getting our runs done early.  Even though it sucks to wake up early, and I am not an early riser in the least, I gotta say these early morning winter runs are something else.