Photoless, because I wasn't about to lug my camera along the course.

Chad and I spent the weekend out of town. In Burlington, to be precise. We dropped the kids off for a much-anticipated sleepover at Gramma and Grampa's on Saturday afternoon, and then drove up the 401 and down the 403. We had to be in Burlington by 3 p.m. in order to pick up our race packets, because yesterday we ran the Chilly Half Marathon. Signing up for this race was pretty much the only tool I had in my arsenal to keep myself motivated over the winter months, and even though I let the snow and ice (and 100 day cold) get to me from time to time, overall the race did just that - kept me motivated.

When I first signed up - probably in November last year - I was thinking I wanted to PR at this race. My last half marathon was 5.5 years ago and my time then was 2:06 and some change. For a few blissfully ignorant weeks, I thought this would be the race where I broke 2 hours. Then reality set in: cold dark mornings, slow and ice, sidewalks that don't get plowed for 3 days so there is no place for me to run other than the road (and irate motorists when I take to the road), and of course, the congestion that just won't quit and doesn't make heading outside to face all of the above seem like such a great idea. Pretty soon I became comfortable with the idea of just running the race and not caring too much about my finishing time.

(the caps key on this keyboard has just officially quit.)

it poured rain the entire day before the race, and then a cold front came in overnight. we woke up sunday morning to a fresh 4-6" of snow. this made for some pretty icy and slushy conditions, but the temperature was fine and there was no wind. the course was a flat, out-and-back route. i had zero nerves starting this race. chad's training over the winter was sidelined by illness even more than mine, so rather than deciding to try for his own pr, he decided to run with me, and we ran the entire thing together. though if you check the results you'll see that i beat him by 3 seconds. (no idea how that happened as we crossed both the starting and finishing lines together!)

people always tell me they could never run, and i always tell them of course they can - do a bit today, then a bit more tomorrow, and so on, and sooner or later you've hit five or ten km. i understand exactly where they are coming from though, because my own personal demon seems to be 13 km or so. once i hit that distance my hips seize up, and it was no different yesterday. i was fine to that point and every step after that was agony. but there is nothing to do but keep going and get back to the finish line so that you can stop, and so that's what i did.

we finished in 2:10 and some change, which is perfectly fine by me. there was a chili party at the end of the race, in fitting with the Chilly theme, but after i have run that far, eating anything at all is the last thing on my mind, especially not mass-produced chili!! gross. we did stop for a celebratory shamrock shake on our way home, but even that didn't sound good to me and chad finished the last half. i will make up for it this week though - i use the week after a race as the perfect excuse to loaf around, skip a bunch of workouts and eat junk. i like post-race week. :)

next up on my calendar of events: it's time to leave the road behind, and focus on the pool for a bit. this is what i'm eyeing:i just need to get over my fear of sharks first.