Robbie Burns 8k

All my non-running friends think I'm nuts for running outside in the cold for the Robbie Burns 8k this past Sunday.  It was very, very cold (like minus 27 C... brrrrr).  Like Chris said, the bus ride was great, but cold.  I hate being cold.

Got to the race and got to warm up a little in the school, getting ready.  So many layers!  With 20 minutes to start, I decided to do a warm up.  My warm up didn't go all that well, I didn't really warm up, my toes were numb.  Before we left, back at the house, I said to Chris, maybe I should wear two pairs of socks... he just laughed and said "don't be silly... two pairs of socks."  I wished I had two pairs of socks standing in the start corral!!  People were jumping around to keep warm... we were all thinking, come on, let's just get this over with so we can have some nice warm oatmeal!!

The horn goes and we're off.  There were lots of people in the race this year and I misjudged where I should have been, so for the first km or so I was trying to get out of the crowd.  Where I am in the crowd you always get 3 or 4 people all running side by side, so it's hard to get past and you don't want to be mean and shove them out of the way, although sometimes I think about that...

Once I got to my pace, everything was okay, my feet finally started warming up, it was cold, but sunny, so I just kept on going and saying in my head, just get this over with.  Then we turned a corner to go south and right into the sun.  It was so nice, it was a bit of a downhill, so I remembered what coach said, take advantage of the hill... so I did.  Then I started getting hot.  I thought, maybe I should take off these big mittens, but then I thought, as soon as I turn the corner again, it will probably get cold... which it did later, so I'm glad I stuck with the mittens.

Then we turned the corner again and headed north.  A "slight incline" all the way to the finish.  It's amazing how a "slight incline" can make you feel so tired and winded!  I could see the school, which was just before the finish, also where we started, up in the distance and just kept telling myself, just get to the school!  It seemed to take forever to get there.  Then, once you get to the school, you have to turn the corner and there's the finish line.  I saw Chris in the crowd cheering me on.  I was so winded I couldn't even smile.  I could see a fellow Longboater ahead, so I gave it all my might to catch up... almost, but not quite.  My poor lungs!  I was so happy to stop running!

I did manage to take of 54 seconds from last year.  Not what I was shooting for, but hey, I can live with that!

Chris was not happy with his race.  I think he's too hard on himself sometimes, but that's what he does.  It was cold and not very many people had a good race.

Robbie Burns is a great race and I'm looking forward to running it again next year!!

Next race... Miami Half Marathon this coming Sunday.  At least it will be above zero!