8/8/8

What's the last 8 for in my title, you ask? 8 degrees this morning. How fitting.
I originally wanted to run my 8 miles on the Ice Age Trail so that I ran slower but had a higher HR, but the conditions weren't exactly accomodating:
-- We have 4" of fluffy snow resting one top of about 6" of crusty snow, so with every step my foot would break through the crusty stuff, leading to quite a struggle just to find a rhythm walking.
-- It's also another gun deer season here in Wisconsin, so although I was in neon yellow, I know I'm not all that welcome out in the forest.

So I returned home, switched out of the trail shoes and into the roadie shoes, and took off on a 10 miler, with the first and last miles serving as warmups. It was still very chilly, but I enjoyed being out there and ran a negative split to finish in 55:37. Not sure where that left me in the overall standings, but it was kinda neat to know there were a bunch of people running for the exact same purpose as me (with the Exception of our RD, who ran yesterday).

I think I've been reading too many of Doug's posts recently, as good ol' Patty Plantar Fascia is starting to stalk me again. Just what I need. I attribute this to the blistering pace set by my fellow participants in today's race: vehicles. They were averaging at least 40 mph every time the passed me, just fast enough to spray some salt/snow/slush in my direction. Not sure how that relates to Patty, but both irritated me a bit.

Despite finishing about 8 minutes before Doug, I must have taken a wrong turn on the course, as when I reached the finish line (corner of Hwy E and Hwy O) there were no awards left. Gimme my medals ya jerk!

Thanks again, Nancy, for a great event!