30 is Not So Bad After All!!!

Last night I decided to do a "test run" - to run outside in the cold to see if I was going to do okay in Mass. If you don't already know, it snowed over a foot in the Boston and surrounding areas last weekend and the weather now is in the 20s...and I have less than two weeks until the race!! So...I decided to run outside last night. It was 30 degrees in Des Moines (with a windchill -- feels like -30! No, just kidding, it was in the teens with the windchill). My plan: Run 10 miles. I mapped out a route, I got off work early enough so it would be light outside. I went to my hotel and put on my test outfit: gloves, hat, pants, sweater and long socks.

I started off. The first mile was HORRIBLE!!! I knew I was never going to survive the cold of the race!! My lungs were on fire, my cheeks were numb, my feet hurt...I was running through snow and frozen grass. I decided that maybe I would only run 3 miles (the shortest loop I could do without just turningn around and giving up). I missed the treadmill for once.

At mile two, the wind was lesser (or I had gotten used to it?) and the sun started to set, leaving me with a nice view of the sunset. I hit a "hill" in the sidewalk -- great training for the race! It was getting better... By mile three, I decided to do another loop. It wasn't so bad afterall.

So, after my original thought that I was going to die, I decided that it may not be TOOOO bad after all. I hope!!! Pray for sun, that's all I can say!