Wait--is it sleeting?

Today was my first race since September of last year; it was a 12k Trail run at the Harbison State Forest (Make My Day 12k).  While I’ve run that far on the trails plenty of times, I have never actually raced that distance before, so I thought it would be an fun on to try out.

Here is my timeline of thoughts for the day:

7:30 am—it’s 45 degrees and drizzling outside.  Not too bad, once you start running, it will be fine

8:30 am—is it getting colder?

8:55 am –the race starts at 9; of course, it promptly starts raining pretty hard.  No worries—I won’t notice when I start running.

9:05 am—about half mile in, the sleet starts.  Ok, this could be an interesting morning.

9:30 am—3 miles mark? I thought I was about halfway there. Getting chilly.

9:45 am—at least the rain has let up.  Wait –no, it’s coming down harder.

9:55 am—I realize I can’t really feel my arms anymore.

10:15 am—I cross the finish line, just in front of an TEN YEAR OLD BOY.  Keep an eye on that kid, folks.

10:16 am—1:12?  That seems slow.  Why does my watch say I ran 8 miles? I thought 12k = 7.4 miles. 

10:30 am—Get back to the car, and change out of my wet shirts.  This was much more difficult than it should have been, as my hands and arms were almost completely numb and in operable.

11:00 am—take the longest, hottest shower since I lived in VA.

Overall, good race, lots of fun, and a lot of folks signed up for it.  Wish we had run it yesterday (when it was 65 and sunny) instead of today!  But, really, the cold rain, sleet, and mud made it more of a challenge, which is all I really want out of these things.  How hard can I push myself?  What weird, difficult settings can I put myself into?  How will I respond?  I felt pleased with how I responded today, especially the last third of the race.  

As you see in the pic, my speed steadily increased over the last couple miles.  Maybe it was the cold (get me out of here!), or maybe I actually rose to meet the challenge, instead of wilting before it.  Or, maybe, it was that ten year old behind me, causing me to run faster so I would not be embarrassed getting passed by him.  Can you imagine?