running in the rain

I love it!

I made it out to the airfield during lunch today; an approximately four/four-and-a-half mile loop. The clouds were making their way in and it started raining about a mile into my run. I've always enjoyed running in the rain. Especially on a warm spring day, the April showers are always a welcome. Today was no exception; albeit, it was a bit chilly with ice still piled up on the sides of the road and the back stretch still covered in slush. The sounds of the choppers circling around the landing strip was an added bonus. I was tempted to wave hello to the pilots, but I refrained myself. But I was smiling during my entire run. If only I had a flower in my hair; now that would have been a sight to see.

happy birthday GW!

The George Washington Birthday 10K. I really didn't want to run this race, but I had suggested to mom that we run it and the only way to get myself out of it was to get her not to run, but she wouldn't budge. (I know, I'm a sleazy cheapskate!)

So we geared up Saturday morning and headed to the AMC theatre in Alexandria. A pretty good turn out: the DJ was jamming out some good tunes, runners decked out from head to toe prepared to face the cold, and mom was stretching like a mad woman next to me while I frantically looked for an empty spot to warm-up on the other side of the lobby.

8:30 AM, Starting Line: The weather wasn't too bad actually; the sun helped with the chill. I knew that they had altered the course due to the icy conditions on parts of the bike path, but when the front runners started coming back down Eisenhower Ave. 10 minutes into the race, I got confused. This couldn't be right, could it? Was this going to be a 5K? They turned us around after 2.5K and it wasn't until I got back to the starting line did I realize they were making us run back up for another loop. All in all, it went well. My goal was to get in under one hour and my "official" race time clocked 56:24.

Next race: The DC Road Runners Burke Lake 12 K on March 11.

polar bear run/walk

So I signed up for this 5K fun run at work. Checking out the competition this morning, I was pretty sure I'd get the sweatshirt. (Sweatshirts were given to the top male and female finishers.) Over confidence never did anyone any good, or at least not me in this case. Crossing the finish line, I came in second at 31:21. For a 3.1 miler! I'd thought for sure I'd be in under 30. (There I go again!) Better luck tomorrow.

The refuel station wasn't half-bad with bananas, bagels, and hot apple cider (huh?). And no, there weren't any polar bears nor road guards dressed as polar bears; although, either would've made for quite an amusing run. But I did hear one lady say to her buddy, "she reminds me of that girl on Grey's Anatomy," as I ran by. I just might have to wear a polar bear suit myself next time.



**Correction: The fun run was called Frosty Bear and not Polar Bear as stated in yesterday's post. Below is the Frosty Polar Bear costume I will don for next year's run. 1-31-07**




http://www.costume-shop.com/index.php?p=product&id=30&parent=4