The Winter Runs

No that title is NOT what you were thinking. Yes, I KNOW that IS what you were thinking. That is what you were thinking right?

Well, whatever you were thinking, this post is about what has been getting me out the door in the mornings this past month or so when the temps have been sub-FREEZING!

The runs.

Yes, the runs. I just ran three runs in the past three weeks. Maybe I should change the title to: The Winter Races. Nah... Runs are more fun.

I have always, always, always hated....wait, not sure hated is even a strong enough word...more like despised the cold. I am the kind of girl that likes to stay warm and nothing makes me happier on a cold day than cuddling up by my warm fire in my room with a cup of hot cocoa knowing I am protected from those nasty outdoor elements. So no one is more surprised than I that I actually leave the comfort of that fire and Snuggie (the truth is I do have a Snuggie but prefer my lambswool blanky!) and go out in the cold cruel world in the mornings to run. If someone had told me even five years ago that I would be doing that, I would have bet them a life time supply of chocolate that THAT would NEVER happen. Well here I am, doing it on some of the coldest days of winter. This year I haven't been as good (been a whimp!) as usual because it got so cold so fast that I didn't get that time to climatize slooooowly...

But I still had the runs... okay, the "races".

The Turkey Trot ~ (hmm... Trot? Runs? Same thing...)

The Santa Run ~ yes, did you know Santa has runs too?

The Snowman Shuffle ~ should be renamed: The Runs Are NOT Fun in the Winter

I survived the runs, but now I am not sure what is going to motivate me to get out there in the morning because it looks like the runs are now over. I should be glad, but I am afraid that now I am going to have to get serious and focus on training for the marathon I signed up for in May. Which btw I am having second thoughts on doing. I still haven't recovered from my marathon in September like I had hoped by now. The knees are still not even close to being the same. I am going to give them a little more time before I make my decision.

Anyway, here are some shots of the runs:

TURKEY TROT

I ran it with my great friends Jen and Heather. It was a rainy day, but we escaped it for the most part during the race.

I didn't hate this race quite as bad as I did last year. Oh how I hated it last year. This one was much better partly because the turkey thief wasn't running it this year. For some reason last year I really struggled on this course, but this year it was much more enjoyable. And I WON a turkey for 1st place in my age division! I think Dave was happier about that than I was! He was thinking, "cha ching"!

SANTA RUN!

Heather, Heidi, Julie, and me eating at the Union Grill after we picked up our packets and Santa Suits a few days before.

I had some fun posing in this get up. It's not everyday I dress up like a Santa!

Look who showed up? Yes the Grinch and Cindy Lou Who! I love the Grinch! Mainly because McKay was obsessed with him for most of his childhood. He was the star of the whole race.

I ran it with my friends Heather, Heidi, and Julie. We had a total blast. It's just a fun, no pressure race. We mainly do it just for the insanity of it all!

Even though it is for fun, we still get timed. We all did really well considering unlike other races, we don't really push it and don't really care about our time. We stop and take photos and just enjoy the theme and craziness of the whole thing. I was extremely surprised to see I took 3rd in my age division! Wow, with 700 runners this year, I didn't think I would even make it in the top 10.

BUT...

Julie took 8th overall! Wow! We were looking for her the whole route and since it is a course that you repeat in a circle three times, we should have been able to find her when we were passing on the cross run. We never did. You also pass the finish line twice before you cross it. Unless you are Julie. Julie only passed it once and crossed it on her second time around. She totally thought she was done while the rest of us were running the lap once again. She was so excited to tell us she finished 8th overall. We were laughing so hard when we told her what she had done. Cheated!!! She will NEVER live this one down. We won't let her.

Our wonderful supportive husbands all showed up to cheer us on.

Showing them how much we appreciated it ↓

♪♫ "I saw DADDY kissing Santa Claus!" ♫♪

Ho-Ho-Ho!!!

Three of my boys also came. I promised them dinner after if they would. Works everytime!

SNOWMAN SHUFFLE

I ran this 5K with Julie and Jen.

I have been coveting one of these trophies ↓ the last three times I ran this race. I always came up a little short....er- slow. Here is the display of them tempting and taunting me before the race. I REALLY wanted one of those this year!

Everyone in this photo is from my church. We had a strong showing this year.

Waiting AND freezing before the start.

Crossing my fingers (mittens) I will win one of those trophies!

It's a 5K race. Today was the best weather I've had while running this race. In the past I have ran in blizzards, hail storms, icy wind, and it's almost always at least snowing...today was awesome, other than the air quality was really - really bad. Each breath felt like the air was very thick.

We're off!

Me and Jen just about to cross the finish line. ↓ I was so ready to be done! I did not enjoy this race ONE bit! For some reason I really struggled with my cardio. That last half mile was not fun. I am not sure if it was due to the air quality or the fact that I haven't been running as much due to injured knees that still haven't recovered from the marathon. I was wanting to be done about one mile before it was. I think this was my least favorite and hardest 5K I have ever run.

Look what I found! Yep, Tyson was there to support me too...

The best part of all was I WON FIRST PLACE!!!!!!!! Yippee! I was soooooooo excited that I finally got one of those coveted little snowmen!

He's all mine!

Posing with our awards.

Our ward's awards! We kicked snow!

The awesome shirt and my CUTE CUTE CUTE trophy!!!!

Is that not the cutest trophy you have ever seen?

I guess the Winter Runs are not so bad after all...