running: the dawn

Yesterday, at daybreak, the temperature was -11.  Degrees.  The running club’s 8am group run had already been canceled so I knew that I didn’t have to be quick to abandon the warmth of my covers.  In fact, I managed to stay in bed long enough for this to happen:

That’s right, Mr. Dawn braved the sub zero temps to go to the store and get all the fixin’s for a delicious pancake breakfast, because I basically keep no food in the house.  And, yes, I put down a towel because I spill on myself like a toddler.

I then stayed in bed reading blogs, checking facebook, and watching the temperature with great anticipation.

Yes, that is a “feels like -4.”  Yes, this was at 10am.  Yes, I was still in bed.  Oh, and yes, I have the Boston Marathon logo as my desktop background.  I’m that obsessed.

By noon it had warmed up to an agreeable 13 degrees and my new running partner had showed up right on time.  The director of the running club had emailed everyone that the group run had been canceled, and I wrote her back to see if she would be interested in meeting up later in the day.  I was thrilled when she said that she’d do 10 out of my 20 miles with me at noon!

The best part about new running friends is that there is SO much to talk about.  She told me about her first marathon, the Toronto Marathon.  It was actually on the same day as the Grand Rapids Marathon so it turns out that we were running at the exact same time!  She’s a super star track athlete who just recently started doing endurance events.  Then we talked about family and friends, work and school, and all of a sudden the we were back at my house.  The 10 miles just flew by.  It was sunny and there was hardly any wind.  A perfect day for winter running.

I did another two miles solo around the neighborhood, but then it was time to watch some football with Mr. Dawn.  Now…he grew up near Chicago.  He’s been a Bears fan his entire life.  He actually bleeds blue and orange.  I am a Kansas City Chiefs fan, but I have started to enjoy watching the Bears play as well.

So this was my view for the last 8 miles:

Its hard to tell, but that is the game.  And my computer is set up on a tv tray because I may or may not have also been catching up on some reality tv…you know…during the commercials. I have two towels there…because when one fills up with my sweat I need another one.

The last three miles were pretty tough.  It might have just been because the game was going no where fast…or because I was running on a treadmill, either way my mind was not into it and I really had to just will myself onward.

Once I was done, I headed to the store to get my 20 lb. bag of ice for the ALL IMPORTANT ice bath.  I watched a Criminal Minds episode to keep my mind of the numbing cold.  Then I spent the rest of the evening refueling: two smoothies, pasta, pomegranate juice and some tea.

I’m really surprised with how great my legs feel this morning.  No real soreness or pain.  I’ve been nervous about these longer miles because I’m no longer doing any mid week double digit runs.  With  my last plan I’d always at least be running 10-12 miles sometime during the week.  I was afraid that without that the long runs were going to feel that much more challenging.  But both mentally and physically I feel like I was ready to tackle this first 20 miler.  I love that I already have one 20 miler done and I get to do three more!  Nothing builds my confidence like running 20+ miles.

Don’t forget, today is the one day sale for Jazzercise!  Find a class and then tell me how much you love it