When you suspect you are a little crazy, it’s nice to have company.
Yesterday BH & I ran in the 4th Annual Chilly Chili 5K Race in Cazenovia, NY. When we started running 18 months ago, 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) seemed an impossible distance to cover. Now that we’re training for the half-marathon (13.1 miles) it’s a piece of cake.
Usually.
A snowstorm blew in at the beginning of the race yesterday. A wicked storm. The temperature was around 18 degrees, but the winds were gusting 20 – 30 mph, which made for a wind chill just below zero degrees(F). It was snowing sideways. The road was covered with slippery, scary snow and ice.
And nearly 1,000 people ran, shuffled, and walked the distance. Finishing a race under those conditions is a lot like completing a book on deadline: it’s not very pretty, but the sense of accomplishment is huge.
Even if your face is frozen. I don’t know if you can see it in the photo, but the ice on my face is frozen sweat. The rest of me was toasty warm, thanks so several layers of warm running gear, but the face was a little ouchy.
Weary triumph.
Everyone was invited to a chili cook-off after the race. It was a great way to thaw.
Local restaurants provided the chili.
The only problem: the lines were very long and you were only given a couple of tablespoons of chili at each table. And adults were given thimble-sized cups of beer.
But it was all for a good cause, the Cazenovia Children’s House, and we laughed a lot, so it wound up being a great day.
What did you do this weekend?