I (Heart) Good Running Weather

I thought this morning's Hearts & Soles 5K was going to be another wash out.
The forecast was supposed to be a repeat of the Hot Chocolate 5K.
Although I heard rain overnight, when I woke up it was foggy and drizzly, but not all out rain.
Met my friend Carolyn at a coffee shop where we dropped a car and we were off!
We got to Georgia State's Perimeter College Decatur Campus and there was no rain in sight.

Pre-race photo of Carolyn and me

This is an out and back course and there is a hill on the way back that always kills me. But, I got over it!
I didn't put together a team this year and Angela wasn't here to try to get us into homemade tutus like last year. No matter, I still had fun!
I ran in to my friend Dan at the race, too. He and I did the Denver half together last year and he recently ran the Miami marathon.

Me and Dan

Atlanta Track Club group photo. I'm in there!

You can see it was a little foggy this morning by the above photo.

It was a great race this morning, ending with Carolyn and me back at the coffee shop to get our cars, so we went in for a cup!

The Not So Hot Chocolate 5K

Well, it is raining cats and dogs here in Georgia this morning, so I am reminded I need to write about the not so Hot Chocolate 5K on Sunday.
What a miserable race! Cold, rainy, windy and hilly. I've run several races in conditions like this, but this year the race organizers just completely fell down.
Poor to no traffic control ahead of the race meant lots of folks not even able to get to the start on time. My friend Kellie and I did, but only because we left so early. Even then, I was worried we wouldn't make it as it took us at least 40 minutes to go half mile to our parking area.
Once at the course, there were no tents or other protection for runners ahead of time. I found a small tent where I stood crammed with other folks, but it was the only one. A little shelter would have been  nice.
At any rate, it poured for the whole race. My feet got wet, I was wet (despite my tried and true rain poncho!) and I left the race saying I'd never run it again.
Kellie was the rock star who ran the 15K.
I've no photos for this one. Just picture two gals who looked a little like drowned rats drinking lukewarm hot chocolate at the end of the race.

Dog gone fun 5K

I'm still running in bone chilling temps for these January 5Ks, but this week's Run With the Dogs 5K added a little more fun -- dodging the ice.
The metro Atlanta area had snow earlier this week, which once again shut the city down for a few days. Worse, the temps never got above freezing for a couple of those days, so the sunshine melted some of the snow, which promptly refroze into black ice.
My driveway, which is shaded, was still icy yesterday morning, the day of the race. My friend Donna came to pick  me up and I wouldn't let her come down the driveway for fear she wouldn't be able to get out.
We got to the race and all around Decatur High School, where the race is held, was icy. Volunteers were out scraping and putting down ice melt to try to keep everyone safe. It was then I started to wonder what the course might look like, particularly if some of the roads were shady. My concerns were well founded. There were a couple of stretches of straight up ice on the road. I managed to avoid it and I hope my fellow runners did the same.

Me and Donna, braving the snow and ice

Me and Donna

 I was a bit slow on this 5K, too. Still getting back in my groove after a lot of time off. After the race, I managed a selfie with the Decatur High mascot bulldog.

mascot and me

A nice little surprise was one of the sponsors was handing out free running socks, so I got a nice take away. I wore them this morning on my Sunday run out at Stone Mountain. Because right now, it is 69 degrees in Atlanta! Crazy. Yesterday I had ice on my driveway and this afternoon I've got windows open in the house and am enjoying the warmer temps.
They won't last. We're due for a few more cold spells. But I think the worst of the winter running weather is over. At least I dog gone hope so.

Going the Extra Yard

I keep saying that when I signed up for all of my January 5Ks, it was about 50 degrees outside. Having to run a second one in sub-freezing temps wasn't in my plans! Ha!
At least this morning's 5K only had a wind chill of 15.
This was the Extra Yard 5K, which was part of the College Football National Championship festivities this weekend in Atlanta. The championship game is Monday night between Georgia and Alabama.
Thankfully, we could wait inside the Georgia World Congress Center before the start, and I ran into my friend Joe inside.

Me and Joe

 Joe is a fellow Mizzou grad and a relatively recent runner. I like to think the Mizzou runners represented at the Championship Game, even if our Mizzou football team didn't make it this year. :)

At the start

I didn't run an exceptional time for this 5K. My legs felt stiff and I haven't really run at all over the holidays. Even last week's Resolution Run time was "off" my normal speed.
That's OK. I know I'll shake the lead out and start running a little more toward my usual times soon.
We got a nice finisher's medal at the end of the race, which was nice. My first medal of 2018!

First finisher's medal of 2018

Medals ready for the finishers

Pre-dawn shot of the start line

It was a fun race and a good turn out, despite the cold. I ran into Joe and also ran into some women I met last week at the Resolution Run. They actually recognized me before I recognized them. That's what I love about running: the people I meet along the way.
It was a great day to go the extra yard.

Cold start to the new year

The first 5K of 2018 sure did have a cold start!
The Resolution Run was now a 5K and had a new course at Piedmont Park. The race was nearly all inside the park, which was nice.
What wasn't so nice was the 20 degrees and 8 degree wind chill. Goodness!
I had two layers to everything, but wished I'd had a second pair of gloves. The ones I wore were a loose knit and my hands were cold even with the gloves.
The Atlanta Track Club did have portable heat lamps in the area near the start, and I made several new friends as we all huddled close to the heat!
The Track Club did a group photo before the start, which was fun.

Atlanta Track Club members before the start. I'm in there!

Resolving to run

How many layers do I have on?

I was glad I remembered a little cowl to pull over my nose and cheeks, but it was so cold that breathing into it, the water vapor on the cowl FROZE!
I was never more happy to have finished a race and gotten into the car. I'm always glad to run this race, however. It is a good start to 2018. I just hope next year isn't quite as cold!

Last 5K of the year

Well, that little bit of warm winter sure didn't last long!
The following weekend after the One Love, One Heart 5K, Atlanta got SNOW! It started coming down Dec. 8 and continued to snow right on through Dec. 9. A lot of races were canceled that weekend. I was lucky in that I hadn't signed up for any races, so it didn't matter to me.
I did have a race this past Saturday, the Lakeside Viking 5K that usually marks the final race for me of the year.
I ran it with my friend Carolyn and it was bone-chillingly cold that morning. 29 degrees! Made my lungs hurt as I ran.

Cute little boys getting in the holiday spirit!

Me and Carolyn in the nice warm gym before the race at the high school

It was not my best time, at all. I hadn't run in 2 weeks and it showed. This race isn't too far from the house (and Carolyn lives fairly close to the high school as well) but it started at 8 a.m. To get up in the very cold and dark for a race showed how dedicated we are. Or crazy. Your pick.
I forgot my iPod that morning, so my plans to listen to holiday music for this run were foiled. I did't have the holiday playlist loaded on  my iPhone. Alas, the two races in December when I want to listen to holiday music when I run and I only got to do it for the One Love, One Heart race. Oh well! Next year.
Here's to good friends, and even better running in 2018.

Warm winter

Ah, Atlanta weather.
Just when you think cool weather running has arrived, you run a race in December in relatively warm temps!
The One Love, One Heart 5K on Dec. 2 found me in capris and a long-sleeved T-shirt and I honestly wished I'd worn shorts and a T-shirt about half way through the race. Start temps in the 50s.
This is a little community race I like to do every year, since it is so close to the house and it starts at 10 a.m. I don't even have to set the alarm in the morning for this one!
No photos to show. It was just me running this year. And, unfortunately for me, one of my best running buddies is moving to Southern California, so it will be a lot of "just me" races in the coming months. Angela is moving!
She got a wonderful opportunity for work, so I'm very happy for her, but oh so sad for me. We really had fun running together not just for races, but for training as well. We'd meet out at Stone Mountain Park to run, or sign up for Atlanta Track Club races. She was on the ATC's track and field team, so she was very active with the club.
I will certainly miss her. But, I've told her that there are some western states I still need to run a race in, so she may just have to meet me for a few destination races.
With her now being in sunny Southern California, she won't have to worry about cold running anymore. It will be warm running no matter what the time of year!