Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Holy Cow! Running in the cold is like learning to run all over again! After each run in the colder weather, my nose runs faster than any other part of my body. My lungs ache for hours after the run. I bought an infinity scarf, hoping that keeping my chest and neck warm would help the lungs. No such luck.

Yesterday was the last race of the season, the Downtown Jungle 5K. Mike and Liam joined me. I was glad they were able to get a glimpse into my running fun and meet a few of my running buddies. Liam decided at the last minute to run the children’s race. It was a disaster! He claims he “broke an ab” and walked for most of the race, finishing 49 of 53. What did make me happy was that he kept going. Even when it was difficult and he didn’t feel great, he didn’t cry and he finished the race.

Thankful that Meghan captured this picture of Liam finishing the race in spite of his “broken ab”

My race started off great! My first mile was one of my fastest ever: 11:04! I was hoping to carry this throughout the race and get a PR for Christmas. During my second mile, I had to walk/run, completing it in 12:41. If finished the race at 37:51, 58 seconds shy of a PR.

Even without PR, I had a great time! I loved seeing running friends and catching up with old friends. The races are always exceptionally well organized. I love running through Providence. When I am able to look at it from different viewpoints, it is easy to understand why people come to visit and fall in love with the city.

That made me think about what I want to achieve next year. Right now, I have three main goals:

Finish a 5k in under 35 minutes
Finish a 5k in the top 50% of the runners
Finish the half-marathon (That’s it, just finish it. I’d like to finish in under three hours, but I will be happy simply finishing.)
Get a decent picture at the finish fine. I need to remember the smile!