We got about 4 inches of snow last night, so I took advantage and did a little 9 mile trail run. Look at that picture! How awesome is that?! The conservancy near my house has it all: miles of trail running through wooded areas and open fields. Throw in some wooden bridges spanning the river, rolling hills and hilltop vistas and you've got a pretty great run. But the fresh snow, along with the snow that was still falling, made for a serene workout. I've always been one of those people who loves quoting movies. Especially movies from the 80's and 90's. Movies that I grew up watching. While I was running a particular line was stuck in my head, a mantra if you will, of what I kept telling myself. With all of the snow on the ground, the trail was a little slick in places, so I really had to concentrate on my stride. The quote that kept running through my head was from the movie "Cool Runnings" where the Jamaican bobsled coach (played by John Candy) kept telling his guys to "grip with your toes" while they were learning how to run on the ice. So "grip with your toes" ran through my head over and over as I tried to stay on two feet. I giggled to myself. A lot.
Back to my race schedule. I've decided to get things started in May at the Door County half marathon. The course itself runs through Peninsula State Park...think lots of trees and high vistas overlooking the lake. Although the route is scenic, it's also very hilly, which makes it one of the most challenging courses I've raced. My plan is to use the half marathon as a warm up for my main race this summer, the Manitowoc marathon, in June. The Manitowoc marathon is a very flat out and back course run along the shores of lake Michigan. It's not a very big race in terms of number of runners, but it's a great course for a PR or a BQ. I just recently signed up for my last race of the summer, which will be the High Cliff State Park 25K trail run. Some good friends of mine decided to give this challenging race a try, so I decided to give it a shot too. My thought is I'll already be in good shape from the marathon....I'll just have to add some trail work into my marathon training and then hit the hills once the marathon is over. Most people would probably think this is a pretty aggressive race schedule. I agree with you! I know I must be a bit nuts, but I love to train and race, and then do it all over again! It keeps me motivated, and I love checking off the box and looking forward to what lies ahead. Challenge accepted!