Mike and I have been planning all winter to do the Securian Frozen Half Marathon. Only a wicked wind and below zero temps would dissuade me, so I was surprised when it was over 30 degrees and it looked like we might decide against going. The forecast was for sleet and 25 mph winds, so when we went to bed we decided we would make the decision about going in the morning.

We peeked out the window and it didn’t look too bad. We got dressed and decided to give it a try. I stepped out on the driveway to see what it felt like outside. It had iced over night, and the pavement was so slippery that I couldn’t make it back into the garage. My feet kept slipping and Mike had to pull me back in. When we backed the car out, it just slid down the hill sideways and got stuck in the snow. When Mike stepped out of the car to assess the situation, he literally slid standing up all of the way down the driveway to the street, about 100 ft. He put on some cleats, and after digging us out twice we finally made it to the street and were on our way. The major roads were fine and we made it safely in plenty of time.

We saw lots of friendly faces right away. We saw Jenny, Guy and Diane. Then I saw Julie and went over to say hello. It was great to see her and she is just as adorable in person as you would think she is from reading her blog. She was ready for her first half marathon. Here we are:

She said she was looking for Steve, who was now over chatting with Jenny and our other friends. After introducing Julie to the whole group, we took a photo:

This is a great race because you get to park in the parking garage that is connected to the Securian office building. All of the registration and packet pickup is inside, and the start line is 25 feet out the door. I waited inside until they said that we had 30 seconds until the start of the race, I stepped out the door and lined up right behind the 2:15 pace group. It was in the low 30’s and sleeting a bit.

Surprisingly, the pack moved pretty well in the back and we were able to hit our pace right from the start. Since we were moving right away, I was toasty warm and didn’t mind the sleet. Wearing a baseball cap kept my face dry which made me more comfortable. It stopped sleeting after a couple of miles, and I had enough layers on to keep the moisture out for the rest of the race. The windy conditions had worried me before the race. It turns out that the wind was coming out of the south and we were reasonably protected by bluffs. There were only a few sections that I noticed the wind and it didn’t effect me at all. What had looked like a nasty day turned out to be just fine.

The course is a out and back along the river, so around mile 4 I started to see the leaders heading back on the other side of the road. It was great to look for all of the friendly faces and cheer for them. I saw Steve first, then Mike, Guy, then another group of friends that included Helen, Bulent, and Kami. I saw Jenny and Julie running together and they looked awesome! I also saw Steve Quick out there giving moral support. Seeing everyone made the middle miles of the race pass quickly.

I ran pretty consistently, hitting the miles right around 10 minutes. The course had a few inclines and rolling hills, but the only challenging hill was right at the end. After the first few miles, I had left the 2:15 pace group and slowly caught up to the 2:10 pace group. I knew that they were running a little slow because I started after them and I knew I was on pace for 2:11. Sure enough, they picked it up during the last mile and left me behind. I came in at 2:10:55 which is right at a 10 minute pace. I felt great the whole race and felt like I ran the right pace to finish strong.

Honestly, being the slowest in a group stinks most of the time. The one time that it is the absolute best to be last is when all of your friends are waiting for you at the finish line. Thanks to everyone who waited out in the cold for me. I know they were freezing just standing around after running, but they were a welcome sight for me. It is also nice to have a speedy husband who is willing to run and get the camera and take everyone else’s finishing picture. Here is Kami, Helen, Bulent and Guy. Guy PR’ed by 5 minutes!

Here are Jenny, Julie and Diane celebrating their speedy race. These ladies are fast! This was Diane’s 10th consecutive Frozen Half.

Here I am, finally making it to the finish. Can you see that person behind me? Proof that I didn’t come in last.

The Securian Frozen Half Marathon is a lot more fun when you do it in person with everyone else instead of on the treadmill by yourself. When you do the official race, you also get a super cool coffee mug. Since I don’t drink coffee, I’ll just have to try it out with some hot chocolate.

Apparently, I am not the only person trying to plan their race calendar for the 2010 season. I had confidently listed a triathlon in June on my race schedule, only to find out while I was out of town this weekend that it was already full. After a minor fit, I got myself together and decided I better get serious about what races were important to me and get myself registered. My credit card is a little tired.

The first order of business was to sign up for the Disney Half Marathon 2011. Mike wants to do the Goofy Challenge again and it fills up quickly. With my heart set on running the NYC Marathon 2010, doing the full marathon at Disney two months later is not feasible for me. Running the half marathon will give me some motivation through the holidays. After running half of the marathon in 2009 and not getting a medal, the Donald Duck Medal will be a welcome reward. I still have getting that Mickey Medal on my to-do list, but it’s going to have to wait until 2012 or later.

Next, I did some homework and found a replacement for my now-full June Triathlon as well as a sprint tri for July. For June, I signed up for the Lake Waconia Triathlon on June 27th. With a .5 mile swim, 20 mile bike, and 4 mile run it is longer than a typical sprint race. It will be good incentive to get the tri training in early in the season. I’ve been in the pool a little bit, but I haven’t had any time on the bike. I better load it up on the trainer and get going.

The other races on my list are either not open for registration yet or I’ve already signed up. I can’t believe it’s only mid-January and I’ve already had to figure out what races I’m committed to. I’m sure I’ll add some smaller road races along the way. I had wanted to try another Olympic distance triathlon this summer, but with training for a fall marathon I’m going to hold off. If everything is going well and I can sneak one in, then I will. For right now, though, I want to leave my schedule light enough to concentrate on getting the miles in for the marathon.

Besides freaking out about my race schedule during the weekend, Mike and I did get in some lovely skiing as well as a beautiful snowshoe hike. Here I am with our friend Cyndi on our last day of skiing. Cyndi just ran the Disney Half Marathon which was her first half marathon. Yeah, Cyndi! I’m hoping that I sufficiently nagged her into doing it again next year.

This is Mike and I at the start of our snowshoe hike:

I took a little pit stop with Marie and Buddy. Buddy is in the middle in case you couldn’t figure it out.

It was a wonderful weekend in the mountains with a great group. Now that the holidays and our ski trip are over, it’s time to settle down and get to work to get ready for the season. The Frozen Half Marathon is still on my schedule for this weekend. The temperatures look promising but the forecast is calling for freezing rain. I don’t mind running in the cold or in snow, but I may have to draw the line at freezing rain. I’ve decided to wait until race day and make the call as to whether I’m going to go over for the race.

The Races on My Schedule List looks long over on the right side. I can’t wait to start checking them off of my list. I’m hoping to meet up with a lot of friends along the way and have a lot of laughs and smiles. I’m sure there will be some aches and pains as well as some disappointment as well, but running has taken me on a great ride so far. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Brrrr! I know I live in Minnesota and all, but come on! It has been crazy cold here. Morning temps have been well below zero without even factoring in the wind chill. So far, I’ve been able to avoid the dreaded treadmill. When it’s below zero, I’ve headed to the local recreation dome. On Thursday, it was a balmy zero with no wind, so friend and I headed down to the lakes. We ran 7 miles and every ten minutes observed that it really wasn’t so bad out. Sad when zero seems like a break in the weather.