Frigid Dedication

I'm back! And it's been less than 24 hours since I started/posted my first post.  I gotta be honest, I had a terrible night's sleep so when I woke up knowing there was a freeze warning for my county I was not looking forward to getting out there this am.  My mind only said, "I don't want to" once before I got dressed for the insane occasion.  Dedication at it's finest, huh?  I got 4 things that help to keep that dedication alive --  

• First: I have a puppy lab that wakes at the drop of a hat.  So when my alarm blars in my ear every 10 minutes, for 30 minutes, he's already been patiently waiting since the first alarm sounded (maybe longer).  He has learned, though, that our morning routine includes my getting dressed and waking my kiddos up for school before he goes outside. So he cuts me some slack.
• Second: I have set my running clothes and gear out on my bathroom counter for at least a month now.  I have gone so far as to place all clothing and gear in the order in which I put them on in the am too.  Call it being prepared or being a bit excessive, but it seems to help keep my mind set on running on those days.
• Third:  Well, this can really be combined with the 2nd, but who's gonna object?  Getting dressed in my running clothes and gear also helps me stay in the right mind set.
• Lastly, and maybe the most important: I have at least one accountability/running partner who shows up in my driveway each running day!  Today was such an occasion.  You see, collectively my main running partner and I have recruited 2-3 others who run/walk with us each time, but they "bailed" this am because of the cold.  One said she'd head out later and asked me to join - so I know it was just the cold.  I give her more slack -- she has twins so she won't run on days her hubby isn't flying later in the day.  The last lady is active duty and can only run afternoons or on days she's off work.

So today's run was really tough.  REALLY tough.  I know that my first 2 miles are the toughest and that if I can get past that 2 mile marker, I can keep going. With that said, we hit the 1/2 mile stretch and the wind kicked in - OUCH - I wanted to stop.  That 1/2 mile stretch is also the side that has a gradual incline for just over 1/4 of it too.  Combining the wind to pushing a stroller sucks, but add the incline and I'm sure all the people in the park think I'm just insane!  I kept trying to determine if the pain I was feeling in my legs were from them being worked differently from the wind/stroller combo or if I was fatigued.  We FINALLY hit the 1 mile marker - Thank Goodness - and stepped it up a notch to get up the hill there.  It's been something I do for over a month now, just to make it a little more challenging for me.  Usually, I have plenty of energy to push the stroller up but today I was just SLOW.  Anyway, we made it to the light pole that I use as a marker and kept moving.  I could feel my joints and muscles finally starting to warm up just before the 1-1/4 marker, I knew I could keep moving.  The back stretch arrived again and I hated every second of it.  BUT, we hit final stretch before the 2 mile marker and I said, "You can make it up that hill.  Let's go!"  Really, I was motivating myself, but my partner thought I was talking to her too, so she kept going too. Our crazy run ended after 2.07 miles.

There was more than one reason why we didn't go further - the last ones were just unknown when we stopped.  Sure, it was freezing, but my body had already adjusted for the temps.  I realized just before my 2 mile marker that I had ran a 10K just 2 days prior.  I have often wondered what a runner does the during the week after a big race.  I know it wasn't an actual race, but it was a HUGE milestone for me.  So I decided that 2 miles wasn't such a bad goal for me, given the circumstances.  

But, more importantly, I learned once we got back to the house that my son's hands were FREEZING and that his blanket got milk on it from his sippy cup leaking!  Poor kid.  The way I see it, if my son isn't happy in that stroller, then I'm going to have a really hard time getting him back in it for our next run.  He's long forgotten about it, I hope, and is happily playing with his trains and cars.  We all survived and are toasty warm again.

Below is a picture of him after one of our runs back in January.  Today, he had refused wearing a hat or mittens... and froze!  I did have the flap over the front of the stroller though. :)  He's as dedicated as I am and I'm so thankful for that!