Frozen Turkeys, Running

Some of us made it out to the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day - Matt, Cassie, Carmen, Christine, and I. Yes, it was freakin' cold - just a little over 40 degrees, but with very moderate humidity. I know plenty of us (AHEM!) decided it was just too cold, and bailed on the race, so much credit to the people who showed up.

Matt's been struggling with lots of injuries and issues, and I was a little concerned about how he'd hold up, but he ran a 49:55, just edging under 10-minute miles.

Carmen showed up wearing some odd pink leg-warmers with puffy tassels. They may have helped, but certainly didn't slow her down - she stormed up the steep climb on 11th street, and roared back to a 55:32 finish. I continue to be amazed by her progress since that first day out at Zilker this summer.

Not to take anything from anyone else, but I have to say I was tremendously proud and, yeah, surprised, by Christine. You'll recall she finished the IBM 10K in 1:40:51. She's been working hard, though, trying to do less of the Christine Shuffle, and more of a true running stride and form. Thursday, we saw the results. I figured I'd see her at about an hour and a half into the race, particularly given all the hills. Imagine my surprise when she appeared on the 11th street hill at about an hour and twenty minutes in. She ran with me up the hill, and Carmen joined us. We paced her in, and kept her moving until the last downhill stretch to the finish, where she finally cut loose and was striding pretty quick to the finish line, probably just to get away from us and our nagging.

It turns out it had taken her over nine minutes to get through the start line, making her time an estimated 1:12 or so - a huge improvement for her. More than anything, though, I was really happy to see her dig in and push herself when she really badly wanted to stop. Doing so, she's opened up a whole new realm of running, and probably, hopefully, of her own life.

As for me, I just love the cold, because I can breathe. I knocked 3:51 off of last year's time. It also showed how much easier it is to put yourself through some discomfort when your heart is happy in general.

So, it's going to be tough to get up in the mornings, or out in the evenings, when it's cold, and sometimes even wet. But it's all part of what you've committed to, and it's an important part. Just like getting up early, it's a battle you have to fight that you can win simply by making a choice to do it. Once you clear that initial hurdle, you'll often even end up having a good day.

And, obviously, running in bad conditions builds the mental and physical toughness to persevere, regardless of the weather or the situations that will someday inevitably be thrown at you.

Remember what Bill Bowerman said - "There's no such thing as bad weather, just soft people."