Trail Marathon of Awesomeness

Today was Val's annual Fat Ass event at her place. Big, big fun. I didn't know what to expect with the conditions, but they turned out better than expected, at least early on. That allowed me to run the marathon distance today, which was what I really wanted. I would have settled for 20 or even 15 if the conditions were horrendous, but they were good enough and I pushed on and am proud I did so.

Each lap was a little over five miles long. The snow was pretty well packed down at first, aside from a couple of soft post-holing spots and an icy stream crossing. Yes, that's right. An icy stream crossing. At least knee deep. Since each lap was essentially two out and backs, one had to run through said icy stream twice. That meant ten times total for me. It was awesome.

So for the first two laps, the snow was pretty easy to run. The third lap was a precursor for what was to come... loosening mash potato snow. The fourth lap was hell. The fifth lap was hell plus a Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus concert.

That being said, I was in great spirits throughout and my energy was through the roof today. Legs had been feeling tired this week. So, to keep that theme going I decided to make them tired today.

Great company throughout. I ran with George A. and Bob P. for much of the first lap. Then Ian, Zak, Nathan, Danielle and Colin for the second and third laps. Then John R. and Ryan T. for the fourth and fifth laps. Fun conversations and just an all around fantastic time enjoying doing what we love most.

Afterwards, we all hung out at Val's, refueling and rehydrating while watching the Olympics. I also let Ryan and Danielle's daughter, Sam, tackle me about 150 million times which was good fun. Little kids are almost as cool as dogs.

Ran 26.4 miles @ 10:20/mile pace. *excludes stops
Snowmobile trails, which went from soft to $%&#ing soft.
Moderately hilly.
Lower 20s to lower 40s, sunny, breezy.
New Balance MT1010, shorts, windbreaker (shed after five miles), long sleeved shirt, gloves (shed after five miles), cap.