NJ Winter Trail Race

Blog update: After noticing an alarming number of unsolicited and totally unrelated comments, I have opted to moderate comments. Hope this doesn't stop you all from commenting...I LOVE hearing from all my blog buddies and non-blog buddies; I am just trying to avoid the weirdos that unfortunately also co-exist in blogdom.

Hope you are all keeping yourselves warm and toasty in this frigid weather. Last winter, running was not a very pleasant experience for me. While the rest of me warms up pretty quickly during runs, my fingers used to stay frozen. Every run was followed by a painful defrosting process. Dollar store gloves don't work for me...nor do the standard ones from Target. Even my ski gloves were useless.

This winter, thanks to a new pair of mittens, keeping my digits warm has become a lot easier and the trauma my poor fingers had to undergo after every run has become a thing of the past.

The following system works for me:

(a) 30-40 degrees: Polartec polyester gloves

(b) 20-30 degrees: Mittens

(c) Below 20 degrees: Mittens + Glove Liners

+

For prolonged exposure to temps below 20 degrees, a combination of (c) and hand warmers usually do the trick.

I am dying to try out the pretty pink gloves Glenn got me for Christmas, but they will have to wait till it is a lot warmer. I still have nightmares involving severely frostbitten fingers.

Moving on...

After 3 runs in the snow/slush this week, I am becoming queen of running in snow. Today, Glenn and I ran the NJ Winter Trail Race at Lewis Morris County Park in Morristown. We opted for the shorter 5 mile race...and while we were almost huddled at the start to try and keep ourselves from freezing, I was extremely thankful we had not signed up for the 10 miler instead! My goal was to just complete the race. I was pretty worn out from my "high mileage" week; I had never done a 5 mile trail race before, so had no PR to beat. Glenn reached the park before me and collected my race bib and T-shirt. Technical full-sleeve tee...love it! I would gladly give up all miscellaneous race chachkis for a technical tee anyday.

Though the race turned out to be a little less than 5 miles, it sure felt a lot longer! We had to watch for tree stumps on the narrow single-track trail, so we couldn't really enjoy the scenery. But there was something very serene about a bunch of runners silently plodding through the woods. It was not an awfully hilly trail, but it did have steep portions. I realized I suck at pacing myself on trails/hills. I was following a woman runner for 1/2 mile during Mile 2, then on a slight downhill portion, decided to kick it up a notch, and sprinted past her. Well, the engines were going OK till the next hilly portion when I went completely out of breath and had to stop and walk, while she (and several others) passed me easily. After that, I picked one steady runner and decided to let him do the pacing for me. I followed him till Mile 4 and when I was reasonably sure all the hills were behind me, I stepped on the gas and went sailing (i.e. was catapulted by tree roots and rocks) to the finish.

I was the 3rd female finisher and was handed an envelope with a "cash prize" of $15 and a $20 gift certificate to the Sneaker Factory...sweet! I do feel a tad guilty that I beat another woman by a couple of milliseconds at the finish...but I suspect the guilt will vanish while I am happily shopping for new sneakers. (She turned out to be very friendly and sweet and we chatted after the race...this was her first trail race as well; she and her husband are runners/triathletes and have completed several triathlon relays). Glenn finished strong too. We were both happy we completed the race in less than an hour.
Stats:
Bib: 31; 13 / 54 overall; 3 / 23 women

Total miles for the week: 42

Monday: 10 miles (1:28:30)
Tuesday: spinning (45 minutes), swimming (500 yards)
Wednesday: 6 miles (52:01)
Thursday: 14 miles (2:01:39)
Friday: rest
Saturday: 7 miles (1:07:39)
Sunday: 5 mile trail run (50:49)

There are so many awesome giveaways out in blogland, I need to devote an entire post to them!
Teamarcia is sponsoring a host of super giveaways, so be sure to check the latest one out!
Fabulous Recovery Socks Giveaway at Tall Mom on the Run.

Finally, win cool FlexFit gloves at Erica Running.

ENJOY THE SUPERBOWL!!!