Winter Misery One Miler Virtual Race Report

I was supposed to do the Winter Misery One Miler virtual race on Monday, on the first day of winter, but a tough swim workout and a calf muscle that was acting up made me push it back a day.

Plus it was supposed to be 2 or 3 degrees warmer. And in Wisconsin in December? Those 2 or 3 degrees could make a ton of difference.

After finishing up at work tonight, I went down to my car, grabbed my bag and headed back into the office to change into running clothes. Let me tell you, heading out for an outdoor run in clothes that have been sitting in your cold car all day? Great idea.

But I did it.

The high tech weather machine from the 1970s in my office said it was 28 degrees outside with a wind chill that made it feel like 20. Hmm. A little chilly sounding, especially since I was running towards the lake. Into the wind. But I went anyway.

Threw on some running pants, a long-sleeve tech shirt with a short-sleeve technical T layered on top. Added a fleecy jacket, an ear band, my iPod and some gloves and I was set.

I decided to run right from work because it was dark and there are sidewalks, something I don't have in my neighborhood. Within the first 3 minutes of the run I got a rest break while I waited for a train and then I ran another few blocks before I waited for a gap in traffic at a super busy intersection.

And all the while I'm running on those sidewalks? I'm realizing that the people in the city I live in either A) don't know how to properly shovel a sidewalk or B) decided sidewalk shoveling is dumb and refused to do it. I swear, for half of the run I was running on packed, icy snow-covered sidewalks. And since I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to running outdoors in the winter? This was a bit tough. I slowed down my pace to make sure I didn't step funny and twist an ankle, slip or fall.

Overall the 2.3 miles I ran were nice. I was running through one of the nicer neighborhoods and got to look at all the houses decked out in their Christmas lights. And once I was running fora few minutes, I wasn't that cold. The only part of me that was a bit chilly were my fingers, but I blame that on my gloves - I'm more of a mitten girl.

I was going to use my time from the second mile, but my first mile was actually faster - go figure, maybe it was because I was trying to move fast so I could warm up! So I finished the Winter Misery One Miler virtual race in 10 minutes, 42 seconds.

I'll take it. And I'm glad I didn't ditch the planned outdoor run and do the virtual race on the treadmill (which I considered). I enjoyed running outside at night and when the temperatures are right? I'll probably do it again.