Marathon for Marilou

What an awesome run for such a great cause!  This was the fifth annual Marathon for Marilou.  It was my first time running it but I can guarantee I will be back next year.  It was a balmy -6 this morning (brrr) when we met up at 845am.  The picture above was a quick warm up led by race organizers before we hit the trail.  Such a great crowd!  Such energy and so many smiling faces despite the chilly temps. That’s me closest to the camera with the little blonde ponytail sticking out, trying to keep warm 🙂

I had no expectation of time going into this run, I knew the trail was snow and ice covered and that with such a large group it would be a little congested and slow moving.  However, once we got moving we made our way towards the front of the pack and stuck with it the whole run.  There were probably only a dozen runners in front of us.  One thing about running in an orgainzed event is that it gives you that extra push to keep moving.  There were four of us from our running club that stuck together throughout the run and finished in 1:02:23.  I am more than happy with that 🙂

It is always nice to take part in local organized events, you get to meet so many new people.  This morning I met an organizer of a local trail running club and will be joining them for a trail run either this week or next.  I can’t wait!  There were about 30 woman there from our running club also.  This running club was started by a friend of mine and within the first two weeks we had over 200 members.  At the first run, over 60 ladies showed up to run together.  Pretty amazing.  I don’t know what it is, but I get almost emotional when I see that many people joined together with a common interest, putting one foot in front of the other.  I remember being pregnant and crying when we drove by a marathon in progress.  I was emotional anyway and I just wanted to be out there running so badly.  It takes such dedication and is such a accomplishment to run in any race.

Here are a few pictures from the race this morning, as you can see the trail is pretty rough.  Lots of ice and uneven surfaces.  But the scenery is beautiful and the company was awesome.  I can’t wait to lace up and get out again!  When you are dressed for it, winter running is pretty great 🙂

Tutus and 10ks

Tomorrow is my first 10k run of the year!  It’s a free event held every year on the Rails to Trails, which is an old rail bed turned hiking trail that runs throughout the province.  The hike starts and ends at a local cafe called the Bike and Bean, and yes it is as nifty as it sounds.  It should be about -3  here in the morning, so not bad temp wise but it is going to be a tough run since the trail is snow covered and rutty from atvs using it.  It will likely be a slow go but I plan to give it my all.  I am thinking about running with my Yak Traks on.  Has anyone ever used them for trail running in the winter?  Any advice or thoughts would be much appreciated 🙂

However the run goes I will definitely be hitting up some hot coffee afterwards.  I bet I will be smelling those beans the whole way down the trail.  Mmmmmm Coffee.  I love me some coffee ❤

My oldest girl was a little, shall we say grouchy today, lol.  I am telling you, this kid is smart as a whip, determined and as emotional as a 16 year old.  Throw in the fact that she is over tired (my fault) and it makes for an interesting day.  I was trying to cheer her up this afternoon by playing dress up with her.  This was the best picture I could get.  In the rest of them she was flat out screaming or crying, ha.  Don’t worry it got better very soon after.  Nothing a few snuggles and tea party couldn’t fix 😉  This girl is so much like me it scares me.  Oh the struggles to come.  Some day it will pay off for her tenfold, but probably not for us in the teenage years, lol.

Wish me luck tomorrow! I will post my run results tomorrow night.  Happy Friday all!