Christmas Day - Joyful 5k - Como Lake, Saint Paul, MN. Peggy and I got up and out into the cold. It was 3 F when we started this "race", otherwise better described as a now annual family exercise outing. We both ran in full sweats along with other extra clothes to keep us warm. Max had thought he'd run the full distance earlier but was on the fence the night before. We didn't encourage him to do it since it's a long run for him and because of the cold--ultimately, he stayed inside playing a SimmCity type game with with his uncle. In previous years, he'd run or walked just one loop around the cold lake instead of the 2 needed to make a certified 5K. We did for the first time see another kid younger than Max, at the race this year.
The trail was dry and cleared of ice/snow that we've seen in every year except 2011. There was snow on the ground around the trail and the lake was frozen. I was glad that there wasn't much wind. I started at a steady pace, trying to gauge what speed I could hold. A person or two got ahead of me after half a mile but I passed them and another back before the 1 mile point, reaching it at 6:49. With a mile and then one loop down, I conserved energy and wondered if the guy behind me was going to pass. I focused on breathing in the cold air. My lips and other parts of me went partially numb. I hit the second mile with a 6:57 split, and when I turned a lake corner a little later, I began a steady push toward the finish. With the extra clothes and not really having run enough lately, my speed was pretty slow. However, I pushed it in about as fast as my legs would go. I was gaining on the guy in front of me but I never caught him. After a bathroom break, I saw Peggy walking away from the finish line. Her hair on one side was completely white from the frost of her breath. We got out of there quickly. Later my toes hurt. I thought it might have been a little frostbite since I'd had it before, but I think it was just that the double socks in my shoes dislodged my toenails, and with numb feet I couldn't feel this until after the run. Overall, despite it being somewhat slow, it was a good feeling to have done the race. We watched Life of Pi later with Peggy's sister; I enjoyed that a lot too.