What failed to register in my easily excited head at the time was this is early winter, in Chicago, and the temperature is subject to really crazy swings, overnight.
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| Feels like 1. What?!? |
Well, that didn't quell our spirit, we are badass runners yo! Off we go! Nice drive to Pulaski Woods in Willow Springs.
When we got there, cars lined the road for hundreds of yards. 'Look hun, there's lots of lunatics like us' "COOL!" At the starting line everyone was hoppin up and down, pretty sure jacked out of their skulls on the unlimited free Red Bull. But it might have been the frigid cold?
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| Pre-race: Why are we an hour early? |
The race itself was a riot. There were no land speed records broke, it was crowded, and in sections in the beginning the trail necked down to a single track and we nearly stopped. After a bit tho the decision point came up. Easy straight, Hard turn right and Medium turn left. Turns out Abby and I both turned left, great minds.. (by then she was light years in front of me). The people started to thin out and the trail got interesting, very hilly, single track, roots, rocks, frozen over muddy sections that were like lumpy cement. Everything you'd want a trail race to be. Great fun! It was about then I realized I was really overdressed for running a race. Bone rattling cold and freezing before the race, and sweating like Blago at his sentencing hearing during the race, yup that's how cold winter races go :). The course was great tho, definitely coming back here to run again. In the summer.
There was a turnaround point somewhere in the woods because at about 3 miles blasty fasty types started streaming past headin back. Abby passed me in this section. Go Abby!, Hi Daddy come on! Pick it up! I then hoped the turn around was just ahead. It wasnt.
The medium course ended up being 4.7 miles. I finished and found Abby already cooled down and getting cold. I was dripping and felt 135 degrees. Thats a weird sensation in the bitter cold but the clouds of steam coming off your body is pretty freakin cool. Here's a pic after the race.
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| Ya, its Red Bull foo, what clued you in look at the damn camera. |
Nice assortment of schwag from the race.
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| Anyone wanna guess who put the race on? |
All in all we had a riot and plan to run it again next year! Thanks Red Bull and Saucony! Very cool race, altho I could run anywhere with my baby girl and love every second. Life is good. :-D
Cheers!
Run like the police are chasing you.
