While that Pennsylvania rodent was inquiring about his shadow, my friend Monica and I were tackling our second 8K together in Yukon, Oklahoma. Although beautiful, sunny and clear, the temperature was frigid and layers were necessary; however, a little over halfway through the run, I was forced to start peeling off bits and pieces of my clothes.
Over the past few weeks I had been somewhat training for this run by increasing my treadmill miles. My efforts were not in vain, as my time decreased by 8 minutes from my first 8K. EIGHT minutes...that is an incredible feat. I am currently in fifth place of the 2013 Frozen Nose Series--down three spots from my first race--and I couldn't be happier. My final race is in two weeks, the Queen of Hearts 10K, so I better lace up those Mizunos and git-git!
On a somber note, I would like to reflect on a man that ran the Groundhog 8K yesterday morning. I do not know his age or the specifics surrounding the event, but between 2K and 3K he somehow collapsed to the ground and the paramedics performed CPR on him for awhile--to no avail. This man, who I imagine woke up optimistic about running a race, did not get up from the ground and my thoughts and prayers are with his family.
