december wrap up and some of january plus LRTR

12/24 - 2.5 miles (in the hood)
12/26 - 3.75 miles (Greenway/Estes)
12/28 - 9 miles (trails - PWTRx2+pumpkin)
12/30 - 2.25 miles (?)

1/3 - 11 miles (on roads - longest run yet!)
1/6 - 5 miles (in friend's hood)
1/9 - 10 miles (Little River Trail Race)

Yesterday I ran (with 2 buddies) the Little River Trail Race, in Hillsborough. The route is located in the Little River Park, about 40 minutes away from Chapel Hill. The weather was daunting - temps in the teens the night before, with a high of 35 or so on the day itself. We left CH at around 7:30 to give ourselves plenty of time to find the park, park the car, use the heated restroom and get progressively colder, awaiting the 9:00 start time. I couldn't stand outside without jumping or running in place, flapping my hands around in the 2 pairs of gloves I wore.

Speaking of what I wore: I will list it all so I can remember for future runs in the 20's, because I don't think I would have changed a thing. Top to bottom: black hat with additional headband over the ears, tank top tucked in, 3 technical shirts over that (one long sleeved) and my black fleece jacket, 2 pairs of gloves (my running ones and Daran's everyday fleece gloves), my warmest pants (with a thin layer of fleece inside - thank you Dad and Luisa!), 2 pairs of socks and my older shoes without insoles. Several hankies. The only thing I took off were the first pair of gloves, early on (stuffed them into my internal pockets) and the second pair of gloves, later on.

Overall, I felt great! We decided that training on the PWTR was good prep for this, as PW seems to be more technical, difficult, rocky, slow and the LRTR felt more open and quicker. There were plenty of little ups and downs, and only 2 really big uphills. I made sure to take the downhills VERY slowly (my biggest fear was falling and hurting myself with a half marathon in 2 weeks). I never really felt winded, and only felt really weary at the end. It was fun and beautiful. The route took us right by the river a good deal, which was iced over in places. All the more reason to feel pretty bada$$.

I ate 2 gu chomps, one at 2.5 and one at 5.5 (or so). My stomach was gurgling by the end, but what's new? I drank small cups of water at every aid station (which were frequent, since we passed by some of them twice due to the looping of the course). I never felt thirsty or dry-mouthed, so I'm glad I decided not to carry water.

I'm so glad I went! I seriously debated not going since I was afraid of falling and hurting myself. We had a lot of fun and feel quite tough now.

According to the Garmin:

miles: 9.77
time: 2:15:01
pace: 13:49