I’m happy to say that I did NOT fall today! Yay me! I had a couple of slips and close calls considering most of the trails were a sheet of ice, but that was it. We set out to do 2.5 hours and I think we came up a little short, but that’s okay. Next week’s run is going to be a doozy, so I’ll take all the easy runs I can get. Easy. Yep, I said it! I can’t believe that trail running is getting easier. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a challenge, but I’m still keeping up with the group and I’m running all the hills that weren’t a sheet of ice and I’m still feeling strong. Again, I’ll take what I can get. I know next week this will most likely not be the case.

The terrain was insanely icy. Kendra said it best when she said that it sounded like we were running on broken glass. The sound was almost deafening. There were many sections where we were practically ice skating across the trails. Speaking of Kendra. My crazy partner in crime came out for a run today just 5 days after getting sick and ending up in the hospital. I tried a couple of times to discourage her, but there was no convincing. She said at the end of the run, she felt a little tender, but was fine. It goes to show that you can’t keep a badass down.

During this training process, I’m finding that I’m liking trails more with each run. At one point when I was in the middle of the pack with lots of space in front and behind me, I found myself laughing out loud. Yep, a real LOL. I can’t remember what made me laugh, a stupid thought in my head, the sounds of the crunching ice, the clomping of my feet, or a combination of all three, but whatever it was, I amused myself. That has never happened when I was road running. Oh and speaking of clomping feet. Ya’ll know that I clomp my big ol’ size 9.5W feet when I run, with guess what? Clomping works great in crunchy ice! The heaviness of my steps allowed me to break though the ice and keep a little traction.

As far as today’s views go, I hate to say it, but there was nothing too spectacular. It was cold, but not enough to make it uncomfortable after I warmed up.  The company was wonderful as always and despite the lackluster views, it was still a beautiful run and I enjoyed every minute of it.