KRAC Blog

Hal had us down for a 12 miler today, really the first time we've faced wintry conditions. 13° when we started, and not much warmer when we were done. Jim stashes his Gatorade behind a tree in the park-- it was nice and slushy when we finished. My own bottle, which rode on the small of my back, was crisp and begining to freeze. It certainly could have been worse. Forest Lawn had substantial stretches that were unplowed and icy, so we couldn't stay in there. As a result we came back into Delaware Park with two options: go a little short, or go an extra lap. This is the danger of running with Jim, of course. Actually, it's the danger of doing anything with Jim. We probably ended up with an extra mile in the bank, no biggie. You see interesting things when you're out doing this on a winter morning: there are a couple of guys hitting fungos out in the middle of the Meadow, for example. The ping of an aluminum bat really carries over the snow. There seem to be a dedicated hard-core of regular runners out there, too. Judging from the pace-- not too different from ours-- they are planning for a Spring marathon as well.

I'm registering tomorrow. I've got a half marathon in the bank, a month and a half out, so I know I can make the distance-- what I'm doing now is not so different from what I did to get ready for Hamilton, with the advantage of having a training partner keeping me honest. I wish the swag for LA was better looking.