Cool Runnings

My nose is cold, my hands are stiff, my cheeks are freezing, and my legs are red. That is exactly how I felt when I finished my long run for track yesterday. Welcome to winter running in Decorah! With the high around 9 degrees and the wind chill below zero, it was not an ideal day to be running 12 miles. But we distance runners accepted our fate, bundled up in many layers and headed out in packs. It was kind of funny seeing just a couple of eyes poking out of face masks, hats, and other winter apparel. Once I got going the only bad part was facing the wind. It seemed like no matter how many layers I had on, I could still feel that wind chill. When I got back after the run, I don't know if I've ever been happier to thaw out and warm up. While the weather outside is pretty brisk, the indoor track season is just heating up. We've had practice for about a week and a half, and thus far it's going well. Some of the team is not here during January though, as they are taking the opportunity to travel abroad or do an internship. On Tuesdays and Fridays the WHOLE track and field team meets for warm up drills before each group, sprinters, throwers, and distance, split up to do their workouts. By meeting together as a whole group I've met a lot of people who weren't involved in cross country. I've also been introduced to hurdle mobility drills and steeple mobility drills. I'm excited to try running the steeplechase during the track season. It's a 3000 meter race (a little less than 2 miles) with 4 barriers (steeples) and 1 barrier with a water pit on the other side on each lap. I've always loved obstacle courses and I am definitely pumped to give this a try, despite never jumping over a hurdle, much less a huge steeple.

It is clear that all of the coaches are really excited for the season and willing to give their time to help the team continue to improve. Already a sense of unity is developing among the team. When I run a couple of strides on the indoor track while the other groups are finishing up their practices, I'll always hear a "Good Job" or "Way to Go". It's great encouragement and helps me feel more like a part of the team.

I haven't run track since my freshman year in high school and I can't wait to see what this season will bring. For now I'm going to keep warm and keep running through these chilly days in Decorah...where there's always Cool Runnings.