Back in the Game

10K training started Saturday morning at 9 a.m., here:

(Lincoln Memorial)

I was so excited to be starting training again! Plus, this time around, I had the added benefit of helping to sign people up, collect money, take photos. None of the hard stuff, like the actual coaching part. I was determined to be the best darn signer-upper, money taker, photographer that DCRR ever saw! I had the brilliant idea to bring my laptop, so that people could enter their e-mail addresses directly onto a spreadsheet, sparing me the arduous task of trying to read handwriting. I'm clever like that.

I got home from work late Friday night, around 8:30, dog-dead tired. And as I started to lay out all my gear for Saturday morning, my eagle eyes instantly noticed something: I didn't have any gear. Because? I had left it all at work. Everything. (I know it's hard to believe I take all my running stuff to work, but I do. That way I don't forget anything and I'm prepared for all running conditions! Of course, this plan does have one little teensy consequence. It involves remembering to take it all home again. I'm clever like that, too.) Do I go back to work on Friday night and get everything? I couldn't face it. There was nothing for it but to get up extra early Saturday morning.

So I got up at 6 a.m., ate and drove to work where I changed.

Got to the Lincoln Memorial at 8:25. Score! One new runner soon joined me.

Did I mention it was minus 20F? OK, maybe not, but close. It was freaking cold. 24F, 14F with the wind chill. It was too cold to stand around for 30 minutes. A new runner soon showed up, but where oh where was P, the coach? I had told him I'd be there at 8:30, laptop, and camera in hand. It was now 8:45 and no one else had shown up.

Suddenly, new runner said: Hey, what are all those people doing over there?

Sigh. See diagram below:



Yes, I was standing on the wrong side of the stairs. Poor P must have thought I'd bailed on him. Well, I finally got everything set up and starting helping.

Did I mention it was cold? "Hi, please take your gloves off, fill out these two forms, write a check, and then type your e-mail..." Fingers were turning blue, falling off. It was cold. It was sunny. No one could see the computer screen because of the glare.

Whatevah.

We had about 40 people turn out, many of them new runners.



P gave a pep talk, and some options for run lengths for this first week, and the everyone took off. Coach P (I've got to give this guy a nickname soon) said he had already run, so graciously stayed behind to watch all my crap so that I could run.

So I did. I ran down almost to the Capitol building, and back, about three miles. And I did it all by myself, like a big girl, with no headphones and in the freezing cold.

In summation, it was all good, if cold. It was good and cold.

Three weeks to go, and then ...