Winter Warrior-ing

January 21 - It has been another fun week of winter running here in New England and half marathon training continues. It snowed a little Tuesday morning but that didn't stop hubs and I from getting out for another snowy run. We don't believe in shorts cuts around here. He ran with me for 1.5 before turning around to become photographer and leaving me to do the remaining 4.5. ON MY OWN. I hate running by myself and this run was a brutal reminder of how spoiled I have been for, oh, the last 10 months. No precipitation on Thursday's run, just bitterly cold wind gusts. Turns out I run pretty good when the sidewalks are clear.

Tuesday photos by hubs

Today my training partner and I met up at Runner's Alley, a local running store, to run with the Winter Warriors group. The store itself is a perfect little gem nestled downtown. We are always greeted by friendly and knowledgeable sales people and they have an excellent selection of running shoes, clothing, and gear.

Source

I'd been hearing about the WW Runs but never attended mainly because we don't live that convenient to the store. Even so, I was interested in finding out for myself what the group runs were like. Here's a blurb from their newsletter:

It's Not Too Late to Be a Warrior! You keep hearing about Winter Warrior runs, and since there are a lot of chilly months ahead of us, how about another friendly reminder on what WW is all about? *Group Runs (all paces/levels): Thursdays at 6:00pm and Saturday mornings at 8:00am *Throughout the winter, each store will host try-on nightsfrom different brands, plus raffles and other giveaways! *Every time you come to a run, you get a point. *Every time you bring a canned good, another point! *25 or more points at the end of the season means you score some free gear with the Warrior branding. Suh-weet! *Have we mentioned it's a blast? Yeah, it is...cuz that's how fun we are....  I arrived at the store 5 minutes before 8 and found about 15 other runners already inside getting ready mostly in small groups with little conversation. After figuring out where to sign in, someone announced that the run would be about 4 miles because of the snow. I have to admit that the irony of that statement made me smile a little inside. So, we ran with the group for 4 miles, took a short break back at the store, then went on for another 6. Even though the group was a little tamer than I expected, today's run was a blast...from old man winter! I can now say that I have experienced the following: snow flakes in the eyes, snow covered face, icicles in my eyebrows and lashes, and possibly even some frozen snot (lovely). I also learned that if you buy a pair of snow cleats, they probably work better if you wear them. Due North Traction Aids Today, I also completed the Twitter Road Race 5K. I loved being able to print my own personalized bib! Not the easiest day to run a race, but I did the best I could in the snow! Twitter Road Race 5K: 30:33 What kind of WARRIOR are you? Did you run the Twitter Road Race? How did you do?