Winter Snowy White

One thing's for sure, this weekend was a cold but BEAUTIFUL one for running! While Lonn officially moved the Over the River and Through the Woods 10K to next Saturday, he still invited anyone who wanted to brave the roads out to do the run and enjoy some food (as he had massive amounts of stew, cinnamon rolls, brownies, etc on hand). You don't have to ask me twice!

I took a million photos, so let's just consider this our second Virtual Run Date, eh? Runner note: If you ever want a good Boston simulator run, this is a great loop, just south of Eugene, OR on the country roads of Creswell. It has some great places to add on a few miles, or even do the loop twice for a LONG run.

Luckily, our new vehicle, the Subaru Forester handles pretty well in these conditions so I woke the manfriend up at the crack of dawn and we headed to meet up with the rest of the crazy runners.

Half of the group (mostly the elite runner types) ran early from Lonn's to meet us to get in the extra mileage.

The other half of us met at a nearby golf course and headed out for the 6 mile journey at 8 a.m.! A few walked the shorter route (~4 miles) up to the house. 

It was cold (~10F). I think I'm kind of grimace-smiling here.

I bundled up in polypropylene tights (usually reserved for under ski pants), a wicking tank, two Smartwool tops, a thin cycling vest, thin gloves + ski mittens, a headband, wool socks, and trail shoes! Holy layers!

As we set out, the sun was coming over the nearby hills and it was a pretty magical sight to see. 

Courtesy of the manfriend

After a few miles, I was holding up the rear of our group of 30 or so, which was just fine on such a serene morning. My Garmin was dead so I just enjoyed not really knowing my pace or mileage. I've run the route several times so I generally knew "where I was" in terms of distance.

I always love running by this church. If I went to a church, I'd want it to be a little quaint one like this with just a handful of rows. 

After a few miles of fairly flat country roads (I forget how nice it is to not worry about traffic!), you meet "the great hill", which just. keeps. climbing. UP. before the rolling begins for another two miles. 

Luckily, the view is gorgeous at the top, overlooking the snow covered valley. 

When you think that the hills have to be ending someday, eventually they do. And then you take a right and then a left and run along Bear Creek. Tell me this does not scream WINTER WONDERLAND!

And finally, 6 or so miles later, your quads and adductors are sore, your hands have finally warmed up, and you have a silly grin on your face. 

That is the feeling of accomplishment and one hell of a run. I said this on Facebook, but Saturday's run was by far the most beautiful run I've ever done, so I had to share it.

I hadn't really eaten anything before the run, so I pretty much walked into the house and promptly grabbed some coffee and a cinnamon roll (followed by slow cooked pork, brownies & beer) because nothing chases an awesome run like some epic fueling. Am I right? Ahem, my pants may be a little tighter today because of that epic fueling...

This run and the opportunity to hang out with runner friends for a few hours was a good reminder of how much I need this in my life. Sometimes our schedules are my schedule is too packed to really enjoy what's important in life. This journey is all about balance and I'm definitely working on that, one stride at a time.

Tell me, what & where was your most epic or beautiful run/hike/race?