Today was a training run at one of the tougher parks the training team uses.  You either love Queeny or you hate it, but you ALWAYS respect it.  Today was no exception.

My morning started about 5 minutes before my alarm going off.  I awoke to wind, sleet, and rain, thunder, and lightening pounding outside my window.  I didn’t worry, though.  In Misery, weather can vary greatly in just a few miles.  I checked the hourly weather forecast for the location of the park and felt optimistic that it might be cool (36F) and a little damp, but all in all, a great day for a run.

I checked in on the training team’s Facebook page and saw posts steadily rolling in expressing concern about driving and running conditions throughout the metro area.  Reports of iced over driveways, questions about driving conditions, and of course, will the training run be canceled.  I had sent an email to my team the night before that I would be there no matter what.

SQUIRREL:  In my more than three years of coaching, I had only missed one training run due to inclement weather.  Spinning around in the middle of a highway, although empty, made me think “FTRS” (G rated:  “Forget This Running Stuff”) and go home.  At that time, two of us were coaching a single team together and she lived much closer to the training run.

Today, I was on my own with my team, as my partner in crime/coaching is temporarily sidelined.  I knew I HAD to be there.   Reassurances came in the form of our training team manager posting that she had already been out on the roads and the roads were clear.  Confidence restored, I got dressed, and was on my way.

I was thankful when I pulled out of the garage that I insisted on parking inside because our other cars were coated in a lovely sheet of ice.  As reported by the training manager, roads were clear and the drive was uneventful.  As I neared the park, I was happy to see a steady stream of cars filing into the park, and the precipitation nearly nothing.

This was our first run together with marathoners since the half marathon kick off meeting the week before so even with the rain, the energy was high.  Another training manager made some announcements saying he had checked out the paved portion of the trail on the far end of the park and it appeared clear.  He said the portion we were at appeared to be the worst.

Warmed up, we waited until it was our turn to head out and we were happily on our way.   About a quarter mile in, we learned quickly this was not going to be an ordinary  Queeny run, but I held out hope that once we hit the gravel portion of the trail, all would be good.  As the asphalt trail ran out, I realized the gravel trail was WORST than the asphalt.  We rounded a turn and I see a fellow coach (gotta love King Bacon!) in the middle of the trail yelling it was ice down the middle and stay in the grass on the sides.  We passed the word back through the group to move to the side and kept going.  I had never seen anything like it!  A gravel path more icy and slippery than asphalt.

This particular park is great for hill work and it’s character building on a normal day.  Today was the ultimate character builder.  My team, mostly first timers, slipped and slid, but kept going.  They were awesome.  It was awesome to see their determination through out the run, especially when the skies opened up with rain and sleet while we were in the middle of an open field.  We all just kept our heads down and kept moving.

We train in all kinds of weather because you never know what conditions race day will bring. Today was one of those days any sane person would think FTRS and hit the hamster wheel or indoor track.  Today I got to see the mettle of my new little team and I must say, I am impressed.  I can’t wait to see what is in store for these mostly new runners in 9+ weeks on race day!