OMG, it was so cold. Our car thermometer read 27 degrees when Beloved and the little angel dropped me off. I made my way down to the corrals, where we had to wait an extra 15 minutes or so because the traffic jam coming into the single entry-point was backed waaaay up. I was not happy with the delay, as that meant I spent my time stamping my feet and jumping up and down, wasting valuable energy.

I had some layer issues. When I did my shake-out run the day before, it was 18 degrees and windy, and one pair of running tights just wasn't enough. So to this half-marathon, I wore:

• 2 pair of socks (one compression, one wool)
• 1 pair of compression shorts
• 2 pair of running tights (one normal, one fleecy)
• 1 running tank bra
• 2 wicking long-sleeved shirts, one with a hood
• 1 long-sleeved tee
• 1 thin waterproof windbreaker for when it started snowing
• 1 neck gaiter
• 1 hat
• 1 pair of thick running gloves
• 1 water bottle (I always carry my own water)

I was okay except for my feet in the corrals. My right foot toes started to go numb before they released us, which was troubling. Then FINALLY we started. As we were taking off out of that single entry point, I saw swarms of unhappy runners walking in from the line of cars still waiting to turn in. I don't know if those guys went ahead and ran or not, but they probably did because a) it was a chip race, so the only thing that mattered was when your chip crossed the lines and b) I saw some incredibly fit-looking people finishing a half hour after I did. As I ran, I felt happy I was not one of those late people.

About two miles in, there was a steep hill. They had a start and finish line for the King and Queen of the Mountain. I saw some people really going for it, and I thought they were crazy to blow so much energy so early in the race. I, of course, also started out too fast, but at that point, I was so cold I had to move as fast as I could to avoid freezing solid to the highway.

When I got up the hill and then down the hill, I noticed something. I was ACTUALLY OVERHEATING. I felt awful. I stopped to try to get my neck gaiter off, and it got tangled up in my headphones and then they popped out of my ears and the little special ear thingies that keep the headphones in my ears fell off. I started cursing a blue streak as my cold fingers struggled to get the ear thingies back on and the headphones back in my ears. I ditched the gaiter and took off my hat and gloves. I have no idea how long that all took, but long enough. I was PISSED. 

After about three miles with no hat (my hair, oh my bedheaded, sweaty hair! so sexy) and no gloves, I started to feel better. And then I had to pee. Not terribly, but the way you have to pee when it is 27 degrees and you have been running for an hour. A port-a-potty appeared, and I remember how bad it was in my last half when I had to pee at the end of the race, so I sacrificed another 90 seconds or so to peel down four layers of bottoms and do the business.

Wearing more clothes than Shakira owns and really, this is so not flattering.

I actually felt more gross at this point than I expected to. I think the overheating thing was not good, especially in the face of it being below freezing. I was still pretty hot, so I stopped again to remove my armband/phone, take off my windbreaker, tie it around my waist and put my armband thing back on. I was chewing two sports beans about every 10-15 minutes at this point, because any time I run for more than an hour I start to feel dizzy if I don't get some nutrients. I fought off side stitches for probably the middle 5-6 miles, but thankfully they never went full-blown.

Despite all these issues, I really enjoyed the course. I saw a few hawks and falcons and the water and woods were pretty. I have biked around this area plenty of times. It's nice and flat for much of the course with some very slight rolling hills. The area around my house where I train is hillier than this pretty course was.

At the 10-mile mark, there was another hill, and I decided to walk through the water station and up most of the hill. My theory was that I would gun it down after and not stop again until the finish (hubris). I saw a sign that said, "Mom, Run faster, I'm cold." I thought that was really sweet. I was almost on top of MY OWN DAUGHTER HOLDING THE SIGN when I realized Beloved and the little angel were watching me walk my ass up the hill. I was so embarrassed. But the sign was awesome.

I rallied after seeing them and slogged my way through until mile 11, when my feet went completely numb. It is hard to run with numb feet. I was seriously concerned about turning an ankle and being left for dead on the highway. A few times I had to stop and stamp my feet to try to get some feeling back in them. All around me, people seemed floating along effortlessly. This hurt. I trained my ASS off for this race. I have never worked so hard. But the end result felt the same. I was dying, and mile 12 was way more walking than I wanted it to be. I kept willing myself to run faster and more, but my brain totally checked out when my feet went numb. I wish I could write a glowing review of my performance, but really I was pretty embarrassed and sad that I didn't beat the time from my first race. It was the EXACT SAME TIME. How does that even happen? But it was.

After I finished, I had to find Beloved and the little angel, who had abandoned the car and were walking toward me from where they had to park out past the 8-mile mark (the course doubled back on itself). I almost started crying when I realized my phone was dying and I didn't know where my family was and I was so, so cold and soaked in sweat and wrapped in a piece of mylar. The feet I still could not feel were attached to legs that could only hobble, and y'all, I felt forty in every bit of my bones.

But then! I saw them! Beloved gave me the outer shell of his ski coat and the little angel asked me why I was wrapped in a balloon and we walked for twenty minutes to get back to the car. At the side of the car, I took off the windbreaker and the long-sleeved cotton tee and the two long-sleeved wicking tees and it seriously felt warmer standing there in a tank top that was not wet. We climbed in the car and the heat was on and it was the best moment of my life when the heat hit my cold fingers.

Then the little angel asked to see my medal and Beloved said he was proud of me and then later Pa said he wished he had the gumption to do something like that and I remembered it's not about whether I'm getting faster or whether I look cute in my running clothes.

It is about staying in the game of life for as long as I can, as strong as I can. And I finished. Thanks to everyone who offered encouragement here and in social media and on Runkeeper. It really does help.