13 in 2013 race #1

I am proud to finally say that I finished my first race towards my 13 in 2013! I chose to do 13 Half Marathons, so it isn't as easy to squeeze in those races!
Today I ran my Barking mad Virtual Half (see the previous post for details). I started late, about 9:00, hoping it would warm up. as I was cruising through Facebook, I noticed that there was snow approaching. UGH! I have run enough miles in February to earn my medal, but if I don't run 13.1 all at once, it doesn't count towards my 13 in 13!

I decided to set out and do what I could. I have all year to run my 13, and 10 official races already booked, so if more time goes by, so be it! When I hit the one mile mark, I stopped to take a pic so that I could show you all the sky!

At about the 2 mile mark, the snow started, but just baby flurries. I wasn't worried yet, but they persisted, so when I hit the 4 mile mark, and stopped to have a Honey Stinger waffle (chocolate, yummy) I texted the hubs to make sure I had a ride if it got ugly!

See? I almost copped out right there and then, but I was determined to finish, so ultimately I turned down the ride and kept going! The snow was still just flurries, off and on, so I was okay. I stopped for another pic at the 7.5 mile marker, still flurries but more consistent.

This was the same location as the first pic, different view. I got back to my house at the 8.6 mile marker and dumped my drink, and asked the hubs to join me for a few miles. He bailed, lol. The mile he ran with me last night wore him out! Wimp!
I headed for my usual 3 mile loop, and planned to add a little on. I took a pic at our Beach Club, almost 10 miles here, flurries getting thicker, almost full on snow now.

By 11 miles the snow was thick and crazy, and the wind, which had been blowing all along, was worse now. UGH! I got back to my house and needed more distance so I did one more lap. The last couple miles were ugly! My left knee ached, it was snowing and windy, I couldn't wait for it to be over! And then it was!

You can almost see the snow in the background lol I am so glad I wore my 13 in 13 shirt for luck! My first race is in the books! 12 to go!

A few observations from today's run:

1. snot rockets are your friend, lol
2. Drivers suck, never count on them to look out for you!
3. Honey Stinger Waffles are the bomb!
4. never count on your RunTastic App to look out for you either!

Normally, my app is right there with my gps, off by maybe .1 or so. Today, with the snow, it kept losing signal, and it seemed to just add a mile after every 8 minutes. This would be fine, if I could run that fast, but I can't! I did *not* run almost 18 miles today! I kept it going for the cheers, but I only got one today, lol. On short runs I end up with 3-5 but today must have been a busy day for my friends, because most clicked on my activity after it was over. Luckily I had my MOTOACTV with me, and it kept me on track!

Finish time: 2:36:34 with an 11:57 average. 

Is it snowing at your house today?