Frostbite on a Sunday Afternoon

Frostbite was not much of a danger on Sunday as we drove to Fletcher to run in the 24th Annual Frostbite Races.  My little race book tells me that I first ran it in 2005, and this was the sixth time I made the climb up that long, long hill.  This race has turned into a big, quality event, attracting 500 runners in 2016, and normally the conditions are daunting.  Last year it was 25° F. and the wind speed was 18 mph, which equated to a -2° wind chill, and I remember equally frigid conditions in several of the other races.   But Sunday it was a balmy 60° F., and I even decided to wear my race singlet - a good choice, in the end, because the hilly, rural course begins at the Lelia Patterson Center and begins almost immediately to climb up Howard Gap Road; the young and the unprepared begin walking within the first quarter-mile.  

 Summer Gear in February

 A light rain which had been threatening all afternoon, cool and refreshing, arrived as we lined up for the 5-K, and the fields and woods along the course had that deep, metallic fragrance that we often experience during a summer rain.

My first "comeback" race was the Cocoa 5-K (see post of February 6), which I was able to run without walking, although that sprained ligament just below my right knee felt a little tight.  Now, two weeks later, I could not feel any pain or tightness whatsoever, just the overall stress of racing and being out of shape from not having run much distance over the winter.  I was elated!  I felt strong, catching Martha toward the top of the hill, reaching the turn-around, a Frisbee in the road - a Frisbee! - and watching her catch me and pass me going downhill.  We both had respectable times - 33:08 for her and 33:38 for me - and felt, as always on this course, as if something extraordinary had been accomplished.  This is not a course for those who only like to run flat races!  

"The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it." - Moliere

 Did I mention the lentil soup at the finish line?  It reminded me of that completely satisfying, hot vegetable soup on offer at the finish of the Rocket city Marathon, about the only thing I can keep down after a marathon - nothing like it!  

At the awards ceremony, we were photographed with the Frostbite Penguin Mascot (which I had thought at the finish line might be a Howard-Gap-Road-induced hallucination), who presented us with a pair of unique snowflake pottery candle holders - first place for Martha and third for me.

What a good day!  To run a hard race with the person I love, eat some good Mexican food in Brevard on the way home, and then watch the penultimate episode of Downton Abbey, which turned out to be the best of the season.  "I believe in love," Dame Maggie purred, and so do we!