A PB in arctic conditions? Snow problem!

On Saturday it was minus 2, the snow had settled and it was very icy underfoot. Imagine my surprise then to learn that the Riddlesdown Park Run was going ahead as normal.

My sensible part of my brain told me not to bother, that it would be dangerous, but then my more daring side told me to go for it - and I decided I needed to get outside for some fresh air as I was starting to get cabin fever at home! So I put the thermal base layers on and headed out...

55 of us braved the snow, and it was my most enjoyable race to date! I love the air when it snows - it's much fresher. The conditions underfoot were fine - actually pretty solid, and you were able to get much more speed than when it was muddy and bogged down.

To top it all off, I managed my fastest time around the course! I hadn't had a PB in a while, and I have to say it came as a bit of a shock - must have been that sprint finish as I overtook another runner in the final stages :) I'm now edging ever closer to that 25 minute target!

Here's me battling the snow - a great way to burn calories as the resistance is high!



Snow joke - the Park Run went ahead as planned!



Christmas Day Park Run

Whilst most people were enjoying bubbly in bed and opening presents on Christmas morning, I decided to partake in my first Christmas Day Park Run at Riddlesdown!

With the weather in Surrey having been rain, rain and more rain for the few days leading up to the event, I was constantly checking the Twitter feeds for confirmation of the run going ahead, and was actually surprised on Christmas Eve when they announced it was on, sludge and all!

So 8.30am came and hubby and I drove over to Riddlesdown where slowly but surely another 30 or so runners all wearing Santa hats or costumes arrived for the 9am start. I'd expected the course to be muddy, but it was beyond that - the only word I can use is swampy!

Here is us all at the start line - you can see what I mean!

Muddy start!

We all jogged off and I managed to get round the course in under 30 minutes in one piece. The problem was that in the woodland section, you didn't know how deep the puddles were - you just had to jump in them and hope for the best. Some were knee deep but this just added to the fun - it was like an assualt course!

The rain beat down on us but I just grit my teeth and got on with it, looking forward to some home made mince pies at the end which went down a treat.

The finish is in sight!

There's an event taking place on New Years Day - we'll see how jaded I am after an evening drinking with friends the night before :)