"Things that are equally bad are equally good. Try to look at the bright side of things, humbug,
Norton Juster
Yankee Springs was deferred due to covid like many things last year. Due to the fact most races had been deferred or canceled I signed up hoping for anything, even 31 miles in the middle of the winter on the west side of the state sounded like fun over a year ago. Unfortunately, soon after registering I received an email deferring me a year to this coming Saturday.
I am not as needy for a race as I was last year and the idea of running in fresh, thick cold icy snow sounds like a really bad idea. Many of my ideas sound like bad ideas to most people, but I am really good at looking at the "Bright Side"
To make a bad idea better I thought I would make a weekend of it getting a fun hotel and packing sleds with the family.
That too bit me in the butt when Andy tested positive for Covid this week like half of Michigan!
So, then I decided to hit the grocery store and pack up on calories and comfort food in hopes I could bribe the boys into going so I wasn't all by myself in a fancy hotel room for the weekend.
I think it may have worked but I think this bribe is going to cost a lot more than my registration!
There is no danger of developing eyestrain from looking at the bright side of things. — Joyce Meyer
Middleville, Michigan
Weather: they are currently under a winter advisory! Snow!
However, Race Day: sunny and 30'
Saturday 8am
50K
The Course: 50k runners do the 25k loop twice consisting of 1388 ft of elevation per loop.
The Plan
The bright side of it is," said Puddleglum, "that if we break our necks getting down the cliff, then we're safe from being drowned in the river. — C.S. Lewis
PLAN?! I have no plan other than to just finish and NOT get injured. The last couple weeks I have gotten soft. I have been running at the gym rather than outside. I have run in the winter long enough to know the conditions can go from BAD to WORSE in a blink and I am getting wussier the older I get.
I come up with ridiculous mantra to keep myself convinced I am having so much fun.
THE BRIGHT SIDE:
- It sure is pretty!
- It's good training!
- The volunteers are suffering for YOU!
But I love new experiences and new places.
Training:
"I always look on the bright side of everything. If you keep aiming for some goal, you usually get there if you don't give up."— Bart Cummings
I have tried to keep my miles up when everyone else has enjoyed recovering. I once told myself I would NEVER run a marathon in the winter again because the training is so difficult.
But on the BRIGHT SIDE I got to eat more holiday treats longer than usual!
I have gotten to know all the runners on the track at the gym I have gone so regularly. And if I don't know them, I say "HI" to everyone like I do. I love seeing so many people on the track, I chuckle at the ones that compete with me, I embrace the ones that let me compete with them and I just LOVE running in shorts!
The BRIGHT side of going around and around and around in circles!
- I get to wear shorts
- I am not risking getting injured as much, slip, trip or flip on the ice.
- I am never totally alone.
- I can run faster on the track then I would be running in the snow or ice.
- My water doesn't freeze!
So less than 2 days out, not packed, but mentally prepared. Prepared to run from anywhere between 7-9 hours. Prepared for my face to be frozen in a smile, even an upside down smile!!
I am grateful for the opportunity to run, for my body to be healthy when it seems like my family is falling apart at the seams around me.
If you want to add me to your prayer list, I would LOVE that! I would love prayers for an INJURY free race! I want to have FUN and stay UPRIGHT, footloose and fancy!
Thank YOU.
Thank You to Nicole at Complete Runner for helping me with my new shoes and hat from Sprints, I LOVE it, because Pig Do Fly!
"If you cannot see the Bright Side of life, then polish the dull side."
Christina Dodd
ANITA~
😘💕
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