Some Days You're the Windshield...

And some days, you're a big ol' midwest splat-bug.

Quivering Quads Trail Half-Marathon - done.

That's really the only good thing I can say about it.  :-) As of Friday, from the Fleet Feet STL photos, there was still a lot of snow on the trail. And then it rained. And rained. And rained.

On the best of days, this trail is challenging... narrow single-track with a lot of roots and rocks, and not a whole lot of flat going on. Some pretty decent long hills, actually, including some gnarly sections where you watch your feet or end up 100 yards down the face of a steep hill.

Today? What wasn't ankle-deep mud was ankle-deep running water. COLD water. And that was just the regular parts of the trail... any dip, depression, or hollow ended up as a cold mini-pond to wade through. And then there were the real stream crossings. A few were up to my knees, but the two main crossings were thigh-high on me. I felt sorry for anyone shorter. The first had a rope across (very necessary with the current); the second desperately needed one. There were a bunch of people there, though, so we formed a human chain. I just grabbed a hand and jumped in.

I was SO ready for it to be over. When I reached the out-and-back near the end, my Garmin read 12.56 miles... at the finish line, it was 13.56 miles. Not quite the day I'd opt for bonus distance, but what the heck. I think my finish time was 4:33:something... I've run a number of FULL marathons faster than that. Eh, whaddya gonna do. I paid for the privilege of being out there, and I got my finisher medal.

My feet finally thawed out, too.

Anyway... obligatory I'm-so-damn-glad-I'm-done photo:

Didn't flip my pack around back again... klassy.

And, my feet UNDER my socks... socks, shoes and gloves were all pitched. At least my feet were numb most of the time and I never felt much of that.

Missouri mud-sand. Nice.

Since long-time-no-update, a mass of 'em:

Sat., Jan. 19: 8 mi
Sun., Jan. 20: 5.6 mi

Mon., Jan. 21: yoga!
Tue., Jan. 22: 5.5 mi TM
Wed., Jan. 23: 5.6 mi TM
Fri., Jan. 25: 6.25 mi TM
Sat., Jan. 26: Garmin says 9.1 mi
Sun., Jan. 27: rowed 5K, ellipticated 5K

Mon., Jan. 28: yoga; dog walk
Tue., Jan. 29: 5.6 mi
Wed., Jan. 30: 5.55 mi
Fri., Feb. 1: 6.5 mi TM
Sun., Feb. 3: 7 mi walk w/A

Mon., Feb. 4: yoga!
Tue., Feb. 5: 5.5 mi TM
Wed., Feb. 6: 5.75 mi TM
Fri., Feb. 8: 6.25 mi TM
Sat., Feb. 9: 13.1 mi at JB

Tue., Feb. 12: 5.5 mi TM
Wed., Feb. 13: 5.75 mi TM
Fri., Feb. 15: 6.25 mi TM
Sat., Feb. 16: rowed 5K, ellipticated 5K
Sun., Feb. 17: 15 mi FCP

Mon., Feb. 18: yoga!
Tue., Feb. 19: 5.5 mi TM
Wed., Feb. 20: 6 mi TM
Fri., Feb. 22: 7 mi TM

Mon., Feb. 25: yoga and hill repeats in St. John
Tue., Feb. 26: snorkeling in BVI / The Indians
Wed., Feb. 27: snorkeling in Trunk Bay, St. John
Thu., Feb. 28: hike to Reef Bay and back - 10 mi
Fri., Mar. 1: snorkeling in Maho Bay

Mon., Mar. 4: yoga!
Tue., Mar. 5: 5.5 mi TM
Wed., Mar. 6: 5.75 mi TM
Fri., Mar. 8: 6 mi TM
Sun., Mar. 10: 13.56 mi QQ