Chilly Chili Run Race Report

I have heard of the Chilly Chili Run, but finally decided to go ahead and do it this year to add one more race to my list. I think I also wanted to mentally know that I could run in the freezing cold. So, I had big plans to run, but was having second thoughts on Friday night. It was supposed to be COLD on Saturday. I decided to text Katie and see if she wanted to run and she did. She also invited a few others, so now I was committed.

On Saturday, I headed over to pick Katie up. We met Betsy, Mike and his fiancee Erica and the drove over to Green Gables. Now, I have to tell you that I only know how to get to Green Gables on my bike, but I wasn't completely sure how to drive there, so I pulled out the Lola the Garmin. After a few wrong turns, I yelled at Lola and put her back in the glove compartment. We arrived (I actually did know where I was going), got registered and waited for the start. I should mention that when I left my house it was a balmy -5 with the windchill. I was struggling with the decision of what to wear, but ended up in my Nike jacket which was toasty warm.

The race started at 1pm and we headed off. There were some guys running in their underwear! Really!?! Apparently, the sweatshirt that I bought for $20 is worth running in your underwear for. The race course was 4.37 miles, sunny, and actually the wind wasn't too bad. Mike headed out to the front. Katie and Betsy were just ahead of me. I had to pee before the race started, but the line was too long, so I got to run the entire race with that "gotta go" feeling.

At some point, I caught up with Katie and we ran the rest of the race together. We passed the water stop that was serving spam and beans (I threw up in my mouth a little), as well as beer and a random variety of other stuff. We also passed a porta potty, but I didn't want to freeze to seat or drop my pants so we kept going. The hills were glorious and I really think I need to run out there more often.

We crossed the finish line in 46:19, which I was okay with. Mike finished in 6th place and Betsy finished a few minutes ahead of us. Erica was the smart one who stayed in the bar until we got back. I changed my wet clothes and finally got to pee. (Women take forever in the bathroom!) We all talked about the race and ordered the famous Green Gables cheeseburgers. Mine was delicious. After the yummy lunch, we headed back home. I was freezing, so I grabbed a hot shower, put on my new red sweatshirt, and curled up under a blanket. I checked the temperature and it was a balmy 10 degrees with a 0 windchill. It took me about 3+ hours before I felt sort of warm.

I'm fairly certain that I've never run when its been so cold, so I'm kinda proud of myself for getting out there and getting a good run done. I'm also really glad that my students were out there racing. It's alot of fun for me to see them complete their races. They asked me to let them know when the next race is, so we'll definitely be running together again. Next time, I'll have to remember the camera.