It's cold now - time for the Reindeer Run

The first genuinely cold weekend of the winter. Weird to think that a week and a half ago we were running in shorts. Ross and I did the Reindeer Run yesterday morning, and it was crazy. It's a lap around Lake Harriet. I think the last time we ran it was about seven years ago, and I don't remember it being so huge. There must have been... I'm so bad at estimating crowd sizes, but there were thousands of people there. And the temperature was 13 when we left the house, with wind gusts of 20 mph. We spent some time figuring out the proper layers to wear.

So the Reindeer Run is fun because people get into the spirit of the thing and wear Christmas themed outfits - elves, Santas, wrapped presents, etc. I wore a dinosaur hat/mask that Ross had used as a Halloween costume years ago. It was actually great to run in - good ear coverage and wind resistance. We got cold waiting for the race to start, and my toes didn't thaw until about the 3/4 mark. That was when we got the wind in our faces, too, but by that time we were hot so it felt great. Or if not great, at least refreshing. Ross pushed the pace, and the whole run felt hard and uncomfortable. We usually have pretty casual runs. I think the crowd got him in a competitive mode, and he felt like we could pull it off.
After the run we hooked up with Rick and Jack (former co-workers from Leisure who also ran the race) and we all went out for breakfast. Eggs benedict. Yum.

I'm having winter frustration. Or maybe I'm having normal frustration. I have creative urges and plans and I find it difficult to execute. The weekends slip by without result. It makes me think of a time when Ross and I were walking through Uptown, and we passed a small boy who was sniffling and saying to his mother, "Why does everything have to be so difficult?"
He was so sad and conflicted about something, and it was sweet and charming that this rather small boy was so articulate. And of course he was articulating a feeling that seems so universal. He really distilled it to its essence; why DOES everything have to be so difficult?

Next weekend is the Sandstone Icefest
http://sandstoneicefest.com/
at which I will be teaching, or rather, helping to teach a women's ice climbing clinic. And of course it's my birthday, and I'm old. Last year it was also my birthday at the time of the Sandstone Ice Fest, and when I showed up to climb some people I knew got everyone singing happy birthday to me. It was sweet.