Before this morning’s run, I was kind of joking to my group that I wanted them to run the 16K route through blizzard conditions. See, with last year’s group, we ran that particular 16 kilometre route through a particularly bad snow storm. There was this long north-south stretch along the way that posed quite the challenge for all of us that ran it. There were white-out conditions with strong winds piercing multiple layers of clothing. In the end we all made it back, but more than that, the run really became legendary. People who ran through that storm still talk about it today. It left that strong of an impression. So, that’s why I was sort of hoping that this years group would have such adverse conditions.

My hope was that this group would also have a story to tell the kids, know what I mean? Anyway, no, I didn’t get my blizzard, but man today was ridiculously cold. It had snowed the day before so the sidewalks were covered with a thin layer of ice chunks and light snow. That made for some uneven running. I chose to go a bit slower today to talk to a different group of people. We were going at a nice relaxed pace. In truth, due to the lack of traction there really wasn’t any chance to get some good speed. The winds were pretty fierce, and quickly rendered the wind guards on my gloves pretty useless. I quickly remembered that the route I picked out for everyone was a hilly one. There were about 3-4 lengthy inclines along the way that posed a challenge. I certainly felt them. I’m sure everyone else did too. With the wind and lack of traction I came back feeling downright exhausted. It wasn’t a bad feeling at all. I mean, it meant that I put in a great workout.

While talking with a couple of group members at the side of the store, I greeted the groups of runners that arrived after me. I had my arms up cheering them on in. Everyone had a look of accomplishment on their faces. To help drive home the point that they did well, one of the first things I insisted on telling them was: “Yes, that was a tough course.” A good number of them indicated that this was the farthest that they had ever run. Imagine, the farthest distance they’ve run was done in strong winds in ridiculously cold conditions. Amazing! I eventually realized that even though I didn’t get my blizzard conditions these people still had a story to tell. Good stories don’t have to stem from worst-case scenarios. This run is something they’ll hold with them for the rest of this training cycle. With that knowledge I can probably say: “mission accomplished.”