We have now survived the first day of winter, AKA the darkest day of the year. We spent that day at a torchlight ski race. David reported that it was hard to see where he was skiing, but my guess is the lighting along the course is designed for casual skiers and that the racers were doing the equivalent of outrunning your headlights while driving at night. I did managed to snap a picture of David in round one before the lights came on. One benefit of the many hours of darkness is the ability to enjoy the Christmas lights. Sartell has a really nice holiday display that goes around a pond about four miles from my house. The trail around the pond is decorated with lighted arches, trees, projectors displaying snowflakes on the trail and more. The lights come on at dusk and go off at dawn, so runners who prefer morning or evening runs can enjoy the lights in addition to families who drive out there to walk around it after supper. Deb and I ran out to and around it for the second time this weekend. The first time, we ended up with a headwind the whole way back, but it was still totally worth it. This time, we followed another runner through the display, then he turned back and did it again the other way. We went around once then headed back toward my house which amounted to a 10-mile route. It was a beautiful way to start the day. Even more difficult than bucking a headwind is trying to take a holiday photo. With two kids in college, getting all five of us in one frame has become quite an accomplishment. This year, I alerted my family that Charlie was sad that he isn't in any family photos and we needed a new picture. Everyone got the orders to "wear something nice" on Thanksgiving to take a Christmas card picture. Here is what we ended up with... Once the photo was taken, the kids wondered why four people felt like "dress nice" meant a red shirt and one guy wears a gnome sweater. They said it's "ab-gnome-al." He does match Charlie's bandana. My goal was to get a picture and I did--and it's very festive!
The weather in MN is forcast to head into the deep freeze with a high of -2 degrees on Christmas Day. Runners all have their limits on weather they are willing to tolerate for outdoor running. Deb and I double-checked our limits on Saturday so we'd be ready when it gets super cold. We deem -20 degrees to be our limit on windchill. Even in the realm of nasty cold weather, I much prefer a -10 or -15 with very little wind over 0 with a strong NW wind. I'm hoping that our limits don't get tested too many times over the winter. I'm a fair-weather winter fan. Given a choice, I'd like the temps to stay around 20 and for the snow to fall on the grassy parts only and never on the streets or bike paths. I wonder if that every happens...maybe I should have asked Santa??? Merry Christmas to all of our blog readers. I hope you are able to to enjoy some Christmas running and enjoy some holiday lights. Happy running--Missee Care to Comment: Are there any light displays in your neighborhood you like to run past? Do you have any running-related Christmas traditions?
1 Comment
Sandie
12/24/2017 07:43:43 am
I love the lights as well. In Wadena we have a display set to music near the Elementry school
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AuthorMissee and Stephanie are two Minnesota sisters and moms who love to run. We are not experts in running, parenting or anything else, but we do have years of experiences that may be helpful or entertaining to others. Archives
May 2020
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