Jingle Bell Jog Forecast

Cold and slow. That's what I'm forecasting. Actually, yesterday the local weather person said Saturday is expecting a high of 34 with some snow flurries. Yikes! But, today, things were looking up a bit. The high Saturday is now expected to be 38 with rain in the morning, then turning to snow. Of course, I'm thinking at race time (8:30 a.m.), the temp won't be anywhere near the high. And that rain is going to be cold. I might just skip it. My $18 donation to the battered women's shelter went to a wonderful cause. Who needs a race t-shirt, anyway?

I always do this before a race, by the way. I try to talk myself out of it. Reasons to skip the race: The course is hill after hill. Going up a wet hill is ok, but going down a wet hill could be treacherous. (I ran that same course on a hot, dry day in September and the downhills made me nervous----super steep, loose gravel). It will be cold. Not a regular-kind-of-cold, but that nasty damp-kind-of-cold.

But the biggest reason is......I don't think I'll PR. I've PR'd in each consecutive 5K I've done. (Only three in all, but still.) Getting faster is a measurable way to see I'm slowly improving. I'm nervous about not PR-ing despite the hard work I've put in lately. I know I'll be disappointed if I don't meet my goal of 9:59/mile. Realistically, it is a much tougher course than my last one AND the weather conditions may slow me down. So, PR-ing is unrealistic. But I still want that 9:59!

Maybe the forecast will change to sunny and 60 degrees between now and then. Maybe I'll get a good night's sleep and a burst of energy by then. Maybe they'll move the race to a flat part of town. Yeah right. I'm not counting on it!