Til' We Meet In Hell v. 2013

This morning's weather seemed appropriate for Hell. It was sort of misty and foggy out, and the temperature was hovering right above freezing, with the warm air slowly eating away at the snowpack. The weather forecast was calling for rain and ice. Ugh. But off we set for Lewiston anyway, headed to Thorncrag for the annual Til We Meet in Hell run, followed by the TMR lunch and awards. It's always a fun time, and Val always comes up with some creative way to torture us out on the trails :-0 In fairness, Thorncrag is so hilly, it would be hard to make it not torturous!

This year's loop was a little over 1 mile. The idea was to run it as many times as you could (or cared to) in 1 1/2 hours. There was also a handicap to keep things interesting, although I have no idea how Jeff figured out the math for that. In any event, I thought I could probably get in 7 miles, knowing I wasn't going to be pushing too hard. And in the end, that's pretty much exactly what I got in, including the extra after the 1:30 mark. Perfect. The loop was a good but tough one, with a decent uphill at the end. The footing, however, was less than ideal. As the loops went on, the footing got worse. The snow didn't pack, it just got churned up. Not easy to run on. But hey, we were all out there together and it's always fun to catch up with everyone at this event! I *almost* succeeded in not getting lapped by Ryan, but he was pushing it, and he got me in the last few 1/10ths. Oh well! Many thanks to Val for a fun time!

And then it was off to Gritty's for some food and cheer and beer and TMR awards. This little ol' blog won 'Best Blog' - thanks guys! I really write all of this nonsense for myself, and to keep Phyllis updated about Sam :-), but I'm glad others find it amusing enough to read it! Ryan won 'Best Athletic Supporter', which is very well deserved. He also did a great job out there today, running the whole loop on snowshoes. Now that's a good workout!

As always, it was a great time in Hell! ;)