The morning was as predicted, with a sheet of ice covering my truck .  The temperature was just below freezing so all the drizzle that came down turned instantly to ice. Miserable picture of me below at the start.

While the temperature was bearable, the sheet of ice covering the rocks was not a lot of fun to run on and I bit it several times in the beginning.  I ran the first 10 miles right on last years pace, but the weather warmed a few degrees and the trail turned into complete slop.  If I wasn’t sliding on the trail, my foot was stuck to it so my stride became a very short baby step.  It wasn’t fun and my pace was cut by about 25%.  The rain never really came down in sheets, but it drizzled on and off all day.  You can see the ice melting from the cactus prongs as the temperature rose.

The further I went, the more frustrated I got.  When I hit the halfway point at the start of the 2nd loop, I decided to have a beer, drive home, and sit in the spa…  so I only went 31 miles instead of 62 – there is always next year 🙂