On Saturday, our team ran the Heart and Sole 5k from the Mac in Grand Rapids. Before the race, I had talked with a few people about what my goal time/pace would be for the race. I ran the Wolverine Resolution Run, which is a 4 mile race, on New Years Eve and was able to (barely) hold just under a 7:00/mile pace.  Based on that time, and the fact that I’ve been training for quite a few weeks since then, I thought I could beat that pace since it was a shorter race.

While I felt mentally and physically ready to run the race on Saturday, the weather and conditions on the course did not cooperate. A teammate ran the course in the morning and told us that it was very icy and without dry pavement we would need to be cautious to avoid injury. I knew then that my goal time/pace needed to be set aside for another race. My new goal for this race: run as fast as I can while staying safe.

In the end, I didn’t hold to my goal pace but I did win a medal (along with many of my teammates) and I was proud of myself for running outside despite the crummy weather and conditions! Some days the elements are just against you and you need to be smart, run safe, and adjust your goals.

Ecclesiastes 11:4 says, “If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done”.  Nothing can be more true for a runner in Michigan. There are some days when it’s not safe to run outside, but if you are worried about running in the cold and snow, Runners World has a great article with tips for running in the cold. Remember, even if the snow and cold slow you down (running in snow is similar to running in the sand – it should slow you down!), it’s still worth getting out and running because you will be a better runner because of it in the spring!

I can’t wait to run my goal pace in my next race on dry pavement, but for now simply getting out of bed before the sun and running in freezing temperatures needs to be enough on this journey to the Fifth Third River Bank Run!