P And Stefano's Virtual Race Reports!

Hi everyone! I ran finally ran my two virtual races yesterday afternoon!! So I went out and had a little running action in Maple Grove:)

I ran in Stefano's Black Knight Army 10 K and P's not your average adventure virtual run.

Let's face it, I am a bit of a slacker lately. I ran both of them back to back:)

Stefano's race clothing consisted of black Nike running pants and a black running jacket. I also ran in a black hat and black gloves...it is getting colder in Minnesota:)

I decided to go on the Rice Lake trails and head around the lake. First off I ran out of my neighborhood and across Weaver Lake Road.

I ran down Weaver Lake Road and turned onto the running trails that were still snow covered. It was 37 degrees and the trails were slushy in some spots....icy in others.

I ran almost two miles before heading up this hill. At the top of this hill I ran into a fellow Maple Grove runner who I met once before on a different run around this same lake. Joe and I met at the end of May...we both were running on these very trails and ended up chatting and running together. He spotted me and asked if I wanted to join him on a run. I agreed and we were off:)

Joe ran the Minneapolis Marathon the same day that I did the half. He ended up getting hurt and is still in recovery mode. We ran steady and slow....easy enough to hold a conversation without sucking air:)

We stopped at the half way point and I snapped a picture. Stefano, notice that Joe is wearing black too!

I snapped this picture of the sunset over Rice Lake. Beautiful and peaceful:)

We ran around the lake and enjoyed stimulating conversation....all about running. The time went by so fast that before we knew it we had to part ways. Joe turned up the path to take him home and I continued on my way around the last part of the lake.

When I reached my 10 K distance I ran for one more mile. I decided to run a mile for P's not your average adventure. I wish that I could say that I had all of this saved energy and that I was able to bust out a seven minute mile. Not so much....I did muster enough gusto to run a 8:30 last mile:) My theme for P's adventure was a party mile on the pavement! Yes, it was snowy and slushy but a party all the same! P's birthday was weeks ago...better late than never! Happy Birthday P!!

Once I got to my door step I checked out my Garmin for 10 K stats. I ran Stefano's Black Knight Army 10 K in 57 minutes. Not my fastest 10 K but memorable for sure:) I, Lady Julie enjoyed Stefano's 10 K without ever sucking air!! Yay! I have only ran in two 10 K races and both of them were high on the sucking air scale:) Lady Julie ran easy, steady, smooth and I didn't fall on my ass...success!!!

Happy running, biking, swimming, lifting and surfing! Cheers to you all!