Race Recap: Frozen Gnome 10K Trail Race (+ Carson Dellosa Giveaway Winner!)

First off, the winner of the Carson Dellosa Common Core Connections Giveaway...

The winner is...Miss Emily!  Miss Emily, email me at juiceboxesandcrayolas AT gmail DOT com to claim your prize!  Thanks for participating everyone!

And now...a race recap!  Yesterday I ran the Frozen Gnome 10k trail race.  My friend Julie and I have been wanting to do a trail race together for awhile now, so when I heard about this one we signed up right away.  We didn't think too much about how January weather might affect the race...didn't think about cold or snow or slush puddles...just signed up.  Perhaps we should have given it a little more thought!

Source: Frozen Gnome Facebook Page

Chicago has had some freaky weather lately.  "Polar vortex"-induced scary cold temps, multiple feet of snow, freezing rain...the list goes on!  But when we showed up on race day, the weather was beautiful mid-30s and dry.  I mean, there was a ton of snow, but perspective, people.  We strapped on our yaktrax, layered up, and got going!  It felt so good to be lining up at a starting line for the first time since October.

The race was definitely technical! It was mostly single track trail complete with lots of hills and a mix of icy, slick patches, deep slush, and good old fashioned snow drifts. Woohoo! Julie and I huffed along at a snail's pace, chatting non-stop (mostly about school...) the whole time. 

Around mile 4 we ran into this sign...

Yup, that says "butt slide hill."  And that hill was no joke!  It was steep, icy, and we literally had to slide down on our butts.  I'm telling ya, I was wishing I'd had another layer of pants on because sliding down an icy hill in running tights is...um...not super comfortable!  Even so, it was totally awesome.

We trudged our way through the last few miles of the race, enjoying the weather, scenery, and each other's company, and not worrying one little bit about time.  Aside from my soaked feet, the race was wonderful, and I can't wait to come back and run this trail again sometime in spring!

Have you ever run a trail race?  This was my second trail race, and the first was also in the dead of winter!  Maybe I should try trail racing again sometime when there aren't two feet of snow on the ground! :)