The Great Icicle Run of 2013

This definitely rates as one of my favorite runs for the sheer, ummmm, stupidity of it?

My most elderly boy and I decided to go out for a 4 mile loop near the house at sundown just as it started to drizzle a little bit. Nevermind that it was 33 degrees. Yes, if you’re from Ohio you probably know exactly what this means! Freezing Rain!

I’m not sure what happened but by the time we actually started moving out the door it was raining pretty hard. It took a mere 1/8 of a mile to realize we may have made a poor decision! Our feet were soaked almost instantly and the rain was pelting us in the face pretty good. Well, what were we to do but press on?

About a quarter mile into the run, slush was forming on the road and on our clothes. Then the wind picked up. Much.

To this point we were just laughing and shivering a little about how crazy we were. I actually kind of thrive on being out when the weather is wild. I just love the raw feeling of being out in whatever nature is throwing at me. I think my boy is rather of the same cut.

The first mile marker was the decision point… do we continue on or turn back? The back road we had to go on had drifts of snow from earlier that as deep as our knees. Not a big deal really, but kind of hard to run on. By this point, the rain was forming a literal sheet of ice on EVERYTHING, including our hats and jackets. I reached over and broke the ice shield on my boy’s shoulder and yelled, “We only live once! Let’s do it!” He’s such a trooper! Off we go, no turning back…

So we crunch and we bash our way over the next mile of drifts, our feet making a massive racket as each step breaks through a crust of quickly forming ice. In the spots where the road is bare, or even close to it, it was so slick I felt like Bambi on ice. The best thing we had going for us was that the extra exertion kept us almost warm enough.

After mile two, we knew we had it made. We were soaked to the bone, icicles hanging from the brims of our hats, and a solid layer of ice on our shoulders, backs and chests. All we had to do though was stay on our feet and trudge the rest of the way on relatively good roads. I have no idea how many times we went back and forth between thinking we were idiots and thinking it was the best time ever!

In the end, we had no regrets and will probably always remember The Great Icicle Run of 2013!