valentine poker run.

this morning i woke up to do a five mile poker run. the roads and trails have snow but they are passable. they're worth running outside versus the treadmill. hands down. when my alarm went off, it was dark in my room, cold outside and i dreaded getting out of bed. as always, i'm so glad i did.

i crawled out of bed and got ready. after the hard part, i was excited to put on my socks and shoes and get to the trail. 

these are my new favorite running socks. fun huh? at first they felt weird but in a good way. i also thought the gray made me look like a senior citizen. although i'm over it, i still think they look funny and they feel great.

 i took this iphone sceen shot on my way out the door.

brrrrr.

if you're reading and wonder what the heck a poker run is, wait no more, i'm going to tell you. before the run start you get your bib and one card. mine was an eight of clubs. then when the run starts, you run the course and pick up cards along the way. today we got cards about miles 1.5, 2.5, and 3.5. these cards are given out random and you just grab them as you stroll by. you pick up your last card at the finish line and there is your fifth card to complete your poker hand.

this was mine: 

they give out prizes to the best hands first and it trickles down. obviously the better the hand, the better pick of prize. unfortunately, two eights isn't a good hand. i didn't wait around to get my prize. i was towards the bottom last year and got a small tube of chafe cream. sweet. but first prize is a 50 dollar gift card to runners world and then they have some awesome shirts, hats, gloves, gu and other random running gear. i should have waited but starbucks was calling my name.

it was nice to have a short run today. i got to come home and play with my baby.  

who has found every book and half of his toys and brought them into the living room. move over chucky cheese, we've got our own game room on boston.

i had a good, strong run today. it felt so nice to get out. massive amounts of snow make it hard to enjoy running outside. i'm glad it's melting. i'm glad the weather is going to be nice this week. thank you mr. groundhog. i appreciate the early spring and cannot wait.