This morning, I ran the 10k FA Tussey Teaser #0, the first one of the Tussey Teaser Series, which cover the entire course of the Tussey Mountainback 50M in 6 "Teaser" races (most of them FA).

I woke up to a balmy 10 degrees in the morning, and, knowing it is usually about 10 degrees colder and plenty breezy at Colyer Lake (where the start was), I knew I'd have to bundle up. Got my breakfast, got all dressed in several layers (lightweight undershirt, mid-weight long-sleeve shirt, Polartech-200 jacket, mid-weight tights, and windbreaker pants, and my blaze orange double-layer hunting running hat), put on my trail shoes in expectation of several inches of ice-covered snow, and packed my warm mittens and my microspikes.

I arrived at Colyer Lake in time to socialize with some of my running friends, and - to our surprise - there was no wind (it is always terribly windy at that lake). I met with my running buddy Stephen, who had already told me earlier that he was somewhat out of shape and would run with another running friend at the back of the pack. So I was free to set my own pace.

I was surprised at the number of people who showed up. Usually, the run is attended by around 20 people, but today, it was more like 50. Fun fact was, the parking lot was not plowed, so there was almost a foot of ice-covered snow preventing the cars from being parked properly. There were cars all over the place, slipping and skidding around, and runners pushing the cars to get them out of the most slippery spots. Fun to watch.

After everybody had ditched their car somewhere in the scenery, we all lined up, and Mike, the RD, said "go", and off we went. I started out at a slow pace, trying to warm up my hands and feet which were frozen solid meanwhile. I carried my microspikes in my hands, as I was quite sure it would be icy and slippery further up the road. The course is a gently rolling out-and-back, on paved and gravel backcountry roads, 3 miles flat or slightly uphill, with only two very short downhills, turnaround at "house number 404, don't miss it, guys!", and all back again.

I found myself running with a group of guys who I know are just a tad faster than me, and it was easy to keep up with them. I guessed they were at least just as frozen as I was. I did not try to run fast, just to stay with them. Up the hill we staggered, and along a beautiful stretch along the creek, all covered in deep snow. After a while, one of the guys commented that his hands were slowly warming up, so "it must be around 2 miles in". That made me giggle, because I often measure distance just the same way on the trails. The field had stretched out, and our group was running alone, with the top runners out of sight, and the rest of the pack quite behind us. We passed several intersections, always guessing where to go (and someone in our little group would always know), until we came to a turnoff which looked quite familiar to me. "Left" I shouted, but no-one turned left. I was not so sure any more and stopped, and got passed by three runners behind me. Then I saw other runners coming back from straight ahead, and I knew I had to turn left, but I had lost the three spots now. Dang it!

I was trying to decide whether I should put on my microspikes, or if the traction was sufficient, even on the downhill on the way back. I decided I could do without, despite some terribly icy patches, and just kept them in my hands. I did not want to loose another spot in our pack.

Sooner than anticipated, the turnaround was there, and we all made the few steps through the deep, icy snow across the middle of the road, to run back in the other tracks made by some truck earlier that day. Those few steps hurt my ankles, which I had bruised on a not-so-nice run through such same kind of ice-coverd snow two days before, but I figured everybody would have to go through that iceberg, so complaining would really be a bit out of place here.

The downhill went well. I gained a spot in our conga line (I know I'm fairly good on downhills, as I just relax and let it roll), and later on, I gained another two spots again. Bad news is, I was also passed by two other runners, so the net gain was still -2 compared to where I was before I had missed the turnoff. Turned out later, the two runners who passed me were top runners who had taken a wrong turn at that last intersection, too, and gone the extra mile before realizing their mistake, so I did not feel too bad about them passing me.

When we turned back onto the paved road again, with the last mile to go, I sped up a bit, and left the three runners on my heels in the dust snow. Last quarter mile, last short hill (I dread this hill because when I ran the Mountainback 50M, this hill appears after 37 miles, which makes it seem so much bigger than it actually is, and back then I had to walk some of it), and then down and into the parking lot. The deep snow there almost threw off my balance, but with my trail skills, I just kept running anyway.

Crossed the line at 51:56, personal best (although I don't really have a track record, as this was my first 10k that I ran at my own pace, and which is not up and down an insane hill, where my personal best was 54:00).

I was happy with my time. I think I came in 4th or 5th female, and I knew the top three females are just out of my league, at least on such short distances (they are our local "elite runners").

One minute and two seconds later, my running friend Barb crossed the line - pretty impressive considering she had run 21 miles the day before! We hugged, then had a snack while we waited for other friends to cross the line. Stephen did not show up for a long time, and as I had to get home soon to drive my kids, I had to leave. Getting out of the parking lot was a fun challenge in itself, with every driver pushing other drivers at some point, and getting pushed up the hill by other runners as well. Eventually, I saw Stephen and his running friend, just as they were turning into the last stretch toward the parking lot, and I cheered them on. I felt a bit bad because I had left before they finished, something I have never done before. On the other hand, it was really getting cold, with the temperature still around 15 degrees. At least, my hands and feet were still warm!

All in all, a nice winter run to remember!

Nice job, Couch.  I'm sure you have the same conditions that we have on our hills, so a very impressive time.

Awesome job! Sounds like the "teasers" are becoming quite popular.  Not sure I will be running by then but I would love to make the HM in June.  I had almost run that last year.

Thanks for sharing.  Sounded like a cold but very good run for you.

Thanks Couch, you've got me thinking about the half marathon over the hill all day......