It’s time for Top 5 Friday! Remember when I came up with that 3 weeks ago? You didn’t think I meant to do it EVERY Friday, did you? oops!

As you know, I JUST signed up for a spring half marathon, so it seemed like an opportune time to bring you…

The Top 5 Reasons Signing up for a Spring Race is an Awesome Idea:

1.  To get out there! After that first magical snowfall and all the holly jolly holiday runs are over, winter running starts to be kind of a drag. It’s icy, cold, dark, cold…and this year, it’s been especially COLD. So when you really want to curl up with a book under the electric blanket, that race entry will get you out there. And let’s face it, the hot chocolate tastes at least 20% better after a run. (Yeah, 20% isn’t a lot better, but hot cocoa is already pretty fantastic.

Remember when, “Oh It’s snowing! yay! And it’s Christmas, and I’m running!!!”

Well, now: “Ugh..what is this disgusting mess…
oh, and it’s -85 out? super.”
Photo from http://www.theguardian,com

2.  Hold yourself accountable – Remember back in January, when you made a bagillion New Year’s resolutions, specifically about running?  Racing probably factored in there somehow.  At this point of the year, you haven’t quite forgotten about all the resolutions, so signing up for a spring race sounds like a terrific idea. And hey, it’ll keep you on track.

3.  To get out there! – This sounds a lot like the first reason, doesn’t it? Well, it’s different, I promise. Not unlike winter, the magic of running in the spring fades pretty quickly for me. And again, having a race on the calendar will get me out the door when it’s 40 degrees and pouring rain for the 8th day in a row.

Running in the spring is great, because this is what spring looks like, right?

Ha..no!

 4.  Because winter race options are limited – Sure, you’ve got your new year’s day 5k, and of course the frosty knuckle or freezer five, or whatever else unpleasant sounding race, but really there aren’t many longer distance runs in the winter.  At least not in New England. I tried to find a January 1/2 marathon near me and came up empty. There was nothing within a reasonable distance of my home. It’s probably for the best though, I would not have been a happy camper racing on one of these polar vortex days.

5. Because fall is like a million years away – Fall races are my favorite, but if I wait to run all my races in the fall, then I end up with a pretty skimpy race calendar! Not to mention all the long runs on 90 degree days to prepare for fall races. To me, spring is kind of like fall’s cousin.  Not too hot, not too cold.  And it reminds you that “hey, being outside isn’t terrible!”

Disclaimer – I don’t actually HATE the weather as much as this post makes it seem. It’s not running in the cold or rain or heat that are the problem, it’s that I can’t ever remember that doing so isn’t that bad.  Having a race on the calendar helps me overcome that issue.

So, what spring race are you going to do?