I ran a 5k... with lots of wool on!

I ran The Fox & the Turkey 2 weeks ago that was a 4 mile race (my first race!), and today I just finished the Snowflake Shuffle 5k! Even though this was almost a mile less, it was much harder. I ran it in 40 minutes. For those of you who think that's a bad time, most of the course was unplowed slush, I was pushing Jack (my 5 year old) in a stroller, and half the time it was uphill. I really had to push myself with this one! That last stretch was plowed & I felt like I was flying after all that struggling through the snow! Here I am crossing the finish line :)

My everyday hats have been too warm for jogging lately, so I decided to make one just for running out of a super super thin merino I had. I used the pattern from Tuesday's tutorial, but added some ribbing at the bottom, some tassels on top, and appliqued "3.1" (3.1 miles is a 5k) on it. I even made a reinforced pony tail hole in the back. It was absolutely perfect for today!

I was wearing my wool running pants as well. I was trying to see how many times I could wear them without having to wash them, and this was the 6th time i've worn them. They smell fresh as a daisy, but the experiment will end here for now. I've lost weight since I made them, so they are too loose... i'll have to felt them a bit to get them down a size. Can't do that with synthetics! It is fantastic to not have to wash them each time. My synthetic pants get stinky after one run and have to be washed each time. If you have 2 pairs of wool pants, run every other day, and you only have to wash them every 6 times you jog, you will only have to wash them every 24 days!

I also wore a merino wool running top that I was lucky enough to find in my size at the thrift store (no resweatering necessary!). I wore a synthetic jacket over that, but it caused me to overheat quickly & was in the stroller most of the race. The merino top kept me perfectly comfortable. I had my merino runner's mittens on, that I made, and they were perfect. I wish I would have had wool socks on, because that was the only place I felt cold. Next time for sure!