Jingle Bell Run 5K - Somerville, MA

This race had a mission. After my interaction with the race organizer and his definition of "real runners," I knew I had to rock this race.
And I had to get my message across as well. A trip to AC Moore and a half-hour, and I had this:

Sunday morning we got up, had a leisurely light breakfast, and then headed to Somerville. I mentioned to Erik that I wasn't as nervous for this race like I was for the Superhero 5K. Was this a bad thing? Was I getting cocky? Erik said no, it was a good thing, that I wouldn't be anxious.

We arrived and found one of the last parking spots. We took turns walking to the port-a-potties for those last pre-run potty runs, while keeping the little one in the car to stay warm as long as possible. I found fellow runners Amy and Scott, and we walked back towards the car. We also found another running friend (Jules). We gathered Erik and the girl, and went to drop her off with grandparents so we could line up.

I lost Erik as I walked to my spot (I found out later he neded yet another run to the portables); so Scott and I walked back towards the back. We decided to stay near the "12 minute" gate, looking at some of the folks there and assuming they were more our pace. I kept fiddling with my shoes, tying and re-tying, worried they were too tight, then too lose.

And then the crowd started moving. We did the jog-jog-stop for a bit. We crossed under the START balloon arch, and I was off!

Holland Avet towards Teele Square was a steady incline. I kept telling myself that I used to walk this street when I was a smoker, so running up it should NOT be a problem. I got to the top, turned onto Broadway, and felt the need to walk. I let myself walk a few hundered feet to a pedestrian sign, and picked up the pace again.

North Street was where I saw the MILE 1 sign, and let out a cheer! The picture of the Harpoon Bottle helped with motivation.

As I hit Powder House Blvd and the loping hills, my motivation came in the form of the other runners. Unlike the Superhero, I was never alone on this race. I was surrounded by other runners...and walkers, mostly walkers. I kept getting compliments on my jacket, and then when I explained why I was wearing it, I would get even more words of encouragement.

The hills of this race made me grateful that I trained on hills in Dedham. As we neared Tufts and the rotary turn onto Broadway, an announcer called out my name, asked if that was right. I gave a thumbs-up and a wave, and he said "Good job! Thanks for joining us today!"

My second walking bit was after mile 2. A steep climb and a water station equaled me taking a little bit of time to catch my breath and get some water in my dry mouth. I couldn't swallow, so I swirled around and spit it out on the road. I wasn't the only one to spill water and with the cold weather led to a bit of an icy patch. I walked past the station, and then started the downhill jog.

This gave me enough momentum to keep going when hitting another hill on Cedar Street. I started noticing runners walking the other way. I knew I must be close to finishing. I turned on to the bike path, where I had the smoothest pavement the whole race (gotta love New England streets). I picked up my pace. I knew I was close to finishing.

Then, I saw it: The finish line. Unconsciously I started running faster. I was having trouble catching my breath, so I forced myself to slow down for a little bit longer. Erk came off the sidelines and ran past me for a bit, cheering me on. "I'm trying!" I yelled.

I decided to pick up my pace and try and blow through the finish line. This was harder than expected because of the pedestrians clogging up the finishing path. I started yelling for folks to move out of my way, and I pushed it.
I checked my time on my RunKeeper app. My time was 49:21, average pace 16:06. I was so happy I finished under 50 minutes! When I checked the results, I saw my offical time was 49:18, with an average pace of 15:52. AWESOME! This is about five minutes faster than my last 5K.

Despite the organizer being a jerk, and getting one of the craptastic racing shirts, I had a blast in this race. I never felt alone, and I got a sweet medal (that doubles as a bottle opener) that makes up for the shirt.

Instead of celebrating in the Square (lines were loooooong), we went back to JP and had some Harpoon Winter Warmers and finished the celebratory meal with a mud pie cake I shared with my little girl.

Happy Winter Holidays, everyone!

Ho, Ho, *Burp*

I was up before dawn this morning, on a 16-minute mile pace run for 3 miles. It was cold. It was dark.

It is also the holiday season. With this time of year comes the food. That lovely cupcake is courtesy of the building my company is in. Today is "Design Your Own Cupcake Day" in the lobby. There was red velvet. I could not say no to red velvet cupcakes!

I also could not say no to the amazing food at my husband's work party this past weekend. From the appetizers (baked brie with raspberries!) to the buffet (roast beef with roasted potatoes), to the desserts (eggnog mousse-filled chocolate cups!), it was a very yummy event.

So I make sure to get those runs in. Not just for the race that's in 13 days, but to be able to enjoy the yumminess of the season and not pay for it in my waistline.