Jingle Bell Run 2012

The big race finally came and went!! I had wanted to run the Jingle Bell Run and I did it! Last year I went and supported my mom, aunt, and cousin. I didn't run it because it was finals week and finals are insane for me. This year, I just decided that even with finals, I could get up early on a Saturday and bust out 3 miles. So, I signed Mom and I up for the Jingle Bell Run way in advance, mainly I was worried about getting a slot and a shirt (last years were soooo cute, I was jealous I didn't have my own). Then my cousin, Robyn, and her sister-in-law, Anna, signed up also. Mom and my aunt Vicki did it again this year. And my aunt Marcy did it also! We didn't sign up as a team, but we sure did support each other! Next year we will definitely go as a team.

So here's the pre-race picture: Thursday night I pulled my first allnighter (of studying) this semester. It was horrible lol. I pretty much was passing out all day Friday. But Friday night I hit the bet at about 11 pm and was out within minutes. I woke up and it was race time! I made a peanut butter and banana sandwich, and a glass of chocolate milk. I threw on all my clothes, minus the shirt I was running in because I wanted to wear the new Jingle Bell Run shirt I'd get at pre-registration. I also had bought some flashing christmas light earrings (TOO CUTE) and wore a red ribbon in my hair. I would REALLLLLLY like to dress up in a snowman or candy cane or something next year!

Does anyone see those precious cookies?!

SO we are at pre-registration, get our materials (including little jingle bells to put on our shoes) and take a couple of snapshots. After that Robyn and Anna did Zumba that they had going on. I always think that looks super fun, I'm too busy conserving energy lol. Afterwards, we mill into the pool of people to wait for start time. The man fires his gun and we're off.

At first we are just barely moving but then people sort of thin out. Running with people always makes me go a little faster than I probably would otherwise, but I really enjoyed weaving in and out of people. Like a running obstacle course ;) But we do the first mile real hard (Mom and I pace each other), I'm feeling it, got my Jack White playlist a going, 2nd mile comes along, seeing nice sites, still going hard. Mile 3.... well its a bitch. It was a lot of long gradual upward slopes and its either my mind or my legs, but those hills are just insane for me. We had to do a little walking here and there, but I was more proud of this race than I was the last, just because I felt like we were pushing harder. At the end we seen that we had about 15 seconds until it changed to 46 minutes, and I'm pretty sure Mom and I ran the hardest we ever have haha. We beat it! When I looked at my mapmyrun this is what it said:

Not to be weird, but thats a little more than a 3.1 haha. So, I was not upset that my time of 46 minutes and more than the November 5k! Look at that 13:30 min/mi pace! UPHILLS! Hoss.

Afterwards, I went home and took the best nap ever. I can only imagine the nap of a marathon runner! I was glad to have that morning run, and I still love 5ks as much as ever!

It's really amazing to run as much as we have been. I literally started from the couch and got to 5k! I am just really proud of the progress made this year! Hope everyone has had a great weekend!

 

We make sexy faces, yeah?

---If you have any race stories you would like to share, tips on running, or anything related to running post a link in the comments!