Jingle Bell Jog 4M (+12)

Saturday was The "A" Team's 2nd annual Jingle Bell Jog in Prospect Park. Lots of fun was had and it was a nice way to kick off the holiday season. I am not actually into the holiday spirit (surprisingly, surprising to many), but this 4 mile race with my PIC definitely lifted a bit of my bah humbug-ness. How could it not? I was wearing a tutu and an elf hat with bells, for the love of Christmas!

It was a nice little race around the park and completely relaxed. Although, I did discover another pet peeve of mine: when spectators tell you to run faster. Granted, we weren't racing, but how do you know I'm not going as fast as I can? Not Cool. I know it's meant as encouraging, but you don't know anything about that person or what battles they're fighting- just tell them they're doing a good job and be done with it. Then maybe, I won't want to punch you in your throat.

Aaaand moving back to the holiday cheer. . .

The red and green bagels with hot chocolate waiting for us at the finish line was a nice motivation to run a bit faster. YaY! for holiday themed races. I felt like there was a lot more costumes and festive gear this year and that always makes it more fun!

It would've been awesome to be able to say "I did 4 miles, let's go home and take a nap", but I still had 10 more miles to do (I did 2 before the race). The PIC and I took the long way out of the park so she could join me for 2 more, but then it was me and Prospect Park. I kept telling myself if I wanted to stop and just do whatever I had left the next day, it would be ok. I have to give myself an out just to get myself out the door, you know? But once I got in my groove, I just wanted to finish them. Smart, huh? You should try it, too ;)

My body is tired of being in permanent pain. I know that's why I've been struggling mentally during the week. Luckily, I figured this out and instead of focusing on the pain, I tried to let it go. That worked for awhile, as did focusing on my stride and form. It's going to take awhile to fix an entire training season's mistakes, but at least I'll have something to think about when I get bored. I also decided I'm not going up to 20 miles this time. If I can have a mentally kick ass 18 miler next week, I will be happy.

PS- I used one of my RnR drawstring bags to put my tutu in after the race. I safety-pinned the straps together so they wouldn't slide off and it worked like a charm! I even forgot I had it on. I don't know if anything heavier than tulle would work, but at least it's an option.

I was in more pain than I would've liked and thankful for the extra layers after (I was super overdressed for the 47 degree weather. In my defense, it was overcast and supposed to rain). The fact that the Q train took for.ev.er. and the commute back to my part of Brooklyn was long and crowded didn't help much either. I did jump in an ice bath and ate before I passed out for 5 hours. I woke up long enough to transfer from the couch to the bed and proceeded to sleep the whole night through. When B came home and I didn't stir (I'm a super light sleeper), she had to check to make sure I was still breathing. WoW, clearly I needed sleep.

That Disney medal better be worth it!

Are you a fan of this season? Do you dress up for themed races?