Tuesday, December 29, 2015

St. Martin's Jingle Bell 5k 2015


After running in Olympia for the last 5 years I’ve started to get a little bored with the same race routes over and over again.

In order to spice things up a bit, I’ve been trying out new races.

This year we decided to try out the St. Martin’s Jingle Bell Run 5k. I’ve had friends run it in the past, and they’ve all enjoyed it. Plus, they have a really good Santa and Chrissy and I really wanted to get photos of Michaela in her elf jammies with Santa.

I woke up to a gorgeous day of drizzling rain. Which I think we can all agree is the perfect weather to run in. Josh, Chrissy and the nugget picked me up and we headed over.

Once we were there we met up with Bobbie, Jenna and Dennis. Another one of our friends turned up, but she and her running buddies had been on a long run and decided to run over the race, say hi and then run back.

Because that’s how runners rollJ

This year St. Martin’s had two starts this year. A “competitive” one for those who planned on running 30 minutes or faster and a “fun run” for those running slower than 30 minutes.

It seemed strange to me at first and a little off putting since the group of runners I run with have a wide range of paces. This means we would end up waiting around for a long time if we wanted cheer each other on. Chrissy pointed out though, that because the route is two loops the front runners would be passing the back of the field, which would be unpleasant for everyone. No one likes to feel like they’re about to be trampled and it’s frustrating to need to dodge people and not have anywhere to go.

I was apprehensive about the course, because of section of grass, and I hate running through squashy, muddy grass. But it wasn’t that bad. The section of grass wasn’t big and when there was a section that had drainage issues they filled it in with cedar chips.

Jenna started out in front and stayed there. I thought I might catch up with her but I never quite made it. I should have been able to run this race faster than I did, based on my finish time at The Puddle Jump, but I didn’t.

There was one hill each loop. It wasn’t too big or anything, but still a hill. At least it was paved, so we didn’t slip and slide while we ran it. Otherwise it was a great course with plenty to look at while we ran, and a variety of terrains. All of those things make for a good race.

As soon as I throw this cold, I need to buckle down and get back on track with my training. I’ve been slacking and it shows. I need to get back to my Tempo runs. They always made the biggest difference in my overall pace.   


Michaela’s first effort with Santa was a little shaky. Not because she was crying or anything, but because she puked on him within seconds and then she pulled out a fist full of his beard.

She looked adorable though;)
 

I looked nearly as cute in my candy cane tights and Christmas skirt. I have wanted to make these tights for a while now but wasn’t able to find the red fabric until this year in Portland. I almost didn’t get them made this year either because of my own bad time management.

BUT…I was determined to not let the fabric wait until next year, so I stayed up a bit late and threw them together.

I added the skirt because I wanted it to look like Christmas threw up on me. I think with the headband, I achieved that look.
 

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