Jingle all the way

It was a chilly 20 something degrees when I woke this morning.  Great day for a race. Right?  The best thing about the Jingle Bell run, is that it starts at 1000.  I got up around 0700 made some breakfast, and assembled my festive running outfit.  Dr. Di made a call on Friday, and voila I was part of the Springfield Clinic Skeleton Crew.  I decorated my shirt the night before.  I planned on wearing it to the race, but  not running in it

[Results] [Photos]

I donned my sparkly red leggings, and green Nike tempo shorts, a white turtle  neck and red singlet over the top.  I looked like a Christmas elf.  Steven and I left the house around 0845.  ( and yes he wore the knickers and a running skirt).  I still needed to register.  I picked up my packet and number, posed for a pic with the skeleton crew, and then went out to warm up.

I felt good during my warm up. The wind was bitter though, and cut through ever layer of clothing. after I the warm up, I went to the car and shed a few layers and the headed to the start. I started toward the front of the pack, eyeing Martha. I know in past years she has beaten me in this and other races, so I tried to stay behind her.

Mile one was around a 6:45 maybe a bit fast but I felt good, and I was sticking with it. I stayed behind Martha until 1.5 mile and then took off. At the turn around I saw that Tracy wasn’t too far ahead of me. She was now my motivation. By mile 2.5 I had started to slow a little, but I kept saying to myself, “don’t stop until you have too.” I knew it was going to hurt at this point. I just wanted to hold on to my position. On the last mile I passed 3 girls. One almost caught me at the finish, but I held on strong. I looked at my watch with about .2 miles to go, and it was at 19 something. I knew I could get in under 22. My official time was 21:35.
I was so happy with my time. The Jingle bell is never my best race, but this was my 2nd best 5k time! I was so happy with my time. Steven and I stayed at the finish long enough to see Allison finish, and for Dan to give me his other camera, so him and Jason could bale. I think they were a little cold.

We headed inside to the after party. I really wanted a cup of joe, but they were all out. I settledfor some water and an orange. While waiting for the results, I visited with all the rabbits that were brave enough to race. Aaron, Holly, Rick, Judy, and Allison, to name a few. I know Jenni was there but I didn’t see you? With out too much delay, the gave out the awards. I ended up 5th overall women, and 2nd in my age group.

Congratulations to everyone who raced, and thanks to all the volunteers. I had a blast running the Jingle bell. The t shirts were great, again, and carmex in the goodie bag…score.