Lucky Number 13

Sunday, I ran my last race of the year, the Jingle Bell 5k.  This race is part of the Festival of Lights that my town has to kick off the Christmas season.  It is usually run on the beach, but Hurricane Sandy was not kind to us here in Narragansett, so it was moved to the road.

This was not a bad thing for me.  I am not a fan of beach running, plus I was familiar with the course they changed it to.  A flat and fast course.

This is a festive race and people dress up.  I decided that an elf would suit me.  I had the hat and the socks.  I found a red tech shirt and met a women who makes tutus.  I asked her to make me a red and green one and voila, I was an elf.  As an added bonus, I had my nails painted red and green.

The race started at 1pm and I like the late start.  I got there with plenty of time to spare and met up with my friends.

Mr. RWM and the kids were there too and that just thrilled me to pieces!  One, because I had a cheering section and two, because I had a photographer.  Thanks Babe!

I actually had a goal for this race and it wasn't just to finish.  I wanted very much to finish in 33 minutes.  My best 5k time up to this point was 34:50.

We lined up and the gun went off.  This race was small, exactly 100 people.  I do like small races, especially in my small town.

I started out a little faster than my usually speed and at first, thought I should slow down.  I didn't.  The temperature was perfect, I had friends just ahead of me and some rocking tunes.  I felt good.

At the half way point though, my stomach started to hurt.  This is the third run in a row that this has happened.  I don't know why.  I haven't changed anything as far as eating and drinking is concerned.  What are your thoughts?

I pushed through and stayed strong.  Right before I hit the 3 mile marker, I saw Mr. RWM and the kids.  There is nothing better than to have your very own cheering section.  I was fueled when I saw them and took off.

When I rounded the corner and saw the clock, I was shocked!  It read, 31 and change.  I was not going to let the clock tick away to 32 without me crossing first.

I ran as strong and as fast as I could and my official time was 31:49, which is a 10:15 pace!  This is a 3:01 PR!

Woohoo!!!

My babies!

My family was there and so were my friends, who by the way, both PR'ed too!  Congrats, Jenn and Bridget!

We headed over for water and snacks and they had an awards ceremony.  Then they had those of us who dressed up, come up and to be judged.  I had a little competition.  There was a tree that was just awesome!  However, there weren't that many of us competing, so we all got a prize.  I got a gift card to Pier Liquors, yeah me!

So why lucky number 13?  Well, this was my 13th race since I started running.  My first race, was 13 months ago.  It was a 5k and I finished in 35:35.  Nice, right!

All in all, this was a really fun day.  It was the first time I dressed up to run too and I liked it!

Have you ever dressed up to race?

Run Strong, Think Big!