Time for a nice holiday run. Met up with fellow bloggers Lucia (Argentine Rocket) and Ben (Dutch) plus a few others for the Jingle all the way 10k in sunny Washington, DC. Our team, Santa's Little Jinglers truly lived up to our name as we jingled through the WHOLE race and long afterward too! Overall, the team placed 11th out of 49 teams, which ain't too shabby if you ask me.
As we started the race, I was going to take it easy but Lucia scolded me and said...."You need to run fast to get our team's time down!!!" Well, I can't say no to that since I like to win so off I went bobbing and weaving through the crowd. First two miles felt great as my legs finally started to warm up (I wore shorts in 30 degree weather). Yes....the shorts were probably a bad idea and went everything I usually wear when running in the cold. Stupidity...check; hard-headedness...check; macho...check; cold Aaron...check. As I got out around Haines Point and got to the half way mark, I noticed that I was right at about a 21 minute 5k, which was right where I wanted to be. My ultimate goal for the race was 42 for the 6 miles plus a little more for the last .2. Turnaround point had me cruising and thinking that I would reach my goal. Around mile 5, I began to feel some tightness in my right hip flexor. The pain continued through the rest of the race. At mile 6, I decided to sprint the last .2 of the race and crossed the finish line in 42:36. Definitely a PR since I've never run a 10k before. Once again, not to shabby for not really training. I suppose that if I trained properly, I could probably beat just about anyone. Too much other stuff going on at this point for that.
After the race, I went to Lucia's house for an after party and had some TASTY food and warming drinks. If you don't know, Lucia makes some freaking awesome icecream. Great times with great people. Check out Lucia's blog for some fancy pictures.
What an eventful weekend....I moved in with some friends, am finishing up my job this week and looking forward to just under 3 weeks off before I start my new job, and am dealing with a pup with SEVERE moving anxiety. I've read that it sometimes takes a dog up to 2-3 weeks before they are fully acclimated to their new living conditions. With Pepper, since he was jettisoned from family to family before coming to me, I'm gearing up for an even longer ride. He just needs to know that he's loved and he'll be fine. Oh...plenty of treats and exercise too.
Well, happy holidays folks. Till next time....over and out.
(Brooks Infinitis 60.9 miles) | 