AM Ran an easy 4 with some striders thrown in just to wake my legs up. Right leg is feeling much better. It is noticeable but does not really affect the running. Striders felt good. PM The Jingle Bell 5k is a really fun race and is a fundraiser the JDRF. My ex has diabetes so it is an organization that I like to support when I can. I won the race last year because it is run on a Friday night in December. Most people have far better things to do with their Friday nights than run a race in the frigid cold. Picked up my packet last night and instead of coming in a bag they put your stuff in a Christmas gift box (I thought it was a nice touch). Laced up my red racing flats with bells tied to the laces - very festive. Warmed up with 2 easy miles and realized the turnout this year seemed to be less than last year. It's always hard to tell who the competition is but one kid looked like real trouble. As we lined up, everybody was really hesitant to get up to the front. It was very strange. We were off after the countdown from 10 and the race seemed to start really slow. I was out in front and felt like I was running at a comfortable pace. I wasn't going to push it unless I had to. After a few twists and turns, we were on Main Street in Bountiful where there was a crowd lined up to watch the light parade. They were nice enough to cheer and it felt pretty cool running behind the lead vehicle (moped) with people in the crowd cheering you on. Hit the first slightly downhill mile in 5:45 (4 seconds faster than last year) and felt very good. The fast looking kid was about 10 yards behind me. The course is pretty flat for the second mile. I tried to keep my form relaxed and still push the pace. At about 1.5 miles, I could hear foot steps and knew the fast kid was closing in on me. He passed me, I offered words of encouragement and tried not to fall too far behind. He put about 20 yards on me then held that lead the rest of the way. Second mile split was 6:04 (10 seconds faster than last year). The third mile is a slight uphill and last year I had no one in sight so I just coasted. Having somebody in front of me helped keep the pace more honest. I never felt like I could catch him but was glad to have a target. I wasn't able to push it into puke pace which left me a little disappointed but I did run it in 6:32 which was 13 seconds faster than last year. Ran 5:40 pace for the last 0.14 (a little long because they moved the starting line back from where it was last year). Final time was 19:09. I feel really good about the race. I didn't feel tired at all once I finished which means that the fitness is there and I just need to get used to the pain of racing again. I definitely could have run faster if I were more mentally ready to do so.
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