Jingle 5K

Lakewood Ranch, FL
December 19, 2014

This is my second year running this race. I don't normally like evening races, but this was my PR last year, and, the final race of a 3 part series, so I definitely wanted to run this race. My legs were feeling sore, from the tough workouts this week, so I really wasn't expecting much. I figured I would go out and try my best, but wouldn't be surprised with a slower finish. I wore a cute elf long sleeved shirt. I hardly every wear long sleeves. It's got to be in the 40s for me to wear sleeves, yet I went for it tonight, even though the temp was in the low 60s. Yeah, long sleeved cotton is not a great choice in running shirts! Gina and I met up in the parking lot, then walked over to the party area near the start. It was a mad house. Around 1500 people signed up to run this race! 3 corrals, with the first corral being for finishers under 28 minutes. Gina, Donna and I got lined up with the first corral and got ready to go.

The course was super crowded, even starting close to the start line. We run out and then take a right. The course is pretty much exactly the same as the Boo Run course, we just start at a different section of the main road, so we turn around further down. About a quarter of a mile down, It feels like my shoe lace is untied. Sure enough, it is. Rookie mistake!! I briefly consider letting it go, and running with it loose, but I am way to clumsy to do that, so, I pull to the side, bend down and tie and knot it. I probably only loose about 10 seconds or so. Gina has passed me during my little shoe tie break, so I try my best to catch up with her. Probably go a little to fast trying to catch up, but, what the heck, I'm not expecting much from this race. I am surprised to see my mile 1 split, Not bad considering the stop. The road is very dark in spots. There is one section that is completely black. I made sure I was picking my feet up, not dragging. I didn't want to trip over something I couldn't see. Finally, we get to the turn around spot. It's a tight turn. We are now on our way back, on the other side of the road. It's nice to see all the people behind me. :) I grab a drink of water at the water stop, slowing briefly so I don't pour it all over my face. By mile two, I do feel a little slow down. I pass Mike, say something like "Why are you letting me pass you". I guess I was a little motivator, because he passes me knot long after the comment! :) As I get closer to the finish area, I start to push my pace. Just before the left turn, that takes us to the finish line, some teenager, jumps off the curb to my left, dashing across the road RIGHT in front of me! That was a close call. I might have let a curse word fly in his direction. ;) That provided a nice surge of adrenaline for the final push. I finish strong.

I was really happy with my finish time. I had no idea until I got home, that it was a PR time! Super excited about that. :)

Splits - 7:46, 7:42, 7:51, 0:22
Finish: 23:43; 4th out of 112 in age group