Rudolph Run

                                                                                                                                                          

Let me start off by saying, I was very disappointed!  What would you expect to be the very first thing you should see when you arrive for a RUDOLPH Run?  Duh?! RUDOLPH, people, RUDOLPH!  I thought times had changed!  I thought Rudolph was allowed to play reindeer games.  

I did sight Frosty!  I know he's a jolly, happy soul, but I came for a Rudolph Run, not a Frosty Fleet.  Before word gets back to Frosty, let him know I love him dearly, but no one can be as dear to your heart as a cuddly little deer. 

My anticipated conversation with Rudolph quickly turned to disappointment.  "I have the overwhelming need to talk to all animals in visual site while driving or otherwise, whether they can hear me or not.  Not many, if any have yet to respond."  is noted on my "All About Me"  page.  I have an extreme fondness for most animals, as long as they have no tendencies or desires to slither or hiss. 

So, once I got over the lack of Rudolph's presence, I proceeded to registration; a quick process and stood around for a short while in the highly appreciated heated building.  The wind chill was quite, uh, need I say "Frosty"!  This was a small organized run of under 300 runners, I'm guessing.  

Six of those 300 or so runners consisted of myself and 5 other family members, 4 cousins and my uncle.  It's always a more fun and enjoyable race to run with friends and family, so regardless that Rudolph allegedly missed his flight, I was still excited to do the Frosty Fleet...I mean Rudolph Run.  Just like the Jingle Bell Run, my 60 year old uncle placed in his age group again.  Yeaa for him!  

To keep my holiday running spree, I will be running The Resolution Revolution on New Years Day!

Thanks to those who have endured reading my long, sometimes rambling blog entries, liked me on Facebook and/or have followed me on Twitter. If you have yet to do so and are a glutton for punishment, you may find me here on Facebook and/or follow me on Twitter.

Santa Hustle 5k

I arrived to the Santa Hustle to witness thousands of Santa Claus everywhere.  In addition to the tech shirt, all runners received a Santa hat and beard to be worn during the 5k.  I wasn't sure as to how much the runners would get into wearing the full Santa gear, so I took all of my "outfit"  thinking there wouldn't be many wearing the full beard.  I was very wrong.  The majority of the participants were sporting the full hat and beard.  So, I yanked on my Santa hat and pulled my beard on just before jumping out of the car.  The beard was a tad itchy and I couldn't see tolerating that for 3 miles, so I just wore it down on my neck. 

It was difficult to run this race very quickly.  To avoid the cold, I stayed back as long as long as possible prior to heading towards the start.  I ended up not being able to start before the twelve minute pace area.  With the narrow running path provided, it was often difficult to pass slower runners. 

I usually don't take water from the volunteers on a 5k, but for some reason I felt the need on this one.  Just say what I got wasn't water and was definitely a surprise.  Thankfully, I noticed my cups contents prior to choking down the unexpected M&M's.  I quickly put those down and asked the next time I had cup handed to whether its contents were water or some other surprise. 

It was a festive event as multiple groups of runners sang Jingle Bells and other holiday songs.  I was even passed by a couple of runners carrying buckets of cookies offering them to their fellow runners.  I passed on the sweet snacks, but thought it was neat gesture. 

With a finishing time of 31:39:30, there were definitely no PR's being committed, but just running in the frigid 20 degrees is still an accomplishment for me! 

Happy Holidays! 

Thanks to those who have endured reading my long, sometimes rambling blog entries, liked me on Facebook and/or have followed me on Twitter.  If you have yet to do so and are a glutton for punishment, you may find me here on Facebook and/or follow me on Twitter.

Jingle Bell 5k, Etc.

My "Elf Self" with Santa Claus after winning
 most original costume.

I just got around to cleaning up the glitter from bedazzling my elf costume that I wore this last weekend for the Jingle Bell Run.   There was so much glitter on the floor and in sporadic areas of the house, it reminded me of a past Facebook post from my sister that referenced excessive amounts of glitter and the possibility of her past life involving either a career as a kindergarten teacher or a stripper.  I had intended on getting this post up much sooner (right along with getting massive amounts of glitter off of my floor) , but as we all know, having children makes for a busy life and that's what this weekend has been; very busy

I started off the weekend, Friday evening, with picking up my race bib right after work and then rushing home to pick up the rest of the family to attend my youngest son's high school choir concert, Sounds of the Season.  I spent the rest of the evening finishing the glitter effects on my elf costume, then headed to bed as early as possible for my morning run. 

Ooooh, it was a cold one.  This was my coldest run yet. I waited until the last minute possible to head out of the building to hit the start line.  I was sure I was never going to feel my fingers again, standing out there in 20 degrees.  Just like the last time, I started to warm up to a comfortable temp within the first mile or so.  

It was a fun race.  There were a lot of Santa and elf hats being worn.  I heard quite of few "Go Elf!" as I ran the streets.  That was amusing being my first costume run.  Of course, being the "Jingle Bell Run", I heard lots of the bells as I ran.  I kept thinking, though, those bells never stop.  EVERYONE must have put their bells on until I remembered the continuous, non-stop bells were me.  They were in my hair and on my shoes. Duh!  I seen quite of few of them that had fallen off and were laying in the street.  I made sure to pay attention to the abandoned little noise makers, fearing they would be the reason for elf road kill instead of the freezing temps. 

I'm not sure of my finish time.  Just call it runner error times two.  I attached my timing chip on my elf belt at my waist.  I don't see my finish time on the list, so I'm assuming the chip must be located closer to the ground a.k.a. my shoe, for it to register.  I was having Garmin issues as well and wasn't able to get the timer started in order to register an accurate time.   I was only off by probably 3-5 seconds, so my unofficial time was probably 00:30:04. 

I ran into my uncle, a serious runner, prior to the race.  I got the pleasure of hanging out with him until start time.  He has bigger goals and faster feet than I do, so he ran off to get as close to the start line as possible.  Congrats to him!  He won first in his age group 60-64 years. 

I might not have placed in my age group, but I did win a prize that day.  My cute little elf self won a prize for the most original costume.  I'm not exactly sure what is most original about an elf around Christmas, but I'm not complaining.  My son and I definitely appreciated the restaurant's gift certificate I won. 


Thanks to those who have endured reading my long, sometimes rambling blog entries, liked me on Facebook and/or have followed me on Twitter.  If you have yet to do so and are a glutton for punishment, you may find me here on Facebook and/or follow me on Twitter.

Very Random Rambling, Rants & Raves

I finally tried on my elf outfit that I plan on wearing in the Jingle Bell 5k this weekend.  I've hinted at it all weekend to the kids.  Wearing any type of costume any time of the year is way out of character for myself, no pun intended.  The kids keep whispering to dad, "Is she serious?".  I don't think he really knows for sure, himself.  I figure I might be getting old, but I don't have to get boring.  What's the worse that could happen?  Maybe I'll get picked up by Santa and Rudolph and returned back to the North Pole.  Oooh, that would royally suck, considering I absolutely abhor the cold.  Is there any place colder than the North Pole?  Maybe I should reconsider this elf costume.  By the way,  the picture is very similar to my lovely outfit.  That's not me, but I will be resembling that lady on the left this very weekend.


I try to eat fairly healthy.  My latest snack choices have mostly consisted of greek yogurt with added fruit and red and green peppers with hummus.  That's getting old, so I tried unsweetened applesauce with cinnamon.  Definitely not my preference.  I'll leave the applesauce for the toothless babies.  What are your snack choices that don't solely consist of fruit?  I prefer vegetables but I'm always looking for healthy vegetable dip alternatives.  I just discovered guacamole.  Believe it or not, in my 38 years of life, I've never had an avocado or guacamole until about 3 weeks ago. 


Christmas will be here in less than three weeks and guess what Santa's elves have purchased for Mom Runs Faster Than Dad's offspring.  Absolutely, nothing, nada, zilch.  Yes, that's right! Some slacking little elves we've got going on over here. I think the little elves have a whole lot of catching up to do.  I wonder if I promised the elves a few extra cookies by the fireplace for Santa to bring back to them, would they increase their shopping efficiency? Probably not, after they discovered the cookies were made with whole wheat flour.

Dear husband has asked me what I want for Christmas.  I told him the dreaded answer husband's don't want to hear.  "I don't know."  They want you to know, so it makes their job that much easier.  It's not that I really don't know.  I just have to figure out what I value most receiving.  I'm not a girly kind of girl.  Please don't bring me flowers, candy or cards.  My husband knows my true feelings on all of these things; a big waste of money.  Flowers die, cards get thrown away or stuffed in a drawer and let's not even talk about that candy.  Do you really want to be THAT husband responsible for the additional 5 pounds of weight I gained over the holidays?  Believe me when I say I will eat every freaking piece in that box that doesn't contain nasty coconut. 

There are plenty of things on my wish list.  Running and cycling are expensive habits.  My options are endless.  As mentioned above, I just have to determine what I need or want most.  Do I want a cycling trainer so I can bring my beloved bike in the house and ride to infinity and beyond?  My safety is always important. Should I ask for a Road ID bracelet?  I could always use some cold weather gear compression pants.  Everyone just knows how much I love the bitter cold.  The list goes on and on.  For my husband's sake, he only wishes I would tell him sooner than later.

I'm quite proud of myself for my future running/race endeavors.  I just completed my first ever cold weather run for myself with the Turkey Trot and will be completing my second even colder one this next weekend with the Jingle Bell.  As well all know, I just love, love the cold; NOT!   I'm preregistered for the 500 Festival Mini-marathon training series, which will mostly consist of frigid temperatures. I'm breaking barriers for myself, woohoo!  Now if I could just get myself to run in the rain.  Besides the treadmill, that's my only option as it has been raining almost non-stop for two days.  Anybody have some connections with the Mother Nature?  I'll share the elves cookies with her if she can make it stop raining. 

Thanks to those who have endured reading my long, sometimes rambling blog entries, liked me on Facebook and/or have followed me on Twitter.  If you have yet to do so and are a glutton for punishment, you may find me here on Facebook and/or follow me on Twitter.