The Anti-Running Runner

Another fun Jingle Bell Run 5K! I enjoy this race every year. It starts in the dark on the pier, and they seem to have added more stuff this year. More live music, more sights and lights along the way. Good times. It wasn't cold or warm, but pleasant. Hea and I ran a moderate pace together. Normally, we try to PR at this race, but both of us were not up to it this year. She is dealing with knee pain and I had some bad chili the night before (too much info, I know), so we were all about keeping a comfortable pace. And we both ended up feeling great and had fun catching up. My favorite part about running is probably the time spent in good company. We both had our men and dogs their to cheer us on. Afterward, we got gelato with my college roommate, Tavanya, and her family. They all did the 1 mile walk. Downtown St. Pete is festive and decorated for Christmas, which I love. It was so fun to visit with friends and have hubby there. He had been gone all week, I missed him! ...

After doing two half marathons two weeks apart, I’m reminded of why I’m not eager to do another marathon quite yet. The time it takes to train, the pain, the agony, the misery, the crying… Anyway, I’m happy to report that the St. Pete Inaugural Rock N Roll Half Marathon was a blast. Team Hea and Bria ran together with my college roommate, Brenna. We stayed together and enjoyed the great route and the scenery. Even though we started in different corrals, somehow Hea found us in the crowd of 10,000! She knew which corral we were in, so that probably helped. The one downside: the temp was 40 degrees! That’s right, it was 70-some degrees on Saturday and on Monday, but a freakish low temp swooped in Sunday and stayed for the length of the race. My layers: dri-fit short-sleeved shirt, dri-fit long-sleeved shirt, cotton hoodie, black tights, shorts with pockets over the tights, and gloves. I carried some Ibuprofen in the pocket, but nothing else. No iTouch this time. I expec...