Race Report: Winter Solstice Christmas Tree Run

AHHHH OMG. 5 more days. FIVE more days!

And just in time for the holidays, lookie at what I got here...

Behold: The Ultimate Race Shwag

Yes. You read that correctly. Race shwag.

A whole friggin 6 foot tall Christmas Tree.

(Cue; Oh Christmas tree, oh christmas tree.... how lovely are your branches!)

How cool is that? And since we didn't have a tree yet, it seriously could not have been better timing! Now all I need is a gingerbread house...but that's for later ;)

And the best part is, it was this small, local race, and it was such a memorable way to top off the 2010 racing year!

The race I did was the Winter Solstice Christmas Tree Run in El Dorado Park. It's been p!ss!ng ass rain for the last several days, and I really REALLY hoped for a 40 minute break in the weather so I wouldn't have to dodge raindrops as I ran.

Woke up at 6am on Sunday... no such luck. The sky was dumping buckets of rain down upon us. The start of the race is only a 5 min drive from my house, so I got some coffee, and was able to have a really relaxing start. I found the race start, got my bib number, and sat in my car for a good 30 minutes till the race started, to stay out of the rain.

Race tshirt and goodies from the bag. The white cotton tshirt is kinda lame.... I mean... really? that was the best design a whole team of ppl could come up with? lol

But seriously, I had a good chuckle. What other group of people, besides runners, will VOLUNTARILY come out early on a cold, rainy, Sunday morning by the hundreds?

Seriously. This must be why people think we are nuts. :)

I was wearing a water proof jacket, capris, a tshirt, and a tank top underneath, because not only was it raining, it was also windy and chilly. The course itself was quite lovely, and 99% flat. However.... the rain definitely made it challenging! I definitely felt all BAD ASS running a race in the rain and braving the elements. It definitely was another milestone for me; checking off the 'racing in the rain' from my "10 ways to become a Hard Core Runner" list, haha.

I was jumping over puddles, running on the grass, running over bridges... it felt like an obstacle course! It definitely slowed down my pace. And as my socks and shoes absorbed more and more water, I felt my feet get heavier and heavier. I probably was carrying around an extra pound of water just in my shoes! It felt so squishy and gross.... but whatcha gonna do, right?

There were parts where we had no shelter from the wind, and we were going uphill, against the wind, in the rain. That was pretty miserable, not gonna lie. Though I was wearing a water resistance jacket, I was thoroughly drenched from the inside and outside. I was just one big sloppy wet mess. Let's not even talk about how natty and disgusting my ponytail got!

Besides battling the elements, the run itself was really uneventful. I maintained an even 8 min mile pace and clocked in at 40 minutes. I didn't wait around to see if I placed or not... I just wanted to get out of the rain!

So I picked up my hugh jass tree, plopped it into my car and drove home. The race results haven't been posted yet so I don't know my official time (there was no timing chip system... told you, super small local race!).

And today, I got a special box in the mail from James' mom, all the way from Hawaii, packed with all sorts of Aloha-inspired decorations!

Aloha Fisherman Santa

A cute little Honu

A spam musubi! OMG this cracked me up so much!

How adorable are they! LOVE!

After the run, I went to a hot yoga class to warm up and sweat! I have a one week trial at the Bikram Yoga Studio. I've gone 4 days in a row now and LOVE LOVE LOVE it. I wish I could go everyday! So expensive though....

And in 5 days, guess who I get to see for the first time since August?

James!

Yay. I am happy. Christmas tree is up. Gingerbread house will be built. Ahh. It IS the most wonderful time of the year!

Happy Holidays everyone! Much Love and peace to all