Santa Shuffle 5K Round-Up

One December race down. One to go.

But, first, a note of thanks:

Dear Red Line,

Thank you for being you. Because even when I think I've factored in any and all possible delays and leave with what I think is enough time to make it to my destination, you still shine, run trains every 19 minutes toward Shady Grove, and create a need to sprint to the race with just enough time to dash across the starting line so that my timing chip is able to record my results. You are the best.

With love,

Alisha

Okay, fine. It actually wasn't that big of a deal, and I got a great warm-up before the race...

..which went extremely well. There were approximately 500 runners from what I could tell from the registration list, and so many went the festive route and ran in fantastic costumes. I -- totally waiting until the last possible minute to think of a costume and giving up -- decided to go the warm route. I'm very happy that I made the decision to pick up a light jacket from Fleet Feet last Thursday. With the newest addition to my running wardrobe, running in today's below freezing temperatures wasn't a problem at all. Plus, I finished with a time with which I'm very happy. I'll post the official time once PR posts the results. UPDATE:My chip time for the race was 31:14:8, which works out to be an average 10 minute mile. Of the female runners, I placed 130 out of 327 and 15th in my age group.

I have a six-mile run planned for tomorrow and my usual speed workouts in preparation for the Jingle All the Way 10K on the 12th. (Running addictions are the healthiest addictions, I'm sure.) By the end of the month, I'll start final preparations for my second round of marathon training -- and desperate prayers that the mid-Atlantic region avoids Snowpocalypse Now, Redux.