I 100% didn’t even blog about this run. It was on my radar and I even printed out the registration form but just didn’t bother to share that I’d be running it this weekend! *bloggers gasp*

It was our local Santa 5k Run that goes to support local families for Christmas; be it food or presents. I ran it two years ago with my running buddy Krystol and she reminded me that was our first race ever together. Awww, it was  our 2 year Run-iversary 🙂

Saturday we had Hilary’s 3rd birthday party and a slightly late night so when I woke up up 7 AM, I just wanted to stay in bed. The girls were still asleep as was my husband. I eventually got out of bed as did the rest of the family and I was out the door quickly to the run. I was feeling miserable, like I was hungover but didn’t even consume any alcohol the night before.

I met up with some friends and hung out until the race started. It was very laid back with a few announcements and then we all headed outside for the “Ready, Set, Go”. I managed to get my Garmin to connect, something that I failed to do two years ago at this run.

As I started running I realised that this run wasn’t going to be an amazing run and to just get through the 5k for the distance. My Garmin was hiding under my sleeve and I only looked at it twice!

I slowly slipped away from two friends that were running faster then I and then had a few moments of “I should just walk”, “I don’t want to run”, “this sucks”. It was ugly. I took off my Santa hat and life got a little better as the heat from my head was able to escape. I clearly was dressed for Saturday’s colder weather as opposed to Sunday’s warmed of +9C!

Leading up to the half way point was a l-o-n-g and s-l-o-w hill – rough! I hit the turn around point and started back down that hill and was flying fast…it felt great. Eventually I slowed down a bit but was able to catch up to my running buddy and another friend.

After a few minutes of running with them my legs just want to go, so I slowly moved in front of them and just kept going. As I was approaching the finish area I looked at my Garmin and it read 5.25km – WHAT??? You mean, I already hit my 5k and I’m still pushing it at this point!

As I hit the finish area and stopped running, my Garmin read 5.40km in 33:11. Going from struggling and hating the run to picking up my pace and then running with friends only to have my legs want to go faster  made for a great run in the end.

Anyone else to a Santa Run/Shuffle this weekend?

Ever wear a Santa hat while running?

Are you running in warm weather or cold weather right now?