Festivus 5k for the Rest of Us! and other feats of strength...

Photo credits go to Shannon Larkin Sempsrott

The weekend was quite the success for us!  We had a wonderful Saturday morning waiting for us for our 2nd Annual Festivus 5k for the Rest of Us!  It was around 46 degrees by the start of the race which was nice compared to last years 19 degrees and luckily the storm waited until that night to blow in.  There we about 240 participants quite a few of which were running their first 5k, in costume, part of other running groups, or under the age of 15 (part of the running 505 group).  There were some strollers, some dogs and plenty of fun!  There was a Festivus pole at the finish for photo ops and a backdrop of the beautiful Sandia mountains with blue skies as a back drop for the finish line photos.  It was so exciting seeing everyone have fun.  On top of all that we are going to be able to donate a nice little chunk of change to the UNM Cancer Center!  Directing a race, even a small one, can be nerve racking and thrilling all at the same time.  When I got home my mom was surprised by my great mood!  She kept saying "You seem so happy!  I haven't seen you like this in a while!"  Well the stress of everything going on had culminated with this race.  To see that it all came together in the end made me so happy!  I'm so thankful for my partner in crime who put this race on with me (we balance each other out just right), for my parents (my dad participated and my mom watched my son while I was MIA), and for friends and the running community who supported us with such enthusiasm, not to mention some fabulous sponsors.  We had wonderful volunteers that helped us with the photography and finish.  And don't you love the glass we gave with each entry?


What do like getting with your race entry?  The tried and true race shirt?  A mug, hat, socks, gloves, none of the above?

On a personal note last week I logged 21 miles of just running.  I can't remember the last time, actually I don't think I have ever, had a week where all I did was run, no swim or bike or class just run (ok I got 2 weight lifting sessions in there as well) and now I know how people build higher run mileage, all they do is run.  It's quite simple actually, I just have always had a love/hate relationship with running as it is my weakest of the 3 sports.  But maybe this whole being forced to sit out of triathlon season for a while is going to be good for my running!  This Run every day in December challenge is just what I needed.  The change up also made me lose just a little bit of weight.  Now let's hope when I'm off for work for the week and 1/2 over the holiday I maintain this running streak.

Happy Training!!