Looking Back on 2016

I thought today I'd look back on my year running in 2016.

January- Nothing. Absolutely no races.

February- Princess 5k, Glass Slipper Challenge (Enchanted 10k, Princess Half Marathon)

March- Nothing. I was driving across the country though.

April- Run Through the Vineyard 10k

May- Neverland 5k, Pixie Dust Challenge (Tinker Bell 10k, Tinker Bell Half Marathon)

June- No races.

July- No races.

August- Bobby Doyle Summer Classic

September- Another no race month!

October- Tufts Health Plan 10k for Women, Cause 4 Paws 5k

November- Mickey's Holiday 5k, Lumiere's Two Course Challenge (Wine & Dine 10k, Wine & Dine Half Marathon), Forge Pond Park 5k, Hanover Turkey Trot

December- Ugly Sweater Run, Bill Roger's Jingle Bell Run

Virtual Runs- Molly Weasley's Ugly Jumper Run, HRC Umbridge Run 13k (Or Until it Hurts), The Half-Blood Prince Half Marathon, Orlando Untied 5k, #OneHRC House Marathon, Fantastic Beasts 5k, Platform 9¾k (Year Three)

Personal Bests:
5k- Bill Roger's Jingle Bell Run (34:07)
10k- Enchanted 10k (1:13:17)
5 Miler- Bobby Doyle Summer Classic (58:49)
Half Marathon- Tinker Bell Half Marathon (2:31:02)

Did I reach any PR this year? Absolutely not. I can't say that I haven't beat myself up over losing my speed. I will say that I was proud of every start and finish line I crossed last year. I always make my Goal A to finish. I ran in freezing cold weather and extremely hot weather. And everything in between! I still have hopes of breaking a 30-minute 5k and breaking 2:30:00 in a half marathon again, but I'm happy to have the opportunity to run and do my best at that moment.

Will 2017 bring on big things? I'm sure it will. Guess I'll have to look back at it a year from now.

Resolutions? Whatever!

New Years is always about resolutions. You know, the things you're excited about until you actually have to do it. We all do it.

Instead of making some resolution that I know I'll give up on almost immediately. This year I decided to do something I know I'll stick to. Maybe push me, but that I can actually do.

So this year I'm going to do the following:

• Write down positive moments. 
• No matter how small they will seem, just write them down.
• Train for the Chicago Marathon properly.
• I tend to fall off the training wagon and I want to get that out of my system.
• Drink water. 
• I barely drank water the past months, so even one glass is better than nothing. Eventually I want to drink at least 8 glasses, but I'm okay starting small.
• Workout at least 3x a week.
• I need to take care of myself. If I can't give myself even 30 minutes, then I need to prioritize my life.
• Go to one exercise class a week.
• I love to never go to the gym even though I'm paying for it. If I go to a class at least once a week the membership pays for itself. 
• Write more.
• Whether this is here on the blog or in my journal, just write more. 
• I did get a 5-Year Memory Journal that I've been filling out daily. 
• Read 40 books.
• I'll set up a page with what I've been reading.
• Donate to a cause once a month.
• It feels good to help other people. I'm not looking for a lot, but just helping out a cause is nice.
• See new places.
• I'm not specific on new places. It could be a new town, a new part of a town I've been in, a new state, or a new country.

Bill Rogers Jingle Bell 5k Run Recap

Today I participated in my final run of 2016, the Jingle Bell 5k. This was my first time doing this run. I had a friend running who I hadn't seen for a little while. The weather was good for running. It did rain, but mostly after I finished which was awesome. Plus being 50° in December was perfect.

Distance:
5k

Start Time:
11 am

Cost:
$37

Organization:
Prior to the race date there was email communication to help with seeing where parking was available, the course, and what bars were part of the post-race party. I got my bib morning of the race. I found street parking fairly easily and had a short walk to the start/finish area and the bib pickup location. Bib pickup was in the Somerville Senior Center. The line was outside the building, but moved very quickly. (The line could be due to people exiting from the same door.) Once upstairs you picked up your bibs and shirts. The bibs were separated alphabetically. There was a person telling everyone that they were alphabetical, but you could not see what box you were in front of until you were up to it. After you picked up your bib you got your shirt. After finishing the race there was no clear direction on where to get your medal or water. I felt I had a longer walk than necessary to get my medal. There was a teenage boy handing out water, but everyone was grabbing their own medal. This could have been organized better.

Course:

I loved that this was a closed course. Each mile had someone holding up a sign showing each mile. There was one water stop along the course after mile 1. There was plenty of course support along the entire route. Even people standing in line for breakfast were waving and cheering people on. 

Swag:

 T-shirt, finisher medal, jingle bell*, post race party
*I did not get a jingle bell. I would guess that they ran out prior to ending packet pickup.

Would I recommend this race?
I would do this run again next year. Overall everything went smoothly. There were families who ran, people dressed up in Christmas leggings, ugly sweaters, Santa hats, and more! (There was one group dressed up as Santa and reindeer and another group who were playing guitar and a drum singing Christmas carols.

I Entered a Lottery And...

I was accepted into the Chicago Marathon!

I entered to see what would happen. A few friends also applied so what was the worst that could happen. In the end all 5 people I know got accepted via the lottery and 1 friend is running for charity. This is the first run of 2017 that I've signed up for and I know I'll add more along the way. 

This is the best way to see a new place isn't it!

The Ugly Sweater Run Recap

Yesterday I participated in The Ugly Sweater Run.

This run is put on in multiple cities in the month of December:

Seattle, WA

Hartford, CT

Atlanta, GA

Cleveland, OH

Dallas, TX

Chicago, IL

Boston, MA

Denver, CO

Philadelphia, PA

Baltimore, MD

Washington, DC

I attended the Boston, MA edition held at Suffolk Downs. The weather was really cold, but that is no one's fault. Everyone was in good spirits at the run, which was great. This year the run was put on by Kahlúa. So if you were over 21 you could get a free a Kahlúa drink. This was an all-ages event and a lot of people brought their children and even some dogs.

Distance:
5k

Start Time:
8:30 AM
There was a wave start so that everyone could get their bibs and get to the start line. This also allowed for there not to be too many people out on the course at the same time.

Price:
$35
*There were discounts available for this race from the event holders, as well as on Groupon.

Organization:
The organization of the race overall was good. There was bib pickup the night before the race at Suffolk Downs. If you could not make it the night before, there was bib pickup the morning of the race. They had the bib pickup outside (even though there was more than enough room inside). We all got into a line that seemed like it was the right one. After 30+ minutes we were told we could be in any line. It took almost an hour to get our bib and we actually missed the 8:30 start time. (Good thing there was multiple waves!) Besides the bib pickup everything else went smoothly. After you finished the race, it wasn't exactly clear where to get your medal. Everything else went really smoothly.

Course:

The course began in a parking lot and then went around before entering the old horse race track. The course was easy to follow and was marked perfectly. The miles were marked, but I only saw Mile 1. So I could have missed them There were 2 water stops along the course. 

Swag:

Every registered runner got a knit hat and a medal. If you were under 21 your medal had a blue ribbon without the Kahlúa logo on it. I thought this was a great idea. After the run there was an after party where you could had tons of photo ops, could purchase some food, and redeem your free Kalhúa drink or hot chocolate.

Would I recommend this race?

I would recommend this race. This is a fun run to get into the holiday spirit with friends and family. Everyone was really nice and had some great Ugly Sweaters on. Even though we were cold we had a blast. Check out this race to see if they'll be running in near you!

Hanover Turkey Trot Recap

Thanksgiving is a time to spend eating and watching football and hanging out with family and friends.

Thanksgiving for me has involved running, seeing a movie, and eating. So this year I did just that!

I got up early and heading a little less than 2 miles from my house to participate in the Hanover Turkey Trot with Carrick. We ran. My knee hurt. We walked. We finished. Then we headed to Dunkin Donuts.

After I showered I went and saw Fantastic Beasts and How to Find Them for the second time. I LOVE this movie. The movie stands apart from Harry Potter without completely abandoning what we know all ready. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it.

This is a niffler. He's my favorite.

After the movie I went to my sister's house for a turkey dinner. I've always wondered why they call it dinner when you eat at like 2 pm.

Let's recap the run though.

Distance:
5k

Start Time:
7:30 am

Price:
$25
$15 for 13 and younger

Organization:
Registering for the event was really easy and smooth. You sign up through RaceWire so you're races will save all together if you sign up for an account. You can pick up your bib the Tuesday before the race at the high school if you want to or you can pick it up at the race on Thursday morning. This makes for a smooth process. I choose to pick up the bibs on Tuesday night on my way home. Parking is really easy on Thursday morning as you can park at the start or the finish. The race is early enough that a lot of people are not out driving around, but they do have cops to keep traffic down on the roads as needed. Each mile is clearly marked and whenever there are turns they are marked with orange arrows.

Course:

The course starts on the street outside of Hanover Middle School and ends at Hanover High School. As you can see there is not much elevation change which is nice. The course spends over a mile in a neighborhood. Some of the neighbors will come out and cheer on the runners. It's a good course that I could see myself running on any given day. There are no water stops along the course, but water and hot chocolate at the end of the run.

Swag:

If you register before a certain date you will receive a long-sleeve shirt with the race logo on it. (This year was November 9th.) I signed up a couple days after this deadline so I did not receive a shirt. Sometimes they do have extra shirts, but this year they all sold out. A great perk is that the race is chip timed. The only downside of this is that there is no starting line you cross over to activate the chip. 

Would I recommend this race?

I think doing a run on Thanksgiving is a great way to spend time with family and friends. The runs are early enough to get done with before needing to get out to visit your loved ones. I think everyone will have a different a race they like to do. I do enjoy the Hanover Turkey Trot. It's nice to see how many families come out to do the races together. I would say if you live in Hanover or a surrounding town that does not host a turkey trot, this is a great run to do.

Forge Ponde Park 5k Recap

This is my second year running this race. They changed the name of the race this year. (Last year it was called the Harvest 5k. I don't have any pictures of this race, so let's just get into it.

Distance:

5k

Start Time:

9:30 AM

Price:

$25

*Proceeds help the YMCA

Organization:

This is a super organized family run. You can pick up your bibs at the YMCA the week before or at the park day of. It takes a minute for them to give you the bib and then you're ready to run. There are real bathrooms at the park as well which is always great! The volunteers were thankful to everyone who came out to run and made sure to tell you that. 

Course:

The course is an enclosed trail run. This is a great course through the woods at the park and then ends at the same spot that it begins. There are 2 water stops along the course as well.

Swag:

Every runner gets a t-shirt. At the end of the race there are water, bagels, oranges, bananas, and this year there were frozen greek yogurt bars which were delicious!

Would I recommend this race?

 I would recommend this race. This is a great family run for the local YMCA. It's fun to see kids running and being so excited when they finish.