One Team Matson holiday tradition is the annual 12ks of Christmas run in Kirkland, WA. We've run this every year since we've been married, and even last year when I had a knee issue, it was still a blast.
They raise money for Toys for Tots, and people can also donate toys at the event! Jared got our race packets ahead of time, and also picked out some awesome toys for us to bring. Not gonna lie - I really wanted to keep the Spidey basketball game for myself!
This year was extra fun since my girlfriend Meghan was running with us - her first "real" race! She actually put in more training runs than we did. (She's a total champ.)
We had Meghan meet us at our apartment so we could carpool together. Jared was showing her how to put the timing chip on her shoe.
We loaded up and headed over to downtown Kirkland. Thankfully we found a great spot near the start line, dropped off our toys, and headed for Caffe Ladro and some warmth. It was CHILLY!
I highly recommend getting to your races early and chilling at a local coffee shop. Standing out in the cold is no way to warm up for a run. For me personally, I've found a hot beverage is no bueno right before running, but definitely buy something so you can have an excuse to use the restroom! Beats a porta potty for sure.
Pretty soon it was time to get ready to run! We dropped our gear and coats at the car. Meghan wisely suggested a pre-race photo since we were cute and not sweaty yet.
We warmed up as best we could down by the start line. Jared was doing "real" warmup stuff. Meghan did some karate forms and I did pushups. We also ran into our friends Matt and Katy, who were also running the race! Sadly I didn't have my camera with me anymore...but so you can see how cool they are:
We all decided to start together towards the back of the pack, since none of us had REALLY trained for the event. We started out at a good, chatty pace, and enjoyed hanging out and watching all the speedy people and fun costumes.
Around the 3rd mile, there's a big hill - the biggest of the race. Somehow Meghan and I got separated from Jared, Matt, and Katy on the hill, and never quite caught back up. This was also the point where, despite having gone to the bathroom right before the race started...I had to pee. I decided to try to tough it out even after reading this exciting race day tale.
We carried on and crested the mean hill, and toodled on our merry way. I'm glad to say that my new New Balance trail shoes held up great (even though I'd never suggest wearing new shoes in a race) and treated my feet really well - in addition to not being slipperly on the wet ground.
Things got a little harder for us when we hit the halfway point...usually there's gatorade but this time there was just water. We continued talking away and hit the long, steep downhill and thankfully didn't trip and fall or flail into anyone.
Towards the 10k mark, Meghan was starting to get tired. Thankfully the Lord gave me the gift of gab so I babbled and cheered and distracted and encouraged all the way to the end of the run.
We didn't hit any amazing pace (this was actually my slowest time at 1:26 and change), but we achieved our two goals: beat 1:30 and don't feel miserable. Done and done! Jared finished around 1:10 and Matt and Katy around 1:20. Go team!
Much as I whined about training for this one, I am really glad as always that we did it. Big thanks to Jared for putting up with me and to Meghan, Matt and Katy for being awesome race buddies!
On to mobility...my shoulders and lats are feeling kinda tight, so I will be focusing on those today. Here's a video from Mobility WOD if you need some ideas!
This challenge has been a HUGE motivator for me. Any time I am losing steam and don't want to take the 15 minutes, I think of you guys and get out the old lacrosse ball and foam roller. Keep it up! We only have five days left after today!
Also...this week's "extra credit" is meditation. It gets really nuts as we get close to Christmas, so give yourself some much needed brain mobility! Just five minutes sitting alone with your eyes closed to focus on breathing in and breathing out can go a really long way.
Post your time to the comments - I love hearing about other people doing work!
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