Jingle Bell 5k Recap

What a FUN road race!

Even though I didn’t dress up in holiday gear, I had an absolute fabulous time! My husband and our friend, Andy, however, really got into the event. (Let’s just say some of the photos of their costumes are being censored. )

It was SO cold before the race! I wore 4 layers on top!

The 5k race itself was awesome! Everyone was dressed in festive holiday gear– I swear, I saw it all! There were lots of Santa hats and elf ears as well as plenty of Christmas pajamas and candy cane striped socks and tights. I even saw a guy in a full-fledged snowman costume with a big-ass globe head. It was a lot like last year’s race, but even better. Mal and Andy were the only two that I saw with special costumes though.

Time-wise, I smoked the guys in the 5k! Even though they had Christmas presents strapped to their bodies, I still beat them by a good 3 minutes. I came in at 25:52 (8:20 pace), which is definitely not my fastest time, but pretty good for not running much since May.

After running the Jingle Bell, Mal, Andy, and I met up at the Joshua Tree in Davis Square for some post-race brews.

We had a blast at the Joshua Tree!

The beer was a-flowing!

After about an hour, we decided to grab a table and order some lunch.

For lunch, I ordered the Tomato Mozzarella Melt, which was actually a pretty pathetic excuse for what was advertised in the menu.

The “vine ripened tomatoes” were icky house tomatoes and the eggplant and zucchini were totally non-existent. I know these veggies are out of season in the northeast, but maybe the menu should change a little bit? Even still, after drinking 2 beers, I would have eaten practically anything put in front of me!

Yesterday was SUCH a great day! Even though my 5k time wasn’t a personal best, I’m still glad that I got out there and ran. And, I’m happy to report that my hip didn’t hurt that much. It’s a little sore, but running the Jingle Bell was totally worth it.