Holiday Hustle 5K

Yesterday afternoon was the annual Holiday Hustle 5K in Dexter, MI.  This race takes place at 4:30 pm so it's still light out but daylight is beginning to fade so light up accessories show up quite well! 
I was once again decked out in battery operated lights!

Ready to run.

It's all about the reindeer antlers!

I have some crazy friends:

I want a Santa dress! 

As I mentioned in my post earlier, I did run this morning. I ran 6.6 miles.  Toward the end of the run I began feeling my inner thigh muscle again.  It wasn't painful but it was there.  UGH, enough already.  I even wore compression shorts under my tights.  After I got home, things seemed to feel ok.  I had a few hours before having to go and run again.  I decided to go to the 5K because I wasn't racing; I was just going to run easy and not worry about time.  I also had to get all of my things for church ready.  I got everything packed and got my lights pinned on, my striped knee socks on, jingling bell necklace, jingle bell pony tail tie, jingle bell bracelet and my reindeer antler headband.  
I saw all my crazy runner friends there!  We took photos and admired each others snazzy outfits! 
The race went well, I just ran at an easy, comfortable pace.  Somewhere along the way I began feeling something in my upper leg.  It never got really bad, I didn't have to slow my pace.  I don't know what's going on.  I'm going to have to make a visit to one of the runner's injury clinics. 
I ended up with 28:26 which is faster than I planned to run. 
Just like I planned, I crossed the finish line and headed right back to my car.  I started it and turned on the heat and jumped in the back seat and proceeded to change into my church clothes!  I love Burts Bees body wipes!  It was really cold and I didn't push myself at all so I wasn't very sweaty. 
I took off from there to Belleville.  I went to my niece's church for an Advent service.  It was a candlelight service with a lot of music.  My niece was singing.  It was a very nice service.  My niece sang a solo of Oh Holy Night.  I was in tears.  I've heard her sing it before but this time she was accompanied by piano and guitar and it was just beautiful.  She had asked me to record it on her cell phone.  I noticed that her battery was very low so I checked mine and I had nearly full battery so I decided that I better use both phones just in case.  I had the phones ready, she told me to get ready when the whole congregation sang Joy to the World.  A man sang after that and then it was her.  I had a phone in each hand with my elbows braced against my stomach so I wouldn't move the phones.  As she was belting out "fall on your knees", the tears started and there was no holding them back.  I got a little shaky but got my self under control.  It's a good thing that I used both phones because I glanced at the phone and the screen was blue and said that the battery was too low to record and to connect it to a power source.  It turns out that her phone was still recording and just barely made it.  It was dead so she had to plug it in at home to see if the whole song got recorded or not. 
I was exhausted by the time I got home!  This was a very long day!

Runner Nerd
ran 2 runs in one day

Yes, this is normal!

This morning I ran with the PR Fitness group run for 6 miles.  This afternoon at 4:30 I plan to run the Holiday Hustle 5K in Dexter, MI.  I've run the Holiday Hustle for quite a few years now.  I will be decked out in lights, reindeer antlers and a jingling bell necklace to annoy anyone running near me!  After I finish the Holiday Hustle I will return to my car, change in the back seat into a dress and will be off to church for an Advent service.  That is totally normal isn't it????  What??  Doesn't everyone do this???  Isn't that why tinted windows were invented?  Isn't that why Burt's Bees invented their little packs of wipes?  Isn't that why Bath & Body Works sells little mini bottles of body spray?

Runner Nerd
changes clothes in the car all the time

Turkey Trotting and pulling muscles

I ran my 9th annual Turkey Trot at the YMCA on Thanksgiving morning.  Before the race I was helping set out cones on the streets for the turns and then I was assigned to help the high school runners and walkers get with their teams and get their bibs and shirts.  There was a big competition of high schools in the county.  Each High School had a leader who had the bibs and t-shirts for their kids and I directed them to the high school area and made sure they got to their leader.  It was very strenuous work! (not really!)  Then it was time to turkey trot!  I ran the 10K option.  I was zipping right along faster than I ever expected to.  My first three miles were 8:41, 8:38, 8:48.  That would put me at 26:something for the first 5K.  I ran past the finish line (the 10K is two loops of the 5K) to start the second half of my race.  I decided that I'd keep this pace as long as I could. My fourth mile came in at 8:57.  I was feeling something in my inner thigh; I didn't know what it was.  It wasn't hurting but it felt funny.  Somewhere around 4.5 miles everything came to a huge halt.  I don't know what happened but all of a sudden it hurt BAD.  I came to a stop and walked about a half of a block.  Crowds of people were passing me and people were saying to hang in there and keep it up and good job and stuff like that.  I began to ease back into running but I was totally limping but it got better and I did eventually get back to a somewhat normal running stride again, although much slower.  My fifth mile came in at 9:26.  Then out of nowhere my friend, Gilbert, from Wednesday track workouts in the summer came up behind me and zipped right by me.  I would have beat him if not for this pulled muscle.  I rarely beat him, he is usually just a bit ahead of me.  That last mile was a painful 9 minutes and 28 seconds.  I finally finished.
After running, I helped with cleaning up the packet pick up/registration area which was right next to the food area where I removed full garbage bags and replaced them with empty garbage bags!  (such glamorous work!)
When I got home there was no time to google inner thigh muscle pulls or anything like that.  I had to get showered and ready to go to dinner number one!  I wore compression shorts under my clothes.  I had to wear a pair of corduroy pants that are a little big on me so the compression shorts would fit under them.  It hurt pretty bad the rest of the day.  We had dinner with my Mother-in-law and then in the late afternoon headed to my sister's house in Lansing for more food and desserts.  My parents were there and they really wanted to see my kids.   It was a total pig out day.  
My brother-in-law is a professor at MSU and he always invites foreign students over on Thanksgiving.  There were 5 students who were from China, Thailand, Russia, and India.  Around 7:30 PM the students said they had to get going because the stores were opening at 8PM and they wanted to go shopping on Thanksgiving like the Americans do!!  They were really excited about it!  They were all very nice and very polite. 
When I got home I was able to do some googling and came to the conclusion that I had pulled an Adductor muscle.  There were some tests to do.  One was to lay on my back and place a box or some object between my knees and push inward on the object with my knees.  The pain was exactly where the article described for an Adductor muscle pull.  The other thing was to lay on my sore side with my leg straight on the floor and the other leg (the top leg) over the lower leg with  my foot on the floor.  I then lifted the bottom leg off the floor.  It took great effort to lift it which meant that the adductor muscle was weak.  I then turned to the other side and was able to very easily lift my other leg off the floor with no effort at all.
Soooooo, what to do?  I have a stretch to do but not until there is no pain.  It should heal with rest within a week.  This is bad - I can't run after a major pig out day.  I had planned to run 10 on the following Saturday but didn't run at all.  Hopefully I will be able to pick up where I left off this coming Saturday.
I did not run all week.  It hurt for about three days and then didn't hurt anymore so I started the stretch.  I ran tonight at the group run and it seemed to be fine, it didn't hurt at all.  I ran 3.5 miles.  This is encouraging.  Now to see how it goes on Saturday.  I think I will just do 6 miles. 
Runner Nerd
pulled a muscle

Holiday running

I'm the one wearing a skirt and striped knee socks!! Tonight was the Holiday Hustle 5K!  I ran pretty good!  Well, good for me these days!  I ran the 5K at a 9:12 pace.  I also wore my string of Christmas lights but they don't show in this picture.  This was the last event I get to wear the lights but I still have one more event to wear the knee socks!! 

I have ONE more class left!!!  Monday is my last class!!  I have clinical on Tuesday and Thursday and then I am DONEEEEEEE!!!!!  Graduation is the 15th!!  The end is near!!!!!!  Then end is in sight!!!!!!  Light at the end of the tunnel!!!!!!!!  Can you tell that I'm excited!!!! 

Runner Nerd
almost done

Running in Lights

Last night was one of my favorite events!  This is the 5th year I've run it. It is the Wayne County Lightfest Run Through the Lights 8K.  It's a 5 mile long drive-through holiday light display that is along a road that runs through a string of parks.  Every evening during the holidays for certain hours it is closed to regular traffic and cars drive one way through.  They always have a run on the Tuesday of opening week.  It will open on Friday.
This run is just for fun.  There are no bib numbers, no chips, no timing, no winners, no age groups or anything but an unbelievable number of people show up for this!!  They allow both running and walking, strollers and dogs too.  They say it's a dress rehearsal but I think it's a way to get extra money for the electric bill this thing must ring up!!  It doesn't cost as much as most races, I think I paid $15.00 and they give a nice long sleeve t-shirt.  I like the long sleeve t-shirts!
They give each person a glow necklace.  You will see people wearing all kinds of light up things.  A couple years ago I got the idea to attach a short string of battery operated lights that I use on a wreath to my shirt.  In other words, I run wearing Christmas lights!!!!
This is my friend and I with our lights and glow sticks: 

 Here we are by one of the light displays:

 Here we are helping the elves:

We had so much fun!  My friend in the pictures is also running the half in Key West.  When I run with her she pulls me along faster than I'd normally run.  I ran with her and running group friend who usually runs a lot faster than me.  I ran the 5 miles in 49:22, a 9:52 pace, quite a bit faster than I have been running on my own.  My foot behaved and the weather wasn't as nice as last year (mid 50s); it was 35 degrees, which isn't bad for running. 
I have two more holiday themed races, one is in the evening so I will get to wear my lights again!!  The other is in the morning so I will just wear my red and white knee socks!

As for the other part of my life - college - I will be done with classes in 3 weeks!!  I will be graduating in 31 days!!!  I'm almost done being the world's oldest college student!!

Runner Nerd
runs wearing lights

Leaping Over roadkill and Well Behaved Heel

The myofascial release work I had done on my foot/heel/leg on Monday seems to be helping.  I ran the Firecracker 5 miler on Wednesday morning pain free.  I made it through weight workout class yesterday and then met my daughter in town for some mother/daughter shopping afterward.  When I'm with my daughter, no isle of a store goes unwalked!  I ran 4 miles this morning and my heel behaved nicely! 
It still does have it's moments.  Wednesday after the race, I went to my car to put on a dry shirt and foolishly cut across the lawn of the fire station.  Walking on uneven ground can make my heel hurt.  I changed my shirt and went back to the fire barn to see if results were posted yet.  I was 4th in my age group and my friend told me that they were giving awards to 5 places!!  This is the first time I've placed in this particular race!!  I think the heat may have caused some people to stay away!!  I know it was over 80 degrees before the race started.  I got a pair of red/white/blue socks!!  I like them! 

This morning it was 92 when I set out on my run and 95 when I finished.  I felt pretty good.  My clothes were soaked!  I knew I had to get a run in this morning; it's likely that I will not get to run again this weekend.  I'm spending the weekend goofing around with my three sisters!!  I haven't seen my sister who lives in California in over a year. 

There must be a variation of Murphy's law pertaining to running.  I ran on the roads around where I live, rural and with little traffic once I get off of the road that I live on.  As I was running a 1.1 mile stretch of one of the roads, the ONLY car that came by was just as I was approaching a decomposing, stinky opossum roadkill!!  I had to get over to the side which was right in line with the roadkill and had to jump over it as the car was passing by!   The joys of running on rural roads!!
I also saw another lady out running; I never see anyone running out here around where I live!! 

Well, I'm going to get my running clothes out of the washing machine then study a little for my final exam then I'm off to see my siblings!!!!!! 

Runner Nerd
leaps over roadkill