I’m ecstatic to make two announcements. I am now an ambassador for two lovely causes. One is for For Two Fitness, which is a company that makes the most phenomenal maternity workout wear possible. I dutifully wore my Running For Two tank throughout my pregnancy. The second one is an organization called Sweat Pink. Sweat Pink is an amazing group created to promote an active and healthy lifestyle to women. I am excited to be an ambassador for both of these amazing entities.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I completed the Christmas Story 5k/10k over the weekend. It was bitter cold, and I was honestly in fear of losing my digits to frostbite. I started off promising my friend we would run together. She is a sprinter, not a distance runner. By the time we made it outside, I couldn’t stick around. I just wanted to get moving to get warm.
The Christmas Story theme was cute. It started at Tower City, which is the mall in downtown Cleveland where the infamous holiday toy window scene was shot (formerly Higbee’s department store, now Horseshoe Casino). Every year Tower City is decorated in festive holiday decor — to the nines. This year was obviously no exception. Throughout the building there was Christmas Story themed items. Leg lamps, Santa Claus, the angry elf from the top of the Santa slide in the movie. It was over-the-top and super awesome. Outside was a jumbo-tron playing none other than A Christmas Story, plenty of decorations, and thousands of people waiting to run in the biting frigid winter Cleveland air.
I found it difficult to run through the crowd. It seemed there were more walkers than runners, and I felt like I was dodging people more than necessary. The finish line was exciting. There were a lot of spectators, and we finished right at the museum and historic house where the actual filming took place. The tiny street was very congested with runners, but the mood was exciting and festive. As soon as I crossed the finish line, I received my major award. It is a glorious medal, replete with Leg Lamp and wooden “fragile” box. I was instantly freezing cold again, and waited patiently for my friend to cross the finish line.
We were told there would be bus/trolly transportation back to Public Square for the 5k runners, but by the time my friend and I turned the corner, we were frozen and disappointed to see the line for the busses was about three blocks long. Instead of waiting in the cold, we hightailed it to a nice little dive we saw on the run called Clark Bar. The folks inside were so nice. I won’t hold it against them that it was 10:00 am and they were already drinking. To each his own. After all, we were there, too. After a celebratory beer (my friend) and water (me), we got in touch with another friend who had completed the 10k. She made great time, and she and her awesome husband came over to pick us up. We were, needless to say, very grateful for the lift.
Overall it was a good time. I can’t say that I will run wintertime races again, however. It turns out I really don’t enjoy cold weather running, especially when I am not near the comforts of my own home where I can quickly hop into a warm shower. My time was all right. Better than I thought it was. I finished in the top 10% for my age group, which is definitely something. I sported my A Christmas Story run shirt for a couple days. I’m definitely glad I ran this race as well as the Turkey Trot. Just can’t wait for some warmer weather!
A new running buddy of mine and I are considering a half marathon in April. TBD. I shall keep you posted.
Cheers!
