Jingle All the Way 10K - Run10k

This was pretty close to being a perfect race for me. The first segment was the usual bobbing and weaving, but given that there were almost 1700 finishers for this race I was pretty happy with the start that I got over the first couple of miles. I did a lot of running behind larger people since we were heading into a very gentle headwind, but I wanted to save every bit of energy that I could.

I really began to feel comfortable after the turn and around mile 3, as the time shows. I concentrated really hard on keeping my form, so the mental effort involved here was pretty substantial. When I was about half a mile out a wave of nausea hit me, and I really thought I was going to toss my cookies. But with me this seems to be a sign that I'm not getting enough oxygen, so I quickened the pace of my breathing, the nausea subsided and I was able to finish strongly, although perhaps not as strongly as I would have liked.

I didn't carry any drink with me, and I'm in two minds about that. I thought the amount of liquid was OK, but I also felt it might have been a little better with more. The water that they were handing out was hard to get down because it was ice cold (no fault of the organizers, it was a pretty nippy day). I was reluctant to wear my race belt for what now seems to me like a short distance, but maybe I should swallow my pride? Or just get better at drinking on the run?

I was a little warm toward the end, and could possibly have removed my skullie, maybe my gloves, but I was trying so hard to keep my form together that I figured I would lose time that way, and it wasn't worth it.

Didn't get as good a warmup as I would have liked, but balanced that by getting a cooldown run, which I usually don't do (can't do), so I felt as if I was recovering well.

Grabbed a banana and a Snickers Marathon bar, drank a bottle of water, and then jogged about 3/4 of a mile back to the car.


Overall training schedule; I hadn't thought of this as a big race, but I'm learning that I do much, much better in very cold weather. I would try a better warmup next time (strides, etc.).


This is a fun race; a real holiday spirit, a flat course, and the day was stunning. My fantasy goal for this year was to try and run a sub-8 minute 10K, and I managed to do that today. The surroundings were also spectacular; not a cloud in the sky, dead calm river and tidal pool (the latter partially covered with ice), the rising sun tinging all the marble monuments with pink. . .just beautiful.