Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells...

Here in Minnesota, we have been blessed with a very mild winter! I am very much enjoying this weather, as it has made it easier to train. Last week alone we had more than 2 days in the 40's!! Yesterday, Christmas Eve, it was a balmy 47 degrees!!! This was wonderful, as it allowed my cousins and I to start a new tradition: A Family Jingle Bell Run!


Being our first year, and having many "new" runners in the family, we started small (and slow!) but had a blast running in our festive costumes!!

Not everyone in the family was excited to run, in fact Missy, the cousin I am running in Disney with, was less than thrilled. But I think she had fun once she got out there, and it improved her mood greatly once she was finished! Gotta love that runner's high! I am very proud that she got out there and pushed herself to run! I know it isn't easy, and dressing up funny when you already don't feel good is also hard! She was a great sport!

It was unfortunate that I did not know that my cousin Kelly was going to run with us as well, otherwise I would have gotten her an outfit as well. I was super excited that she did in fact run, and she was able to use my socks as arm warmers, and wear a fun little reindeer hat (I wish it was more visible in this picture!). Everyone else in the family had a good time laughing at us, and my auntie Julie took tons of pictures! We really didn't run much more than a mile (maybe a mile and a half if we are lucky) but it was a good time, and a fun thing to do on Christmas Eve while waiting for Santa to come! Celebrating the wonderful weather we are experiencing!

As we were running, there were lots of cars honking and waving! Everyone who saw our little pack of elves was smiling! I hope next year we can continue the tradition, even if we have 4 feet of snow and a normal below zero temp!! 

Monster Race Series....and a monster pain in the ass!

Leave it up to me to bit off more than I can chew! I get excited, I get motivated, and I make split second decisions! I make impulse buys. I know this of myself. So, of course I also do this when it comes to races!!

If I could physically handle it, I would run a race every week, maybe everyday!! Races are fun, they are motivating, they are something to look forward to and plan for. I love all of these things! I am a planner!

I thought it would be a a fun idea to run a race every month during 2013. This is a hard feat when living in Minnesota. This is also hard when you love racing, but hate training for races!! So, one evening I decided to look for races to fill up the year. I ran across the Team Ortho Monster Race Series. It is a series of 5 races over the next year including a January 5k Polar Dash, a March 7K Get Lucky, a June 1/2 Marathon, an August Du and an October 1/2 Marathon. That fills up five months out of my year! The bonus is that Team Ortho is known for giving out really great race swag and the stain glass medals aren't half bad either!! (we all know I am a sucker for Swag and medals!!)

Polar Dash Stain Glass Medal

Polar Dash Fleece! No T-shirts here!

Okay, so once I decided that I should run a race during each month of the new year, I also thought that is would be fun to run in a Team Sparkle skirt for each one!! So, I will be sporting a royal blue skirt for the Polar Dash, a bright green one for the Get Lucky 7k, and either an orange or a black shirt for the Monster Dash in October! I have not decided on the colors for the other races, but this is my plan! :)
So here is my year breakdown as of right now.

January 1st --> Polar Dash 5k (I had the choice of a 5k, 10k, or 1/2 but in MN in January?!! I will take the 5k!! Brrrr.!)

February 25th --> Disney Royal Family 5k (in Disney world!!)

February 26th --> Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon!!!

March 17th --> Get Lucky 7k

April --> NO RACE AS OF NOW

May 28th --> 10Kato

June 3rd --> Minneapolis 1/2 Marathon

July --> NO RACE AS OF NOW

August 26th --> Minneapolis Duathlon

September 23rd --> Iron Girl Duathlon

October 21st --> Mankato 1/2 Marathon

October 27th --> Monster Dash 1/2 Marathon (may be switching to a 10 miler?)

November --> NO RACE AS OF NOW

December --> NO RACE AS OF NOW

So I need a few more races to complete my year, and aside from running in July (I hate the heat of that month!) I don't think it will be that difficult to find a few races. I am hoping to do a few more 5- and 10k's too, as I think that I have enough 1/2 marathons scheduled for this year!!!

So, with all of that already planned, I was excited to get moving. However, my training was derailed for about two weeks. I have a sprained hip, or so that is what my chiropractor is telling me. I personally think that I pinched a nerve, but whatever! I am in pain, so much pain that at times it makes me physically sick. I have been icing and heating and stretching and, and, and.... The pain just doesn't want to go away. I can still run, and have been doing short runs, but nothing long and nothing fast. I feel so awful and I am so afraid that this pain is going to continue!! I have a Princess marathon to run!!!! I cannot deal with an injury!!!

The pain is generally located in my hip/butt area, but often pulses down my leg or across my lower back. My chiropractor told me I really need to work on my core muscles (which is nothing I already didn't know) and that should help me when I run. So, I have found a program to work my core, and I am hoping to feel some improvement soon!! PLEASE!!!!

This is my first REAL running injury, aside from losing my toenails (which are still awful looking!!) It has me worried and really scared. But I am willing to put in the work it takes to get better and get back into training.

Wish me luck!!