Last night I went to the gym and abused myself.  It may have been the most intense weight workout I’ve done in 15 years.  I really pummeled myself – endless intense sets with heavy weights, no rest, pushing myself to the max.

I worked out a lot of stress, anger, rage, disappointment, and frustration.  A good workout just grabs all of that out of you and throws it on the floor, for you to grind into the carpet with a 200-lb barbell across your shoulders.

Good news: I benched my bodyweight for 6 reps – a new (recent) PR for me, and worked my abs so hard that I’m really *really* sore (in a good way) this morning.  Sometimes abs are tough to target, but I was a  maniac last night.

Today?  Running after work.  I have a race in mind in a few weeks, another 5K, so I need to start the intervals.  The race is called the Valentines Day Dash and is held at Greenlake the morning of February 13th.  It’s nice to have a goal coming up to focus my training.  I want to hit 25:00 for this one.  I WILL hit 25:00 for this one.

12,000 of my closest friends and I got out in the freezing Seattle weather this morning to participate in the 25th annual Jingle Bell Run in Seattle.  This is a kind of anti-race: the joy is in the participation, in the costumes, in the shared community spirit, not necessarily how high you finish.

Having said that, I did really well, ha ha ha!  I beat my previous 5K PR by over a minute, coming in at 26:01, or an 8:31/mile pace.  Pretty good considering I woke up with really sore hamstrings and ran the whole way with reindeer antlers.   I think that I can definitely get down to a 7:00/mile pace by mid-to-late spring, if I keep exercising and eating right.   Good things happen to good people, right?  And I’m DEFINITELY due for some good things to happen.

To the lady in the port-a-potty who forgot to slide the latch shut so that the label still read “OPEN – I’m really sorry.  It’s just that I was one of hundreds of people standing around, looking excitedly for the green “OPEN” labels, and I really didn’t mean to *cough* expose you to the world.  I hope the fright made you run a bit faster.  Next time I’ll knock first.

Best costume?  Hm.  There were quite a few Cindy Lou Who lookalikes, but my favorites may have been the two Santa’s elves who were taking pictures on the top floor of Westlake Center.  You two looked like you were having the time of your life, and your costumes were fantastic!

Full Jingle Bell Run race results here, for those of you interested.

If you would have told me six months ago I’d finish in the top half of my age division in a 5K race, I would have told you you’re nuts.  Yet here I am, the day after my first road race in 5+ years, looking at the results – and I finished 36th out of 82 finishers in my age group!  Woo hoo!  My official time was 27:33, but I was chip-timed at 27:04.

One note for the race organizers: the results page doesn’t format properly on the iPhone.  So – ye gods! – I had to wait until I got to the coffee shop to see my results.  There should be a special place in Heck reserved for web designers whose stuff doesn’t work properly on the iPhone.

Feeling pretty sore today – gluteus medius in particular.  Probably will go to the gym anyway and work out in other ways.  I have a lot of nervous energy to work off, and my goal for the next little bit will be to go to bed exhausted so I don’t have to worry about getting to sleep.

So this morning I struggled out of bed after a near-sleepless night and prepared for my first road race in over five years.  True, it was only a 5K.  True, I had limited expectations.  But I still had a wonderful time, and learned a thing or two that I can apply to my next race(s), because I’m DEFINITELY doing more of this in the future.

My goal was to complete the race at a 9 minute/mile pace, and I exceeded that with an 8:43 minute/mile pace, 27:04 overall.  I rarely felt like I was going too slow or too fast, and finished strong with a little bit left in the tank.

We ran an out-and-back course along 5th Avenue, with a slight detour at Vine down to 2nd avenue and up the back side of Seattle Center, finishing right by the International Fountain.  The hardest part for me?  Right around mile 2, I felt like I was going a bit too fast, and focused on my breathing for a minute to get back in my rhythm.  The easiest part?  Relative to the other runners, the uphill sections felt easy – all the stair work has developed my quads into hill-climbing monsters.  I passed a lot of people on the two uphill sections.

What I learned:

• Don’t arrive too early.  Prompt lil’ ole me showed up at Seattle Center at about 7:00, which was about 45 minutes too early.
• There is no bag check for the 5K.  This, I should note, is contrary to what is in the race guide.  I had to run back to the car to deposit my warmup layers and bag before the race.
• The little ankle strap that holds your chip timer can chafe.  Wear it around your sock, not your bare flesh, because I got chafed and a little bloody.  No big deal.
• Figure out where you should start based on pace, and elbow your way in.  I spent the first half-mile evading walkers and other slow runners, because I started too far back.

The nicest part?  Seeing my kids near the finish line with homemade signs that said “Yay” and “Daddy”.  That was unexpected, and warmed my heart.  Both my kids said they want to run a race, which gives me about two years until they’re faster than me

It was also great to see fellow geeks @marinamartin and @awoods at the starting line.  Looking forward to seeing both of you at the Jingle Bell Run next month!