Anywho. We got to the Y and things were a bit…disorganized. About 50 runners were wandering aimlessly, some of them with jingle bells around their necks. Was kind of funny.
The crew, pre-run
The group finally meandered outside and we took off. Except no one really knew where we were going. :-) And the people that are actually in the running club must do a 6:30 minute mile or something because they disappeared pretty quickly. You could hear the sound of their jingle bells for a while, but then that disappeared too.
I hung with the Running Spot group and we managed to figure out the route…sort of. We knew what the “points of interest” were supposed to be so we just ran towards those. The first place was the manger scene in Eden Park, which featured live animals. I don’t often see sheep when I run, so this was actually pretty neat. (Although I did see a woman walking two ponies on one of my runs last weekend. Random.)
Baa
We then ran up to Mt. Adams where we picked up some other Running Spot people pondering which way to go. The next point on the route was Fountain Square, meaning we needed to find a way downtown. We picked the closest street (Monastery) and enjoyed a nice mile or so of downhill on our way to the city. More Christmas (yes I still call it Christmas) lights were on 4th street, but the best ones were at the Square. The skating rink was all lit up, Elvis Christmas carols were playing, and a gaggle of runners was waiting for us by the fountain for a group photo. If that doesn’t put you in the holiday spirit, then you’re a Grinch. :-)
After our photo, the route took us through…Tower Place mall. I’m sure the sight of us running through the revolving doors one by one and trotting through the first floor of the mall was somewhat of a spectacle to the people who were trying to shop. We all looked like drowned rats from running around in the rain (at least it was 55 degrees out).
Wet runners (I'm the geek in a grass-green track jacket, front row)
Our next point was the train display at the CG&E building. My friend and I were so inspired that we busted into a really bad rendition of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”. A few of the other runners joined in and sang backup. And a few of them glared at us, ha, ha.
Rather than running back up Monastery Street (the climb is almost vertical – no thank you), we opted for Gilbert Avenue (which is one of the notorious hills in the Pig) thinking it would be an easier hill since it’s gradual. Ha! We ended up adding about a mile extra onto our route thanks to our laziness. And it’s still a heck of a climb, so by the time we hit Eden Park again, I was completely out of steam. Several miles later we finally made it back to the Running Spot. There was a happy hour afterwards but the idea of beer after running Gilbert made me want to yak. I barely had the energy to shower when I got home and then spent the rest of the evening huddled in a blanket on my friend’s floor sipping Gatorade while everyone else drank margaritas. I’m so hardcore.
Final distance? 9.8 miles! No wonder I felt like crap. I haven’t run more than 6 miles in almost a month…
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