Pre-race Thoughts - Jingle All The Way 10k

It's about time for another race! The Jingle All The Way 10k. Last year when I ran this race, it was about 40 and drizzly. This year's forecast - 40 and rain. Lovely! Well, I'll just have to make the best of it. But this time, I'm bringing a crew of family, friends, and coworkers to share in the holiday running spirit!

The good news is that I can learn from last year's race. The biggest thing I learned was not to over-dress. You know, the whole 20 degree rule - dress like it was 20 degrees warmer, because that's how you'll feel once your actually running. Last year, I wore a hat, gloves, running vest, etc and by the time I got to mile 3, I was cooked! This year, I'm thinking I'll be able to pull off running in tights and a long sleeve shirt with no hat, no gloves and no vest. Trust me, it'll be much better to be a little cold early on.

As far as the race goes, I ran it last year in 42:05, which I am pretty sure I'll handily beat, considering the last 10k I ran this year was in 41:37 in April and I am coming off the fitness from my recent 1/2 marathon. Based on some recent baseline tests (which I'll get more into in another post), I'd say I'm ready for a big PR. While I don't like to list specific time goals, I will say I'm expecting to knock a fair amount off that time. How much? You'll just have to come back and see!