| For my next race, I chose the 2010 Jingle Bell Run December 22, 2010 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, which was a rare night race. The race benefited the Trinity Strand Trail and Mavericks Foundation. There were many great sponsors at the event, like Pizza Patron, WFAA, Firestone, Community Coffee, the SPCA of Texas, and about many more. A couple of days before the race, my son and his girlfriend's basset hound, Buster, jumped on to my easy chair to be with me and he started screaming in pain. They took him to vet and found out that he has severe nerve damage in his back. So once again bad things are happening. I just keep praying for every blessing I receive and just keep trying my best each day. I took a few pictures before the race, and walked around as the crowd gathered inside the Anatole. About 30 minutes before the race I went outside so that I could get used to the cold weather and warm up a bit. There was a 1 mile run at 6:30 PM and the 5K started at 7:00 PM. I started about 3 or 4 rows back. I was surprised to be greeted by Dr. Charles Lee at the starting line. Dr. Lee is one of the Doctors at the Cancer Institute of Dallas where I exercise at the Fitsteps for Life center. He wasn't racing in this event, but was there to cheer on some friends. He ran in the Dallas White Rock Marathon in the spectacular time of 3:14 and finished 192 out of 4593 finishers. There were probably over 4,000 runners at the race, but only 964 were chip timed runners. The thing about night races is that it's a little harder to see where you are stepping. With so many people trying to get around slower runners, and pot-holes to navigate, it can be a little challenging. There was no turnaround in this race, but there were many twists and turns in the course. At each mile marker there was a display showing you your current race time. At the 1 mile marker, my time was 8:20 which I was pretty happy with. I wish they had this time display at every race. It makes it easier to know what pace I am running at so that I can make necessary adjustments during the race. At the 2 mile marker my time was 16:45, and when I got to the 3 mile marker Dr. Lee was there to cheer me on to the finish line. To tell the truth, I was about ready to slow down at this point, but when Dr. Lee started cheering for me, it gave me the lift I needed to continue running hard. When I glanced at the time display at the 3 mile marker, it said that I was little over 25 minutes. With such a great time in the books, and some encouragement from the Doctor, I headed to the finish line with my second sub-26 minute time ever. I finished a few seconds slower than Saturday's race with a final time of 25:52. I finished 3 out of 24 in my age division and 315 out of the 964 chip time runner. Let's just say that Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks know how to throw an after race party. The always beautiful Mavericks Dancers were there, as well as the Mavs Maniacs. I took a few pictures with them, and also a got a free photo with a group taking pictures of everyone that wanted one for free. As I was enjoying the post-race festivities, I ran into the Dallas Maverick's mascot, Champ, who gave me a high five. There was pizza, chocolate milk, and my favorite after race drink Myoplex. For those who wanted to enjoy a little more, there was Corona beer and a great band playing. It was a fun night to say the least. Results can be seen here. My line Men 55-59: Place Bib# Men Overall Overall Time Age Grade Pace 5/24 560 239/506 315/964 25:52 61.5% 8:21/m I run to raise awareness for prostate cancer and to benefit my community. www.runningforacause.tumblr.com |
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