Jingle Bell Hell Virtual Race recap

This last weekend, XLMIC hosted the Jingle Bell Hell 1/3 marathon.  Unfortunately due to the lack of a plane ticket, and the lack of training (Stupid PF...did you know I had PF?  Probably not, because I NEVER whine about mention it...I'm stoic like that) it was impossible for me to join her in real life for the fun.  Luckily, there was a virtual option AND she even said it could be as short as a 5k - so I was in baby!

The rules for the race:
 

Must be at least 5K in total length...no maximum.

Must be done on a challenging course (and if you hate treadmills, that means it could be on a treadmill) because the idea is "Hell" ... that is the important part.

Must be done the weekend of Dec. 17-18, 2011... any time of day or night.

You must laugh at least once... can be an evil laugh, a laugh of futility, any kind of laugh but laughter is a MUST.

So - with my PF (again, YES I have PF...) I am limited in distance as well as terrain.  I couldn't be all badass and run a 5k straight up hill because I've been PT ordered to to lay off the hills.  I had to find a short and flat course, but somehow needed to incorporate in the hell factor.  I am one of those freaks who LIKES running hills because they break up the course a bit - so flat is not my favorite.   In my neighborhood there is a flat loop that circles the park.  Check out the elevation:

Brutal, huh?  Yeah, flat as a pancake.  Not very interesting.  In order to up the "hellishness" aspect, the loop is only a half mile long - to get a 5k in I have to repeat it 6 times.  I hate passing the end point of a run and not being able to stop.  Ok.  Hell course accomplished.

Leading up to the race I made sure I properly hydrated

and fueled:

And then it was race morning:

I got up at the crack of dawn:

I'm trying to make this sound really "hellish", but in reality this is
about an hour later than my normal weekly runs.

I met Michelle and Barbara and we ran the loop...6 times.  Here's some highlights of the run:

Not monotonous at all.  We actually tacked on another mile for good measure, making it four total in 37 minutes for 9:15 average pace.   I guess we're gluttons for punishment!

So, the Jingle Bell Hell came and went.  There was laughter and it was a good morning run because of the awesome company.  If anyone thinks that I just took my normal morning route and played on your sympathy to turn it into a hell-worthy race report you might be right on. 

Thanks for hosting the race XLMIC!  It was fun and I will definitely join in next year - HOPEFULLY for the 1/3 marathon option and a truly difficult course!