Christmas Trees and a Cute Pittie
I love Christmastime! My house has seven themed Christmas trees. Yes, SEVEN! Does that mean that I love Christmas seven times more than the average person? Yes, it does. Plus there are the lights, decorations, and costumes for our dog.
The best part about this time of year is getting together with family and celebrating traditions like making Christmas cookies and singing carols. Or in my family, eating pasta and yelling. It ain’t Norman Rockwell but it ain’t boring either.
For the past several years, my sister-in-law has hosted an ornament exchange party for friends and family. I had such a good time last year, I was really excited to go this year. Now, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Tim and Lora, live in North Carolina. I figured since I would be there anyway, I might as well find a race to run and knock out NC.
Party Plans and Racing Camps
The Huntersville Holiday Run took place on Friday, December 7, 2018. I flew out Thursday so I could visit and help with preparations for the ornament exchange. Lora and I have been best friends since high school, so that meant food and wine would be involved. And it was.
After having Mexican food (and margaritas), we came back to Lora’s house, cranked up the Christmas music and finished decorating (and drank wine). The race was the next day, so I didn’t go too crazy but we definitely had a good time like we always do. Lora is more than my “sister-in-law” she is a full sister to me, so it meant a lot that I was able to spend the time with her and that she would go see me race the next day.
The race was Friday night. We spent the day shopping and preparing for the ornament exchange. Then, I put on my costume. Since it was a holiday race, I dressed “Christmas Carol.” I know. I’m adorable.
Just about everyone at the race was there to have fun so I had a blast walking around, talking to people, and taking pictures. There were a lot of great costumes, which I love to see.
It’s funny to see the camps of people who run these 5Ks. You’ve got the very serious runners who are there to “win the race” and come in first place. No costumes for those folks. No smiles either. They are “mentally preparing” for the race. I try NOT to think about the race too much beforehand because I’ll remember how much my legs and ass are going to hurt afterward.
At the other end of the spectrum are the people who are strictly there for the fun. They don’t care about race times or rankings. Many of them are half in the bag before the race even starts. Others are walking with dogs or kids in strollers. The race is really just an excuse to spend some time outside with friends and family. And eat tacos from a taco truck.
The largest group are in the middle. I count myself with these people. Yeah, we like to run a decent time, maybe even have a slight competitive need to rank near the top, but we are going to have a ton of fun doing it. And, yes, we are also there for the taco truck.
Christmas Carol-ina
This race was really special for me because when I crossed the finish line, I had a posse cheering me on. Lora and Tim were there with some other friends, Angie and Joe. It meant so much to me that they were there screaming like idiots for me. I love those guys!
Once I caught my breath and had some water, we walked to the Hickory Tavern where the rest of my North Carolina Fan Club were waiting. I was overwhelmed by all the support. I felt like a celebrity, except you know, without the fame, fortune, and leaked sex tape.
Party Time Then Home
On Saturday, we had the ornament exchange. What a party. In the interest of protecting the good names of all involved, all I’ll say is that at least one of us ended up on the floor…while singing Christmas songs.
My original plan was to fly home on Sunday, but a HUGE snow storm was barrelling down on the Carolinas so I flew out Saturday night instead. It turns out it was a good thing I did. They got 12 inches of snow! That shut down pretty much everything in the area.
I got home and stuck the pin in state number six! That leaves 44 to go!