Jingle Bell 5K in Peoria; do I or don’t I?

Workout notes
4 mile walk (50:30), 1 mile run (9:30) on the treadmill. On the walk I warmed up, then sped up to 12 mpm, then did 1 mile at 13:20 over increasing hills (5 minutes at level 6), then did one faster mile (sped up to 11:00 mpm), then walked a mixed mile of hills/faster. My time at mile 3 was 38:30.

Then I “ran” 1 mile on the treadmill to keep in practice and did some rotator cuff with the stretch band. The shoulders are sore but this appears to be a “muscle soreness” from exertion rather than injury.

Local Run

Do I run the Jingle Bell 5k in Peoria this weekend or don’t I?

Downside: this is one of the worst organized races in the area. The RD is indifferent to the race distance. People show up in costume and “run” 4-5 abreast at a 12 mpm pace…and start near the front! Grade school teachers show up with their kids…AT THE FRONT. There are always speeches and a 15 minute rendition of the National Anthem sung by someone in a warm coat while everyone else shivers (ok, 15 minutes is an exaggeration )

The start line is a real zoo.

Upside: I am in such dreadfully bad shape that I know that my time is going to suck anyway and there will be a ton of cute spandex women.

I think that the prettiest shapes belong to those who “run” 8:30-12 minutes per mile (they have the bigger butts) and that would be my pace range. And sometimes it is fun just to show up, relax and jog through (or walk) an event.

Oh, decisions, decisions.