Jolly Jaunt Holiday 5K 2014

As much as I've been running, it's hard to believe that I've never actually signed myself up for an official race. So when I saw what would be the last opportunity for me to run a race in Boston, I had to do it. Big shoutout to Samantha from the TIU Boston girls for rallying us and getting us to all sign up! I also convinced/forced/begged Alice to run it with us too! 

We wanted to be as festive as possible and when we saw the battery powered Christmas lights at CVS, we couldn't resist! (Excuse all my boxes in the background! Moving isn't exactly the easiest or the neatest task in the world.) You can't see completely but Alice's #RunOOTD consists of:

• Nike Pro Hyperwarm Half-Zip 3.0 Women's Training Top

• Lululemon Rain Coat (Just to wear in transit to the race -- it was quite a rainy day in Boston!)

• Under Armour Cold Gear Compression Legging

• Nike Flyknit 1+ Lunar Sneakers

• And of course, the Jolly Jaunt tee over the Nike base layer.

We picked up our numbers the day before so we were able to get a bit of a later start to the morning. Our first stop was at Starbucks for caffeine and oatmeal! And yes, that is a tutu that you see under my rain coat! After we grabbed breakfast, we made our way to the Boston Common.

I have to admit, being able to do everything, from registration to renting lockers, online made everything so easy. So kudos to Special Olympics Massachusetts and everyone else involved for making it so seamless and easy!

If you didn't know, the Jolly Jaunt Holiday 5K is an annual race hosted by Special Olympics Massachusetts presented by the New Balance Foundation. This year marked the 10 year anniversary for the Jolly Jaunt. It's a fun race to do -- not only are you helping a good cause, you're able to dress up and be a little silly :)

If it's not obvious yet, I was a reindeer. With a tutu. With Christmas lights strung throughout the tutu. Yeah, I had an idea in my head for a costume but then it just turned into a hodgepodge of things I threw together based around my sparkly antlers. How much do we love the running selfie of Alice and I where my antlers completely block out her face? We love it. I'm glad we got a couple pictures in prior to the race because after all the rain, whatever mascara and glitter I had on were completely gone, or at least running down my face.

Overall, it was a really fun race. It was awesome to see people with their kids and their dogs running for a great cause. I would love to do it again if I'm in the city during next year's race. I'll miss Boston and the sense of community that it's always provided for me -- especially in the running community.

At the same time, I'm excited for this next chapter, not just in my normal everyday life, but also in my running life. So far, I've signed up for three races in New York:

• the NYRR Joe Kleinerman 10K

• the Gridiron 4M

• MORE Magazine/FITNESS Magazine Women's Half-Marathon

That last one, I'm the most excited about. It's going to be my first half-marathon and while I'm nervous - quite nervous actually - I'm really excited! I can't wait to say I was able to finish a half-marathon! And move on forward to a full one. If you're going to be running any of these races, please reach out to me on social media! I'd love to meet the New York running community.

Again, big thanks to @tiusamantha for rallying the #TIUBoston girls. And it was a pleasure meeting @tosety_tiu and @jdt_tiu! I hope I'll see you girls again!