Holiday Light Run!

All season long I've wanted to go on a run through a fancy neighborhood with fancy Christmas lights! Finally, my Christmas wish came true!

I hooked up with none other than this nut and her running friends:

OJ, I'm really, really glad we're friends. And your headlamp probably saved my life 10 times tonight.



My friend Katya, running novice, joined us on the four mile jaunt (even though it was orignally only supposed to be three)!



Katya is a major inspiration. Her rock-climbing arms are the envy of our office and her Bulgarian accent has quickly become one of my favorites. Katya isn't a regular runner; until tonight, two miles had been her longest distance. Like the trooper and champion she is, she plodded through the night with us as we racked up the miles, and she pressed on even when it was far beyond her previous limit.

At one point she said, more to herself than anyone else, something to the effect that the only limitations we put on ourselves are the limits we set in our minds. It doesn't matter if those words are coming from a rock-climbing goddess or an ultramarathoner - it's always true. That statement stands whether we're referencing exercise, or work, or mental states or creative ambitions.

And sure enough, she busted through her normal mileage, doubled it, and did it with a smile. Amazing. I'm so glad we did it together!

The run itself was so fun. It was slow and we stopped a lot to critique the twinklers on these uber-expensive homes.

And...yeah...some lights weren't that great...



What was the tactic here? Looks like they couldn't make up their mind what the overall motif should be, so they just did a little bit of everything...and probably paid a ton of moneys for it.



I hope this becomes an annual event because I had a really, really good time!

PS: Yesterday I did my first interval run ever. And I hated it...but I kind of really liked it.