Galaxy of Lights 5K and Fun Run

So far the month of December has been full of activity and there are no signs of slowing down any time soon. On Monday and Tuesday of this week, I spent both nights at the Galaxy of Lights at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens for the 5K and the Fun Run.

Monday night was the 5K and I participated in place of one of my cousins who ended up having to be out of town for a work. Another cousin, Lauren was running and it was her parents who had signed up but had to be out of town and so I went in one slot and a co-worker of hers went in another slot. Per usual, my plan was to walk. For one, I hate running and for two, my knee and leg have been in immense pain over the past few days.

I met Lauren at the garden and the race started at 6:30 p.m. about a mile in, I wasn't even sure if I would be able to finish, that's how much pain I was in. I was in the very back of the group with a couple who were no doubt in their 80s and the woman even asked me if I was okay when she passed me. I wasn't, but I smiled and said I was. At the 1.5 mile mark I thought I was going to bail, but I toughed it out. I did send Lauren a text and told her not to worry about waiting on me because I was going super slow and I didn't want to keep her from getting home at a decent hour.

I ended up finishing around one hour and eight minutes and then had to walk what felt like another half mile to my car. When I got home, a hot bath was on the agenda to soothe my aching legs and feet and hopefully help offset the pain that would come the next day.

Tuesday night I was back for more. It was the Fun Run which was only 1.6 miles. I had gotten up a group of girlfriends to participate so there was no way I was going skip. I met the girls there at 5:30 p.m. and we entered the ugly sweater contest and the run started at 6:30 p.m. We all walked and I managed to keep up despite the fact that I wanted to scream with each step.

When the walk was over, we went to the pavilion for the door prize drawings and sadly, not one of us won a prize - not even the ugly sweater prizes. Lauren, however, did go home with a whole pizza, so it wasn't a total loss. It was a fun night and it was so good to catch up with everyone and I'm so thankful they all decided to do the run/walk with me. Last year I did it solo and while I had fun, it was a much better experience with some of my favorite people and I'm hoping everyone will agree to do it again next year.