Cranberry Bogs and Santa Claus

What do these two things have in common?  Well if you add in a train you would have Edaville USA in Carver, MA!

It is a place dedicated to Christmas where you can go, visit Santa, and ride the famed Edaville Railroad through cranberry bogs and hundreds of Christmas decorations.  I can remember going there as a kid once and aside from it being freezing, I remember how awesome I thought the lights and decorations were!  My husband remembered going too and when Em was old enough we brought her there.  She loved it...again it was freezing!

I started seeing pictures of a race that wound in and out of cranberry bogs and thought to myself, that would be a cool race to run.  Then one day looking through New England Runner magazine I found what the race was...The Edaville Rail Run 5 miler!  I was sold!  And with a great price it was even better! 

Since it was really cold Saturday (is it ever warm there?) the ladies stayed at home with Dad and I was off early heading to Carver.  I really didn't have a plan for this race.  When I thought about goals I thought it would be nice to get in under 50 minutes...that changed as we got going!  It's a small race (under 400 for the 5 miler...there is also a 2 mile walk option) and we were all huddled in Santa's house before the start staying warm!  Not before long we were lined up and off we went!

Immediate thoughts that first mile....I need to get some sunglasses soon so my eyes will stop watering...I probably should have run on trails before I ran this...don't trip...don't trip...wait was that the first mile?  I think focusing so much that first mile on not tripping made it fly by!  I looked down at my watch and saw a 8:12 staring back at me!  Well then maybe this mama can run faster than 50 minutes!  Then came on my good ole Ludacris song and well...I choose not to arrive safely to the finish!  I was going to push this! 

It definitely was a battle between my mind and my body.  Surprisingly my body was game...it was my mind that needed convincing!  I pulled out every tactic in the book as we snaked around cranberry bogs...watched men harvesting the berries as we ran by!  I gave myself pep talks...picked people in the crowd that I wanted to pass...repeated Philippians 4:13 over and over.  With one last push to the finish and up a small hill I crossed the finish...looked down at my Garmin and saw the number 42:02 looking back at me! 

Running this race has taught me a lot about myself.  I need to stop hiding behind fear and comfort in my runs and goals for running.  I am capable of more than I think I am and today was the day that showed me that.  I haven't seen pace like this since I got pregnant with Aubs...I actually broke down in the car because I honestly didn't think I ever would!  I'm thankful I didn't play it safe during this race....and for the confidence that followed!!