Rudolph's Red Nose 5K Pre-Race

Sadly this is 5 days of growth.

I have lots of bad ideas.  And some terrible ideas, I do repeatedly.  My lovely wife attributes this to my stubborn, and often-outright, stupidity.  Apparently, I'm just too dumb to learn.  Every time I'm off from work for more than 2 days, like I was over the Thanksgiving holiday, I grow a "beard."  Or at least it would be if it actually grew in.  I can't even claim a manly Judge Lance Ito beard.  Instead my beard looks...well...let's just say it looks bad.  Kinda like a half-shavenm, motley chihuahua's butt.  Very bad.  

Likewise, some might say that continuing to do the Rudolph's Red Nose 5K would be a bad idea for me.  Maybe not chihuahua beard bad, but bad nonetheless.  Let me explain.  The Rudolph race is a night race usually the first Friday night in December.  Typically this is a very cold night.  I do not like the cold.  I'm a little man from a small Pacific island near the equator.  I'm not genetically designed to handle the cold.  I like it not.  The course is mostly an out-and-back with a large hill that has to be contended with both ways.  Traditionally this hill has made me it's bitch for the last two years.  So why do I keep running this race?  Well I probably wouldn't, if it wasn't so much fun!  The race kicks off Nashville's Christmas parade, so the course is lined with excited children and families.  The racers range from the serious to the playful with just as many elves as there are elites, possibly even more on the elf side.  Also this is the race that got me started two years ago.  So despite the the freezing temps that rob me of my manhood and the cold wind that burns to breathe in, I will continue to run this fun little 5k for as long as I can.  In essence it connects me to my running roots. It reminds me of those days when it was painful just to run even 1 mile.  It reminds me to let go and just have fun.  Now if I could only grow that beard....