Before yoga last Wed, I ran near Washington Park where thousands of holiday lights were on.  I didn’t have time to run through the park where Albany’s Last Run 5k on Dec 17 will take place.  The park opens to cars that pay $15 to view the lights at 6pm also & I wasn’t sure I would be able to run through the park.

So after work on Thursday, I headed out as soon as I could. I parked my car where I go to yoga class.  I wore my bright orange Last Run jacket.

 I intended to do an early version of Albany’s Last Run. I had planned on 3.1 miles but when I got there, there were no lights on!

So I just ran around the park in the DARK!!! It was kinda eerie but cool! 

Little by little, the lights went on.  So I just kept running around the park.  When they were finally all on, I expected to get kicked out but no one said anything so I ran & took photos (lots) of the lights. 

Here’s just a sampling:

I wound up running 4.5 miles & losing one of my gloves. I stopped in the lakehouse for some hot cocoa to warm up. Then I ran back to my car.

Not bad.  It normally costs $15 to ride around the park in your car.  I did it for free, got a better view of the lights and got some exercise!!

I get to do it again on Dec 17 for the 5K race but now I can run fast & not look at the lights. Ha ha!

Happy Running! Any holiday races coming up for you?