Albany's Last Run 5K

I have been doing 1 or 2 of my runs outside each week.  I am trying to get used to running in the cold weather, which is a difficult task for me because I am a huge baby when it comes being cold.  I only run outside when I have someone to run with because I do all of my running at night and it is very dark at 6:00 now.  These training runs helped me to prepare for Albany's Last Run 5K this past weekend.  You can't run this race for time because it is so crowded, but it is beautiful to run through the park at night with all of the holiday lights.  The larger races are a little frustrating for me because I hate being packed in like sardines and tripping over people.  However, I am glad I did it because I love the race atmosphere.  I feel most comfortable around other runners, especially at races.  I did the first mile at very slow jog, but when I saw the time at the 1 mile mark, I had to speed up a little.  I wasn't trying to get a PR, but I had to put in some effort.  I am too competitive with myself not to.  I didn't really get any real running in until the last mile when it opened up a little.  My time is not worth mentioning, but it was nice to get together with my team again.  It had been a couple months since I raced with them.  Even with the slow pace, I didn't even notice how cold it was.  This leads me to believe I may actually be able to bear the cold this February for the winter marathon I am considering.  I am still on the fence about it, but I am leaning towards running it because I rarely turn down a challenge.