What's a girl to do?
I have trained for 3 half marathons in the past 12 months and I have run/walked two of the three races that I trained for.
The first and by far the best race was the Nashville Women's Half Marathon, September, 2010. The second was the Music City Half Marathon, November, 2010 which was a disastrous race and I'm kinda glad I missed out on it. The last race was the Country Music Half Marathon, April, 2011.
The fall/winter training for the MCHM ended up being a complete waste of time due to some type of virus that overtook my body 3 days before the race. It stumped doctors, baffled physical therapists, and was so painful that I actually cried. Once. In the shower so no one would know. Just admitting that fact is hard for me but it's important to mention it so that I can convey just how painful that virus was and that despite my best efforts I was unable to run in the MCHM. The virus caused indescribable pain and severe swelling in my ankles and made it very difficult to walk. I was unable to wear proper shoes for almost a month.
I was able to give the CMHM a go in April but when I crossed the finish line I was pretty sure that I was done with the long distance running for a very long time. I was disappointed in my time. I was miserable, and quite honestly I was disappointed in everything about the post-race area. The water I got was hot, all the food was off the list of allowable foods for me with the exception of the go-gurt which was served warm, I couldn't get to my bag which housed my allowable food for almost an hour, and the photographer was a bitch.
So after all of that, why the hell am I even entertaining the idea of training for the NWHM again?
Maybe because it was my favorite last race year. Maybe the CMHM which was the most recent half that I ran was so crappy that I want to rid myself of the memory of it. Maybe because I put on my shorts this summer and realized that I've expanded since last year and I need the motivation to keep running. Maybe after being unemployed for over two years I'm missing out on that awesome sense of accomplishment that I once had.
Whatever the reason, I have one week to decide. I'll be doing it alone this time. Michelle, my friend and running partner, is suffering from some back problems and will likely be doing most of her fitness work in the pool. Eww! Pools = human soup!
So do I want to suffer the indignity of running/walking through the streets of Nashville for the next several weeks with heat and humidity that is absolutely stifling? The last mile of the NWHM has one of the longest and most difficult hills I have ever attempted. People were dropping like flies in the race last year. In fact, it's so bad that they decided NOT to reroute the race to make it easier and instead they had a naming contest so they could capitalize on the difficulty of it. The name is stupid so I refuse to mention it in this little musing.
I think I've already made up my mind. I think I'll do it. Maybe I just needed to write it all out to get perspective.
The best thing about facebook is that no one ever reads livejournal anymore so I don't have to worry about anyone reading this and holding me to it. :)
The first and by far the best race was the Nashville Women's Half Marathon, September, 2010. The second was the Music City Half Marathon, November, 2010 which was a disastrous race and I'm kinda glad I missed out on it. The last race was the Country Music Half Marathon, April, 2011.
The fall/winter training for the MCHM ended up being a complete waste of time due to some type of virus that overtook my body 3 days before the race. It stumped doctors, baffled physical therapists, and was so painful that I actually cried. Once. In the shower so no one would know. Just admitting that fact is hard for me but it's important to mention it so that I can convey just how painful that virus was and that despite my best efforts I was unable to run in the MCHM. The virus caused indescribable pain and severe swelling in my ankles and made it very difficult to walk. I was unable to wear proper shoes for almost a month.
I was able to give the CMHM a go in April but when I crossed the finish line I was pretty sure that I was done with the long distance running for a very long time. I was disappointed in my time. I was miserable, and quite honestly I was disappointed in everything about the post-race area. The water I got was hot, all the food was off the list of allowable foods for me with the exception of the go-gurt which was served warm, I couldn't get to my bag which housed my allowable food for almost an hour, and the photographer was a bitch.
So after all of that, why the hell am I even entertaining the idea of training for the NWHM again?
Maybe because it was my favorite last race year. Maybe the CMHM which was the most recent half that I ran was so crappy that I want to rid myself of the memory of it. Maybe because I put on my shorts this summer and realized that I've expanded since last year and I need the motivation to keep running. Maybe after being unemployed for over two years I'm missing out on that awesome sense of accomplishment that I once had.
Whatever the reason, I have one week to decide. I'll be doing it alone this time. Michelle, my friend and running partner, is suffering from some back problems and will likely be doing most of her fitness work in the pool. Eww! Pools = human soup!
So do I want to suffer the indignity of running/walking through the streets of Nashville for the next several weeks with heat and humidity that is absolutely stifling? The last mile of the NWHM has one of the longest and most difficult hills I have ever attempted. People were dropping like flies in the race last year. In fact, it's so bad that they decided NOT to reroute the race to make it easier and instead they had a naming contest so they could capitalize on the difficulty of it. The name is stupid so I refuse to mention it in this little musing.
I think I've already made up my mind. I think I'll do it. Maybe I just needed to write it all out to get perspective.
The best thing about facebook is that no one ever reads livejournal anymore so I don't have to worry about anyone reading this and holding me to it. :)