Run Like Hell

Well it’s Monday, right? Hmm… that’s about all I can say about that. I hate it when my weekends end. There is something pretty depressing about a Monday morning. Just not my overall favorite I guess. I had a good weekend overall. I was pretty worried about the weather but as per my crazy good luck in terms of running, both my races ended up being what I’d call a win.

Saturday morning we got up early and headed out with my mom and her boyfriend for a nice 5k. I walked the 5k with my mom. But the weather was actually quite pleasant despite raining like crazy when we got up and even on the drive to the event there was rain. In the end, it was just perfect the entire duration of the walk/run.  I will always support my mom doing these events even if that means I will ultimately have to walk with her. I don’t mind honestly. I am just happy she is willing and interested in doing them. We got cool medals with light up eyes on the skull. Pretty neat honestly.

I can honestly barely remember what I did Saturday afternoon. Oh wait, there was a crazy windstorm, and we went to Sushi for lunch. Came home, vegged out for a while, made some spaghetti dinner and tried to go to bed early because I did have to wake up very early yesterday to make it to our half marathon.  I have to admit that while there is a part of me that is sad all the races are coming to a slow-down, there is another part of me that is infinity thrilled as well.

When we got up Sunday at 5:15 AM, and it was literally dark as night and storming outside I was not entirely thrilled to be doing this. In fact, I was like what the fuck am I doing? Why I am not snuggled up warm and comfy in my bed with my doggies? But I got up and prayed that the weather would somehow part for us as it typically has in the past and somehow we’d survive. I dressed as warm as I could in running attire and wore a hat, because a baseball hat is really essential in rain running. It blocks the rain from getting in your fact so much. We drove the hour to the start location and it was a miserable yucky drive. I felt zero motivation. I did not want to run. We all have our Achilles heel and mine is cold and rain.  I truly would rather run in the heat than the cold. But this is pretty much how I prefer my entire life so that’s not shocking.

We pulled into a parking garage and just sat there in the car for a couple minutes. It was so gross outside and I seriously had to fight with myself to do this. A big part of me was like fuck it, let’s just run the 5k instead.  You didn’t get a cute medal for anything but the half, but I was not looking forward to a wet cold 13.1 mile run.

We got out and walked to the start location, still raining. Picked up our packets, still raining. Went to the bathroom, still raining. And somehow time got away from me. The race started at 7:45 and we were walking towards the start line, the sun had finally come out and lit up the sky so that instantly helped to improve my mood. Problem was, I heard the official count down to the start of the half marathon and we were not ready. Oops. Yes, I was late to start the race. My music wasn’t cued up; we were not at the start line. It happens I guess. But on a plus side, the rain had let up. Just as we started the race, late, it was no longer raining. Of course being late to start made me frazzled and I had a pretty shitty attitude to start. Not to mention somehow the first 3 ½ miles were all uphill. It was gross. It was not fun. I was climbing hills instead of running. Trying to play catch up to the pack of runners. We managed to catch people, but my heart wasn’t in it.

And of course for the first 3 ½ hilly miles it would rain a little and I’d slosh thru puddles of water left on the ground. But it wasn’t bad. It could have been worse for sure. Honestly the first 30-45 minutes were the worst of it. And then we turned a corner and it was a giant downhill stretch and as if the universe was going to reward us for enduring the first 3.5 miles of hell, the sun warmed up and there was no more rain and we could finally run.  I sped up and maintained a comfortable speed. I actually felt incredibly grateful it was not stormy and raining and I kept thinking to myself, the faster you run the sooner you are done and every mile that passes that you are not rained on, is a great thing. Closer to the finish line! 

By no stretch of the imagination was this a speedy race.  I was playing catch up from the very beginning and fighting with my own shitty attitude.  I really don’t love being cold and wet and running. But once I was able to run I just kept a decent pace and managed to salvage an otherwise horrific start to a race. The weather held out for pretty much the duration of the race, for which I was incredibly grateful. With about ½ a mile to go it started to rain. When I finally crossed the finish line, about 5 minutes later it was in full out downpour mode. But I was finished!  I had paid for the VIP package mainly because it included a private covered heated area to hang out in with private bathrooms and a catered breakfast post-race. This was an excellent idea because we immediately made our way to the covered tent and were able to avoid major rain. The weather Gods are incredibly kind and generous to us.  It always seems to rain before we start racing and after we finish but we manage to avoid major storms while on the run. I am certain that this will not always be the case and I need to count my blessings as the occur.

The VIP area was lovely; we had a great catered breakfast. Eggs, potatoes, French toast, bacon and of course unlimited mimosas. Which apparently I drank way too many of. Seriously I don’t drink all that often and apparently my body doesn’t love feeling like that. Oops. But I had a great time post-race hanging out, enjoying the festivities.

Overall, I am proud of my time. 2:23 is when I crossed the line. Not a great time, not my best time, but completely salvaged the run considering the first 3.5 miles I was WAY off pace. I swear it took me 45-50 minutes to go that first 3.5-4 miles. So I was calling this overall a total win.

This was half marathon 26 of the year.  That means in just half marathons I have completed 340.6 miles of running this year. Not including the 5 and 10K races and of course any running I do in training. That’s pretty awesome.  Next weekend I do not have a single race. The following weekend I have 1 5k race. That’s it. And then I go to Vegas. I have 2 half marathons left this year. Vegas and one in December. I think my shitty attitude is probably a sign that it might just be time for a little break. Regardless, I had a good time this weekend. And as always the weekend tends to fly by.

Now it’s onto another crappy Monday, and trying to get my shit back together. I ate like a horrible hungry starving person this whole weekend and I don’t feel very happy about that. Hmm… back to the gym I go today.