Last weekend I ran a the hardest 13.1 miles EVER! I signed up to race the Parke County Half Marathon with some friends and the Mr. This race was said to be a scenic run through the bridges with a few rolling hills. Sounds good right? Well, that's what I thought. I really did not mentally prepare myself for the challenge of the run. We even dressed up (something in the back of my head I never really thought I would do), but hey this was gonna be just for fun anyway...right?
The crew! (Alicia, Josh, Sarah Me...the Mr. took the pic-he didn't dress up)
We were a bit of a hit....even had some peeps ask us to have their pic taken with us! hehe :)
It was sooooooo hot!!!! The skirt came off around mile 5 and I switched the pig tails to a high pony somewhere between mile 7 and 8..and the shirt quickly followed. No coconut bra! That would be a major chafing no no! haha!
I ended up walking "some"....mostly the uphills, but I really kinda just couldn't get my head into the run. I'm not really sure what to compare the experience to except maybe the "Tilt a Whirl" experience I had as a teenager. ....bunny trail warning...I let this cute guy talk me into going on the Tilt A Whirl with him. He was quite a bit larger than me and so the uneven weight just kept us going around, and around, and around...you get the idea right....yep! I puked...and needless to say there was not a kiss at the end of the night, or a second date! Ha.....I didn't puke on the run (a bit surprised, and thankful) but it was definately NOT what I had hoped for! Going in I kinda set a lazy goal of 2:15 because I had injured my calf about a week earlier on a long run, and I knew it was supposed to get hot that day (haven't had much training in the heat yet)...my time on my Garmin said 2:13.03! ohmyheck! Almost 20 min longer than the half that I did two weeks prior, but the two races don't compare at all! (course, preparation, temperature, etc) So I guess I shouldn't really try and compare the times.
After a few days of pondering, I have come to peace with my time. (Thanks to Kung Fu Panda 2 - kidding- we took the kiddos to see it after the race) I learned that I need to push my self through the difficulties...some old "cut and run" thoughts had to be conquered to even finish that run, but I believe I have come out on the other side of it a stronger runner. Sometimes I guess you have to face the pain and frustration head on and let yourself get a little messy and just push through to the end...and keep the end result in mind. In this case, that was the ice cream at the General Store! (I ended up opting for a cheeseburger instead though).
Now maybe if I can apply that to the summer class that starts up next week....
hmmmm...I think I can... I think I can... *wink
~later
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