Do Over?

I think I need a do over. I've been pouting about that crappy race all week. (No pun intended.) On Saturday after the half, I was just angry at my body. I felt like it really let me down. I put some really nasty food into it Saturday night as punishment. How did I used to regularly eat fried catfish, fried hush puppies, and all the trimmings? No wonder I was fluffy. On Sunday, I had the most decadent pizza I could find--from our local New York Pizza Depot. The little orange pepperonis dotting the top were shining with grease. And I didn't blot! Then..... and this is BIG.... I didn't do any sort of exercise whatsoever for three days. I was mad at running, mad at myself, and mad at exercise in general. I did finally stop eating bad though! Strangely what lifted me out of the funk was a really hard Crossfit workout on Wednesday morning. The endorphins I'm accustomed to were back and I felt whole and hopeful again---like my old self.

I think I have found a couple of "do over" options. I just want to prove to myself that I can still run 13 miles under a 10-minute per mile pace. I KNOW I can. I am still going to be running long with my Country Music Half Marathon training group, so in 3 weeks, on the 11-mile training run, I can just run a little faster than usual and get in 2 afterwards and see what kind of pace I can manage. The place we are running is very similar to the Tom King course. It would be awesome if it was 9:59 pace or better. If I can't manage it, I just can't manage it. Then, in May there is this new event in nearby Paducah, Kentucky. It is called the Iron Mom Half-marathon. I have wanted to do it since hearing the title and seeing the super-cool race shirt. (I'm totally doing it for the shirt.)




I'd love to get the sub 10-minute mile thing out of the way so I could just go into the Iron Mom with no expectations and actually have fun.

See, that's the biggest problem with last Saturday. That's what was missing. The fun. And if there's no fun in it, what's the frickin' point of running 13 miles??? I mean, isn't it possible to run a strong race and still have some fun in it?

It was totally my fault. Here's what should have happened when I ran in the conditions I was given:

Wake up race morning. Notice stomach is not feeling well. Adjust time goal by 10-15 seconds per mile, putting it at 9:50 pace per mile. Get to race start. Start running. Notice by mile two it's much hotter than expected. Adjust race pace by another 10-15 seconds per mile. That would put me at a 10:05 ish pace. Let go of PR expectations. Decide to just run and have fun. Don't beat myself up over the slower miles. Make friends. Smile at people. Thank the volunteers. Act silly for the cameras on the course.


I still would have had the stomach problems, but I wouldn't have let them throw me for such a loop.

You know what they say about hindsight.....


And that's why I call this (Mis)Adventures in Running, folks!