Race Re-cap

It's time for the re-cap of my Halloween half!  The race was on Saturday and started just about Sundance in Provo Canyon.  It went down the canyon and ended at the shops at Riverwoods.  I was really nervous for a few reasons.

1.  It was not only my first half, but my first race!
2.  It's mostly downhill and I wasn't sure how my knees would handle it.
3.  I was in Boston the week before the race and knew I wouldn't have enough time that week to get some good training in.
4.  I hate running.

Let's be honest, concerns 1 through 4 (mostly 3 and 4) prevented me from ever even signing up for the race.  I quit before it even started.  It's a good thing I did though.  I must've known I was going to be sick that morning and not able to run the race anyway.

We'll give that Thanksgiving 5K a shot instead.

13.1

I enjoy exercising. In fact, I enjoy it almost as much as I enjoy eating peanut m&m's. I like going on hikes, riding a bike, dancing, and taking classes. I love the feeling of a stiff, sore body the morning after lifting weights. I hate running. I do it when I have to (like when living in a foreign country and it's the only option,) but even then I hate it.

Yesterday, I was talking to my friend Ryan (refer to the picture of us freezing our butt's off in Times Square below) and he mentioned a Halloween half-marathon he's doing. I was saying that it sounded fun and he asked, "why don't you do it with me?"

Ummm...because I hate running.

I gave him a long list of reasons why I can't do it, including the fact that it's in 6 weeks, but he shot down every excuse I had. The big one is that I'm not sure my knee's can handle it. We made a deal. I train this week and next then see how my knee's are doing. If they're feeling good, I'm doing the race.

The first run today sucked. I hated it and may not have consistently ran the whole time. The worst part of it is that my knee's felt fine. That means no backing out yet. Any encouraging words or tips to make running less miserable would be greatly welcomed. Six more runs until I decide whether or not this will be worth it.

In case you were wondering, the condensation on the lid of my hot chocolate froze. That's how cold it was. I vow to never go to New York in the winter ever again.