Marathon Monday: Race 131

I just told you that I don’t like surprises. I had the surprise of my life this past Friday when I realized that my half-marathon training was a week off.

Instead of running on June 13th, I would need to run a half marathon on June 6th. I found out via Facebook from my friend who was also running the race. Look at his photo. Then look at my comment.

There was like a five-minute gap between when I left a comment and when I thought—hold on, do I have my dates wrong?

(Oops! Thank god for Facebook.)

I grabbed my mobile and looked up the event. (It’s called Race 131.) When I realized my mistake, I had a f-king meltdown because it was ten o’clock at night. I would have to get up at 5AM and run a very hilly race on tired legs. I wasn’t properly fueled, rested or even mentally ready to tackle those hills.

But I ran the race because what the hell else am I doing? Woke up at 5AM. Picked up my packet. Ran a 10:17 average pace for the first five miles. Started running intervals around mile 8 because we gain 300+ feet of elevation over the second half of the race. The last mile was difficult, but it’s always difficult.

The good news? Holy crap, I can overcome my diet. I can spend an entire day eating a chocolate shake and noshing on guacamole and bean burritos and chips (and drink two margaritas) and still run a half-marathon that comes out of nowhere.

Surprise? Nah. I knew I could do it.

I wanted my final race of the early season to be faster, but I’ll take it because it gives me a good story.

So this is my last Marathon Monday post until the running season kicks back up. I’ll spend the summer working on lifting my knees and strengthening my core (and eating guacamole) and then get back to long-distance running in August.

Thanks for your support.