I Didn't Race

The Rock n' Roll and I are not meant to be.  Even though I started feeling significantly better the week leading up to the race, I knew it was better not to try to push through it.  I would have had to do a run/walk version of it and would have taken at least 3 hours to finish the race and it just wasn't worth it to me.  Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a run/walk, but I know what I'm capable of when I'm feeling well and I just would have been frustrated the whole time had I gone.  I also want to continue taking it easy while I start building back up for the Nike Women's Half.  Even if I have to crawl to the finish I will get my Tiffany's necklace!

Despite not running in the race, I still went to the expo to pick up my race packet.  Probably the most expensive running shirt I've ever gotten.  My little brother and his girlfriend came to visit and made me feel not as sad as we wandered around looking at all the expo had to offer and navigated through the crowds of people excited to race.  It was hard not to feel bummed because the expo was huge and exciting.  I did at least get to snag a few free samples of Lara bars and there was a booth for the race my brother's girlfriend is running in a few weeks and it was fun to see her talk to the people and get really excited for it.

Race Goodies

This may seem like a sad story, but really the day was not a complete sob fest.  On the way to the expo we stopped at Spike Mendelsohn's restaurant We, the Pizza and got pizza slices the size of our heads.  Who can think about not running when you are enjoying that kind of cheesy goodness?

So now here we are.  I'm going to try to do a few three mile runs (with nice and easy walk breaks to appease my mother and to stay on the safe side) and then slowly, slowly build up.  There are 6 weeks until the Nike Women's Half, so there's not a lot of time to get back into shape.  Instead I'm going to focus on enjoying being out there again and running for the love of running.  It's most likely not going to be a PR, but honestly, it's felt so good to just run again (no matter how slowly) that at this point, I don't even care.  2013 is only a quarter over (what?!?!!) so there is plenty of time for my goal race.  Sometimes you have to slow down and be smart so that you can get better faster.  Please send patience vibes my way!!

Congratulations to all of you who rocked the Rock n' Roll DC!!!!!  You guys are AMAZING!!