getting my money's worth

Miss me yet? I hope to be back to regular blogging and commenting after my trip, but thought I'd give you an update so that my first post when I return won't be a mile long!

With 4 sleeps before I fly out to San Fran, and 1 week before my next half marathon, I'm getting excited! I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't also nervous. My pre-race jitters are probably different from all of you though; it's not in anticipation of a great race, a PR or a time to be proud of.

It's been an interesting year, to say the least, with the last few months sometimes feeling like it's spinning outta control (but I know it could be far worse...). My emotions have run the gamut, and while both Terron and I have made progress, and have started the process of healing, it will still take some time. It finally caught up with me last week, my body couldn't find the strength it needed anymore, and I caught a cold, which I'm still fighting to get over. I took an entire week off from any sort of training, again. Looking at my training calendar, I have huge gaps during these last few months for various reasons, all unplanned. Things happen.

Today was the first day I had the energy to do anything physical, so I got on my bike for what might be one of my last outdoor rides this year. (I now completely understand why cyclists wear the little booties over their shoes, which I don't yet have) -- after a 40min ride out to Jay's football field to watch his tournament game, my toes were numb, and the boys thought I was crazier than they were having ridden in the chilly weather to watch them play! :)

I've mentioned this in the past; if it wasn't for getting selected in the lottery process, flight and accommodations already paid for, I wouldn't be training for a half marathon. But I'm grateful for the good running friends that I am going with, for the blogger peeps I will hopefully meet, and for getting lucky in the lottery, since we weren't last year.

I am not half-marathon ready. My mileage since returning to injury hasn't prepared me to 'run' this race. From June-Sept, I was training for triathlon, with the half marathon always in the back of my mind. But I was cautious, running only 3 days/week, never back to back days, increasing mileage very slowly, consistent cross-training, and not worrying about any speed. In the last few weeks, I've had a bit of mild discomfort in my leg. No knots, no sore-to-the-touch spots anywhere... more like little sporadic waves of pain on the front of my leg. I don't know what's physical or mental anymore. I can't possibly see how I'd have another stress fracture, having followed the above... (but if I do, I would be better served quitting running, seriously...) and looking for aqua-bike events.

I was hoping to get a bit of peace of mind prior to the race, it's not meant to be -- I'm so frustrated with our medical system. I was injured in May, got my requisition for an MRI the week after, which was finally done on Sept 30! Told a week for results... they're still not available. My Sports MD is only in the office on Thursdays. Guess what day I leave for SF... yep, Thursday. He also won't give me any info over the phone, I already inquired about that route.

My only goal is to get to the firemen at the end of the course get my finishers' t-shirt and Tiffany necklace. I'm travelling 3646 km for this event. I've been looking forward to this since April when we found out we were in. Never been to San Fran. I am in serious need of a vacation, a change of focus and scenery. I've figured it out. I will get my money's worth out of the course. That's right, I won't be fighting for a personal best, I will enjoy the moment, take in the sites, capture memories by stopping to take photos, and doing a whole lot of walking. I will be on that course for a long time, and I'm ok with that. Just out of curiosity, I checked Athlinks for last year's results... some over 7 hours for the half, I just wanna get to that finish line, and with 20,000 participants, I'm sure I won't be alone on the course at any point.

Don't think I've got it in me? Don't believe me that I'd walk most of it? I sorta did last year. I entered the virtual version of the Nike Women's lottery through Nike+, but once again, was coming off an injury. A few friends were running the Toronto Marathon that day, and I wanted to spectate, so I went downtown extra early, and walked. I accumulated just shy of 17km walking around before seeing them cross the finish line. Once home, I went out for a run of just over 4k to reach the required mileage. I was then shipped my finishers t-shirt and Tiffany keychain by mail. One of the other girls in my group was nursing a sore ankle... she said we can walk/run together.

So there you have it. No time goals, no expectations, just looking forward to a vacation with friends!

In other news, it's official. I will finally cross something off my bucket-list. I was supposed to go on a cruise in February with Jay and another couple. In light of Terron having just lost his father, I decided to cancel that trip, and have instead booked the two of us to go to Disney World in January (I've never been either!!). Seeing his face light up when I told him was nothing short of amazing, and I'm glad to give him something to look forward to :) 104 sleeps to go!