Shamrock Half Race Report

After the race this past weekend I realized there was NO WAY I could only write one post about the Shamrock Half.

I did a 1,2,3, punch of posts on Monday about:

-What I'm Going to Do Next

-Why It's Worthwile to Run a Race with a Friend Who is a Half Newbie

and
-What I Did Leading Up to the Race

Did I mention yet how much I LOVE THIS RACE? Maybe because it was my first half. Maybe because I think Yuengling is delicious. I'd have to say [nationally] this race is REALLY a hidden gem. We get running magazines at the gym where I work. The Rock n' Roll races and Disney races tend to get a lot of advertisement. I'm not actually sure which company puts on the Shamrock but I know it's different than the company that does the VB Rock n' Roll. As far as I know... this company puts on the Virginia is For Lovers 14k and Blue Moon Wicked 10k. I'm not sure what else.

I'm a big "holiday" person. I guess I never fully grew up because anything that involves dressing up/themes/or costumes sounds like a great idea to me! I think part of the reason I like the Shamrock so much is there is a VERY clear theme going on in this race. The race technical shirts are green, so even people who didn't go out and buy a green running outfit are "dressed up." That said: A TON of people dress up for this race. At the very least a green shirt. Many more go for goofy costumes. I have no clue how they do that for the full 13.1 miles. But its one of those things where you are scared you could look stupid, until you show up at the starting line and then start questioning what ELSE you could have done to be more festive/tacky.

There were 4-5 DJs along the course and a Live Band. The crowd really gets into it! For example there were a bunch of teenage girls spectating dressed up as super heroes. A guy in a Banana costume. And a few "beer stands" along the way. (We opted to pass on the beer until the end). There's also quite a few signs with fun phrases on them. Basically, just as you are starting to get bored, something is ahead that interests you. (Not quite the band at every mile that a Rock n' Roll race would have, but still a fun and VERY FLAT course.) The race starts on one of the main streets in Virginia Beach (Atlantic Avenue), goes onto what looks like a closed off interstate(Shore Drive) then you run through a base (Fort Story), past a lighthouse where you can see the water, through the neighborhood streets on the base, then back down Atlantic Avenue, before your turn to finish on the Boardwalk.

The finish line celebration is superb. There's a huge "party tent" on the beach with a live band. You can have up to four free Yuenglings or Yuengling Lights on draft. There is Irish stew. And you are on the beach. Really I can't think of more that I would want. Except maybe a long sleeve finishers t-shirt!! And THAT was what they gave out this year instead of a lunch box!!!

The race also emphasizes "going green" and has made a lot of green efforts. If you are into that sort of thing.

On the morning of the race we woke up at 5 AM and starting getting ready. We found one of the most random radio stations ever to listen to. One of those "we play everything" stations. So I got ready to songs I hadn't heard in a loooooong time.

Oh and I had my half marathon breakfast of champions:
Vitamin Water XXX and a Chocolate Chip Cliff Bar

I discovered a year ago this works well for me and I'm a creature of habit.

I drove us all to the starting line with these pre-race Jams blaring:

Bad Romance
Tik Tok
Party in the USA
Ride Wit Me
Sweet Caroline

One of my favorite things about races is probably the car ride there with music blaring when "normal people" are sleeping. I always have too much adrenaline to realize I'm tired or for it to feel early. Parking was a bit of an issue. We had to park 10+ blocks from the starting line and got to the starting area later than we wanted. We were in the Port-a-Potty line when the National Anthem was sung and the "Elite" runners started. I think we actually ended up starting with Corral 5 (instead of our own Corral 4). Not that it matters because of the shoe chip.

Mile 1:
We took it easy. Just chatting away. There were lots of people around us. It felt slow to me, but I knew I was running at a slower pace than I had been training. I looked at my watch at the 1 mile mark...never before reaching the marker. I did a [mental] Janice "OH. MY. GOD." when it read 11:45. There is pacing yourself and then there is running entirely TOO SLOW. This probably happened because of the mass of people/starting with a slower corral.

We passed the first of a few "beer stations" that had been set up along the course.

*Also worth nothing, Meghan and I do a Hi5 after every mile. We each take a turn on top then fist pound with an explosion :)

Mile 2:
The only thing I was thinking about was getting our time more "on track." Even though Meghan wasn't worried about time, I wanted us to finish in under 2.5 hours. The main reason being that I think if you run "too slow" it really just makes the entire experience more painful/longer than it needs to be. Once we could see the mile 2 marker we kind of sprinted to it. My watch read 22:something. My thought was "Okay, that's better." We were now going at a faster pace.

Mile 3
A DJ was playing the YMCA. This was really fun since everyone still had a ton of energy. Picture yourself in a pack of runners (all wearing green) doing the YMCA. That was me.

Mile 4
The Biggest Loser theme song was playing? Kind of cool since I love the show. It made me wonder if a previous contestant was running the race. Then the thought crossed my mind if one wasn't...WHAT was this DJ trying to say....regardless Meghan and I ran by waiving our hands in the air and got a shout out from the DJ

Mile 5
My favorite mile! There is a live band that plays Irish Pub Songs. I got a compliment on my hair from some random runners. One told me never to dye it. "I said I'm not. Then it wouldn't fit the theme of this race." This got more laughs than one. I didn't really think my comment was all that funny so running boredom must have been beginning to set in.

Mile 6
Boom energy gel was passed out! I think the race info said it was supposed to be at mile 8. This was really surprising. Meghan and I each frantically grabbed a Watermelon gel for later. There was also a DJ playing Eye of the Tiger. That song could never, ever get old!

Mile 7
We were now running on the base. Meghan and I did our signature singing/screaming of "Whoaah we're halfway there. Whoaaah living on a prayer. Take my hand and we'll make it I swear.Whoaah we're halfway there!" This actually pumped both of us up. And I think the people around us.

Slightly after mile 7 was the first time I drank something :-/ I skipped the water station at mile 5. I wasn't that thirsty yet, not thinking I'd have to pass the mile 7 mark before I could get Gatorade. I chugged this and felt sick for one second. Then I kept running.

Mile 8
I ate my Boom! gel for the course of this mile. Watermelon was a good choice because the flavor wasn't too strong. I was starting to get hungry at this point. There was a girl who had gotten sick on the side of the course and an ambulance was called. We ran on grass for a little bit to get out of the way of the ambulance. Once we got back on the road we saw our friend Sarah. The lighthouses were fun to look at from this point of the course.

Mile 9
We stopped at the waterstop. I drank water this time instead of Gatorade. After the waterstop we lost Sarah. BUT we saw my parents! We also talked to this guy running in a beer bottle costume who tried to card me. I told him to look at my shoe tag.


Mile 10
Meghan and I did a "HOOAH!" cheer in honor of the Army 10 miler
We saw my parents AGAIN. They had gotten in their Jeep and driven down to the next mile. I wasn't expecting that.

Mile 11
Guess who we saw? My parents. I can't believe they were at three different spots! There was a sign that said you're almost to the beer. I also sang one line of Don't Stop Believing. We met two ladies in their 30's who are running partners. Meghan told one it was her first and last half marathon. One of them said "Never say never." I said I'd never do a full and my friend pushed me to do the Marine Corp Marathon. She was wearing a 26.2 shirt.

Mile 12
Meghan and I sang a little Party in the USA. Meghan started to tear up a little when she realized she would actually run the whole race. I kept screaming "We're almost to the beach!" "We're almost to the beach" "You look awesome!" "You're so hardcore!" "You are SO legit."

A random girl from NJ started talking to us. She said she loved our halfway point song. It helped her. And she had lost her friends. This was her first half. I started telling her she looked awesome too. The course turned onto the boardwalk! 6 blocks to go! A spectator was chanting "Yueng-ling!" "Yueng-ling!" "Yuneg-ling!"

Mile 13-13.1
We sprinted. Meghan sprinted FAST. Haha. I sort of wasn't ready for how fast she decided to take off. I was lost in the realization "Oh my gosh. I could keep going! I'm only stopping because the finish line is there." I'm not sure how much farther I could have ran but my guess would have been at least 14 miles. Or to the 15 mile mark.I felt great! I had been jogging at a slower pace than I usually do. We finished in 2:26:32 (Chip Time). That was 45 seconds faster than I did it last year and I felt like I was on a jog. Not about to cry/die.

This was my first taste of "I should go for a full." I know I'm not fast enough yet. Or mentally ready for this commitment.But I've said I want to do one in my lifetime and for the first time it truly seemed possible!

After the race I had 1.5 beers and ate the vegetables/meat out of my stew. The first Yuengling I POUNDED. (Whoopsies.) My friends were taking slow sips and mine was gone ;) One beer after a race is so refreshing much more after that makes me start to feel gross.


We hung out on the beach for a little while. And took fun pictures

I'm for sure doing this race again next year. I still haven't decided IF I were to commit to a full which race I'd pick. Originally I was thinking a Rock n' Roll could be exciting. Or Disney. And the MCM gets a lot of praise. But honestly, I love the Shamrock so much that might be the full marathon I'd pick. Not sure when. But if anyone is looking for a full marathon to sign up for next March... Based on the half experience I've had, I'd say the full has to be double the fun. And wow, Yuengling really does a great job of marketing itself. It's everywhere in this race.

I'm pretty pleased I had enough energy to be a goof the entire time and didn't burn out. I'm still smiling thinking about Sunday!

"Run a race with a friend...."

There's a very good quote I've heard---
[I guess from teachers. When I Googled the exact phrase the first link was an education website]

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

So true. They left out the importance of being able to crack open a coconut. But I'm going to go out on a limb here and say this is about more than just education or nutrition.

Tell a friend good luck and they'll eventually cross the finish line; run a race with a friend and they could become a distance runner for life. At the very least they'll remember it for life!

I realize I'm not that fast of a runner naturally. Sometimes I don't even think of myself as a runner because I've yet to get an "official time" that sounds impressive. But you know what I have my treadmill times. And I know I've done 2.5 miles in 22:10 and 3 miles in under 26 minutes. And 6 miles in under an hour.

I think I was nervous about the Shamrock because I didn't KNOW if I was trying for a PR or going to have a "fun race." And what would happen if I started with a "fun race" mentality but then my friend I was running with needed to walk and told me to go on... would it be too late to PR? I think a PR was definitely within my grasp but if I didn't start the race with that mentality there was no way I was going to realize my full potential. So was it even worth it? If that happened I'd want to do another race this Spring anyway.

Ideally, the Shamrock would have been the race to try to destroy my PR.
1) It's flat as a board. (There was some joke about a "heartbreak hill" on the course. I'm not even sure where that joke could have been referencing as a slight incline.

2) I was familiar with this course. I ran it a year ago and could recall the course in my head.

3) I LOVE THIS RACE!

4) The weather was perfect! It's not hot or humid yet in VA. But, I didn't have to wear running pants. And we couldn't see our breath in the AM like last year.

5) I've been training pretty hard. Probably harder than necessary "to just cross the finish line."

6) Not that I could have known this ahead of time but I "felt great" the entire race.

That being said... I LOVE Running. The Race Bug has bitten me for sure. I'm slowly but surely finding more friends to run races with...but I don't really have a friend who is slightly faster than me and could push me in a race. I have friends that blow my times out of the water and would never want to run with me. And friends that are less experienced than I am (which is a really weird statement to be making, but I guess I should just embrace it). So as I work to get faster I can either run races alone or run with friends at a speed that is slower than the one I've been training at.

I get the whole "running is a sport. Break your PR. Break your PR again and again mentality." If I didn't I wouldn't be reading running blogs, a book by Hal Higdon, and making myself sprint last laps at a speed of 8.5* on the treadmill. *If you're really fast just read 8.5 as 10 or higher.

BUT, I can see all the positives that running has added to my life. I would be a completely different person if I didn't run. And I know this because I never ran in high school. I feel like so many American's aren't tapping into the benefits of running. I wish they would because in addition to the whole "obesity thing" being a non-issue, I personally find that the mental health benefits and increase in energy are the best rewards.

I'm not saying if you're hardcore and have never ran a race with a "newbie" stop the hardcore training. But I have to say words can't even describe the feeling of jogging next to a friend who is about to cry happy tears at mile 12 when they realize they are actually going to complete their first half marathon without walking. Or when a random girl runs up to you at mile 12 and thanks you for the "Living on a Prayer" sing-a-long you started at the halfway point. It "really helped her" and she wants to finish the race with you because she lost her friends in the course of the race.

That was what I was blessed enough to experience yesterday. And I'll never forget it! Who knows how many races I'll do this year or in my lifetime. But, moments like that are what it's all about. I think running can be a pretty intimidating sport to a "newbie" or someone who doesn't run period. Luckily I've had some great encouragement from more experienced runners than myself and I do my best to keep that "Chain of Love" going whenever I can.

So proud of this girl! She accomplished a life goal yesterday!
If I'm being honest one of mine after we ran the Army 10 together was probably to be by her side to see her complete a half ;)

Shamrock Half Race Result!

Okay, so I’m not sure if anyone noticed, but I said NOTHING about my goals for the Shamrock Half Marathon. The reason being that I originally signed up to run this race by the side of my friend, Meghan. It was her first half. I did the Army 10 Miler with her in the fall when I was training for the OBX half.

In DC, all the snowfall that we had made getting to the gym pretty difficult here over the winter. Meghan wasn’t able to train as much as she wanted. I think the longest run she did before race day was 8 miles.

I didn’t want to leave her side. But I also didn’t want to walk. PERSONALLY, I don’t think I would have been able to run an entire half marathon with only one eight mile training run before the race. Up until yesterday I’ve also only ran half marathons alone. So maybe that’s why in my mind this seems pretty impossible/painful. And she did at least know what it’s like to complete a 10 mile race…..

I showed up in Virginia Beach on Friday night to pick up my packet from the expo. I finally got a race technical shirt that fits me (third half’s the charm!) I also bought a Shamrock Half Marathon T-shirt and shot glass. Last year I NEVER would have spent the extra money, but I knew I really liked this race and figured I’d advertise it to everyone I see at the gym (and anyone who asks me for a vessel with which to measure their liquor.) My three friends who were doing the race (MEGHAN, Sarah, and Caitlin) weren’t coming into town until Saturday. I used Friday night to catch up with some friends from college/watch March Madness.

On Saturday the four of us running the race checked into the Homewood Suites in Virginia Beach. It wasn’t ocean front (about a 15 minute drive to the starting line). But it had a special rate for Shamrock runners. We each paid $22 for a room with a kitchen, king size bed, and queen size sleep sofa. The hotel also had a free breakfast (that started early on raceday), pool/hot tub (Score!), and offered us a late checkout for free. I’d totally stay there again! For whatever money the hotel lost offering a cheaper rate it must have gained in loyalty by catering to the needs of runners!!!

Some of the hotels I researched online were requiring a two night stay for a discount or increased their rate because they knew a lot of people would be needing a hotel during what is typically their “off season.” Side Note: There is NOTHING that irritates me more than people who try to make a buck off of the running community (which is known for being friendly) and [most-likely] do not run races themselves. GRR. It makes me want to scream at them “Get off you’re ass or stop acting like one!” Not like I’ll ever encounter them. But that’s my opinion of greedy hotel owners and the people putting premiums on race bibs on Craig’s List.

Anyway, after checking into our hotel. We went down to the beach. Then we checked out the race finish line. The marathon bananas, pretzels, and bottles of water were already sitting out. We also saw a Yuengling truck making a delivery! It was a really warm day so Meghan and I didn’t bother to bring sweatshirts. As soon as the sun went down we realized this was a mistake and we’re both the proud new owners of VB souvenir shop sweat shirts. Mine’s black. Probably not something I would have bought otherwise. But, I’m sure I’ll laugh every time I wear it. And any piece of clothing that makes me happy is a worthwhile purchase.

We went to dinner at Giovanni’s Pizza & Pasta. Besides an understandably long wait for our food, (everyone and their brother (who was a runner) wanted pasta in an area known for seafood) I was pleased with this restaurant. We ordered three very different dishes [seafood Alfredo, pasta with meatballs and tomato cream sauce, chicken cacciatore] and all were delicious.

This was actually my first time EVER carb loading with pasta before a race. I’m weird and don’t really like pasta all that much. I might do it again. Since I felt great during the race…

After dinner it was more March Madness at the hotel (let’s not even discuss the bracket I made with Kansas winning it all) and I went for a dip in the hotel hot tub. I met two runners from OH-IO (a mother and daughter)…then it was bedtime. Right before bed Meghan told me

“I’m glad you’re doing this with me. This is one of my life goals. I’m nervous but excited to make it happen.”

Ironically, I had ran the most halves of anyone in our group, and I was the one who slept the WORST. I’m mostly blaming allergies/excitement but in the tossing and turning I decided..

“I CAN’T leave Meghan. There is NO WAY I can leave Meghan. I’m trying to run 4 of these this YEAR. This may be the only half marathon she does in her LIFE. I’m going to stick with her.”

Meghan (and I) ran the entire race in 2:26:32.

45ish seconds faster than I finished the race last year.

45ish seconds slower than I finished the OBX Half.

I have so many things I want to share that it’s going to take more than one post. BUT for those of you dying to hear a result. There it is. Oh and here is the four of us in a pre-race picture at the Homewood Suites on Cleveland St.

One Month Until Raceday!!!!

Eek!

At this time next month, I will have completed my third half marathon in 365 days. The Yuengling Shamrock Half conveniently falls a day before it did last year on the calendar, allowing me to say that. I feel like for the most part I'm on track to be ready for this race, no problem. I just can't putt around between now and March 21st. I'm hoping for a 10 mile run this week. And for the first time in my life, I'm hoping to do a run longer than 10 miles in preparation for the race.

It can't hurt right? I tend to have the mentality "I know I can force myself to run 3 more miles on race day" and do a few 10 mile training runs. Only problem is it does kind of start to suck after mile 11. So hopefully, I can run 11.5 or 12 miles before race day. We'll see. My motivation for doing so is I'm running this race with my friend Meghan, who is a half marathon virgin. We did the Army 10 Miler together and I want to be able to be goofy/silly/pumped up ME for those last two miles. Not be on the verge of tears. (It always gets kind of emotional for me those last two miles.) Actually that's putting it nicely. I'm not a crier. The thoughts that go through my head are:

A) A repeat of "This sucks. This sucks. This sucks." Note how well that works for a cadence. A "this" or a "sucks" for every step ;)

B) "Just run the whole thing and you never have to do another one of these again."

C)"You will never forgive yourself if you walk."
or
D) WHERE is that mile marker?!

So, basically I'm Little Miss Sunshine at the end.


I may have to whip out these phrases with Meghan but hopefully I can do some Party in the USA singing and HI-5ing or something. I think mentally it's going to be huge for me to not have to worry about a hill like in the OBX half. The bridge on my blog title is from that race.

Although I've touched on a few of these. Here is a recap of my runs last week:

Friday, February 12: 6.5+1.5 miles
Saturday, February 13: 1 mile
Sunday, February 14: 4 miles
Wednesday, February 16: 8.5+ .5 miles

So a grand total of 22 miles. Not too bad for feeling like death starting Monday.

Running After Work and iTunes

I RAN 8 MILES TODAY! And it wasn't really all that hard. The only pause I took was after 5 miles for a sip of Gatorade and I was off jogging again. (I'm trying to simulate the water stations...or get used to the idea of a water break.) At this point in my training speed and times do not matter to me at all. I want to run at a pace that is less than 12 minutes per mile on the day of the Shamrock. I don't really have much to go off of except that when I did the Ashland Railroad Run 10k... I finished in 1:02:something. That's pretty good for 6 miles. A little over 10 minutes per mile. I know in that race I started off fairly slow... and kicked it up for the last two miles. I would say that is my strategy at this point for the Shamrock... pace myself...and have enough energy to "bring it home" the last 3 miles.

I set the treadmill at 5.1 today. Which I maintained until the last 2 miles when I increased my speed. I always think it's better to finish strong than to run out of energy too quickly. The last mile was under 9 minutes! The first time in my life I have run 8 miles and I was able to do the last one at that pace....what an incredible feeling.

Three thoughts I want to throw out there:

1.) Running after work is really difficult for me. I think because my feet hurt from walking around in heels and I just prefer a morning run. When I did 7 miles, I forced myself to do it after work (although you are supposed to do the long runs on the weekend.) Honestly, it kind of sucked. It wasn't hard in terms of endurance but my legs felt like lead for a lot of it and I forced myself to keep going. I just assumed it was because I was running 7 miles.

Today was the exact opposite. I felt great after the first 5 miles and excited to do 3 more. I definitely got a runner's high and felt like I could do more. I am sticking to the Hal Higdon plan because I think its better not to shock my body with a dramatic increase in distance. I like that he calls for consistency in training.

This week I kind of slacked off with the running during the week. I did 3 miles on Monday... took Tuesday and Wednesday off... and then ran 2 on Thursday and 1 on Friday. (At this point that is pathetic. If I was just working out that would be okay (maybe)...but I have to run 13 miles in March. 1 mile is a joke in terms of preparation.)

I have to be at work at 8:30 A.M. My commute takes 45 minutes. Now that the shorter runs have increased to 5 miles... its kind of hard to get that in before work... I've decided to go for punctuality over training... but I will need to figure something out. I definitely prefer morning runs over evening runs (and freeing up the evening).

My favorite feeling of all is waking up and knowing the only thing I HAVE to do is run. (Like today through next Wednesday). So that is why I'm not too concerned about the slack off this week. I know I will get all of those runs in between now and Wednesday. Today was the most important of all!

2) MAKE A LONG RUN PLAYLIST! I did that I think before I started training at all. I have Bon Jovi's Livin' on a Prayer at 3 miles and Rodney Atkins's If You're Going Through Hell around 7 miles. I might want to move Livin' on a Prayer to my new halfway point... but having a long run playlist seems to be the best idea in the world.

I ONLY listen to this playlist if I am doing a long run. If I am going on a shorter run I listen to a different playlist with more random songs. I think it helps to recognize which song is coming next and in my mind know where I am. If I listened to the same playlist everyday I would be so sick of it. But I have the "familiar tunes" for when it counts.

3) This is kind of related to #2... the rules of the Shamrock 1/2 marathon state that headphones, iPods, Mp3 players, etc. are banned. There are bands playing music at some of the mile markers and I figured it would be okay to run sans-iPod.

The other night when I was watching TV instead of listening to my iPod...it seemed to take forever just to get up to a mile. I THINK I was more bored because I was on the treadmill. I used to run outside without an iPod and it was fine because of the change in scenary. I guess I never realized how much of a security blanket it has been for me in terms of the training...

Yesterday I started googling if this rule is actually enforced. I found mixed results. Some said that with thousands of people it is virtually unenforcable. I'm thinking I will sneak it... even if I don't start out using it.. as a just in case?

I've Been Slacking...

Not on my running, but on my blogging. I had every intention to NOT make this like any running blog that lists how far the person ran, their thoughts about it, and "Goodnight and goodluck."

Because that's boring.

I can't imagine why anyone I know or anyone who stumbles across this would want to read that. Except MAYBE if they also really like running. AND were bored.

I wanted to mix my thoughts on different aspects of running into the documentation of my runs, but then life happened. Obviously, I have mentioned the long hours of the past few weeks at work. And I keep going out of town for the weekend. So the fact that I've posted at all is remarkable.

So how about a combo of Week 5 and Week 6? These are the distances I've completed.

Week 5
4 miles
2 miles
4 miles
40 min cross train
6 miles

Week 6
4 miles
2 miles
4 miles
5k race (That is roughly 3.1 miles)

I think I love Hal Higdeon. This plan seems to be working so well. I looked over a few old posts and somehow when I mentioned 3 and 4 miles it didn't sound as easy as either distance is now. I have full faith in this plan.

Running Solo

So.. I signed up for the Shamrock Half Marathon...thinking my friend was doing it in preparation for her marathon in April. I now learn she is "looking into it." OH MY FREAKING GOSH. What have I done? My brother doesn't want to run the one in March either because he would rather be snowboarding.

I thought this was a good idea... it still sounds like I will have friends coming to support me. My parentals too. But I might be running solo. I emailed my cousin this weekend to see if she would be interested. That was Sat. AM., I still haven't heard from her.

Do people even run half marathons alone? I think its always a group thing. I'm kind of freaking out here!

In other news, this week training has taken prescedence to sleep. Yay?

Today I was just too tired from running 3.5 miles and 3 miles the past two days to try to do a 5 mile run at 10 P.M. I ran one mile and will be getting up tomorrow to run. It may turn into 4...since I have that pass from last week. We will see.

I'm not letting this hiccup stress me too much because I traveled this weekend. And fully intend on completing every run on this schedule. I'm thankful that I have extra time, so little things like this totally fit (and would not if I were actually trying to do this in 12 weeks. I would be soo stressed right now. My stomach would be in knots.)

It's Official

Tonight I signed up for the VA Beach Shamrock Half Marathon on Sunday, March 22, 2009.

OH MY GOSH.

I Just Got Emotional...

I'm still debating if I will do the Shamrock or Country Music Half Marathon.

Shamrock: Is earlier (March 22nd) and closer to where I live. It will be colder and I have less time to prepare--16 weeks. Which is really a long time.

Country Music: Is later (April 25th). My brother wants to do it. It will be warmer. I have more time to prepare.... but I have to fly to get there. I might just want a vacation in Nashville.

I decided to look for footage of both on YouTube and see which seemed like more fun. I didn't get very far before I got emotional over this video...

I was so moved by all of these people that prepared and the support that they received. They are in the process of reaching a huge goal and look like they are really enjoying themselves. That WILL be me this spring. I think the music got me too... Make sure you watch the whole thing.



With a couple tears in my eyes and goosebumps I admit that I'm weird. Fyi--I'm not really a crier.