Why + Weekend Race

People ask me why I run all of the time. They don't get it. Most people absolutely hate running (except all of you and my amazing running friends) and cannot understand why I not only put my body through this on a daily basis, but enjoy it.

I run because I can. I run because it's something that I love to do. I run to see sunrises. I run to escape life. I run to enjoy time with my running friends. I run to spend time by myself. I run to sweat. I run to feel better about myself. I run to stay in shape. I run to be outside. I run because I like pushing myself. I run to feel the wind. I run because I am able.

Don't get me wrong, I sometimes ask myself the same questions. Of course, I love it. But, I sacrifice a lot of other things for my early morning wake ups and my weekend long runs. Sometimes, I question why. I have to remind myself that I'm not an elite and that I don't get paid to run and that I need to find a better balance. I've been working on this a lot post Apalachicola and am happy to say that my running has not suffered at all - if anything, it's gotten even better with the balance. But, just because I'm not an elite and am not paid, doesn't mean that it doesn't feel good to push. I know I have much faster times in me and that excites me. So, while I will never run a 2:25 marathon and may never break 3:00 in the full or 1:20 in the half ... I do feel like I have better running days ahead of me. I believe in myself and I like pushing to see what I can accomplish.

Enough of the why .... let's talk about the FUN stuff ... like ... I have a race this weekend!

I can honestly say that I just want to run well. I'm trying to convince myself that I can run that fast again, or even a tad bit faster (who doesn't love PR's). But, when I look back at my times that day, they are soooo fast! So, I'm trying to think of the other reason's why it is possible that I could do better:

1. When I ran my 1:37:35, I had only ever trained for full marathons. My tempos and long runs were paced around my "goal marathon pace."
2. It was HOTTTT that day.
3. I didn't run good tangents. Hello, 13.23. That's a full extra minute!
4. The course was hilly. I climbed 1,041 feet.
5. I walked a 5K the day before while carrying a 3 year old for over half a mile of it.
6. It's been three weeks, and I've incorporated half marathon pace into my tempos now.
7. It's going to be 50 degrees and perfect.
8. The course is flat.
9. I am not walking a 5K on Saturday, but instead will do a two mile run: 1 mile easy, 1 at 7:15.
10. Because if I want something bad enough, I can make it happen!!

There you have it ... possibly the most random post by me, ever!