Oh no, it's been over a week since I've written anything. I went out of town for a few days, but that doesn't really explain the rest of those days. Oh well, commitment in blogging --and running-- is not about doing it every day or every time you have it scheduled. No, much more important and difficult is coming back after taking a break.Anyway, Friday afternoon I made a somewhat spontaneous decision. I decided that I should run a 10k race the next morning. My half-marathon training has gotten me to the point where I can run for about an hour, and that's about the time it takes mortals to finish the 10k, which is a little over six miles. I had known about an event, the Lucky 7 Run, for about a month before and figured that it would be just the right time to try out my 10k. I contemplated signing up during the month, and even got mostly through the registration webpage one time, but never did. This event, though, had day of race registration, so even someone as impulsive as I am could sign up for it. In the excitement of my decision to race, though, I decided it couldn't wait til morning. I went to some gym where they were doing registration for the race and signed up Friday evening.
Of course, after I made the decision to do it, things didn't seem to go very well for me. First, my stomach started acting up. As part of my new running hobby, I've read more about running than is probably necessary or even advisable and know that the worst thing you can do the night before a race is eat too much. And I didn't eat too much. I had a couple pieces of toast with peanut butter, and some oatmeal with fruit at around 5 pm. And half a big box of Chewy Lemonheads later on. I have no idea how my stomach got upset. Sidenote: Chewy Lemonheads are delicious, and I would totally recommend them for those times you aren't as concerned about what goes in your stomach.
Another problem, partially caused by my upset stomach, was my inability to sleep. I have this uncanny ability, whenever I know I have to wake up early in the morning for something important, to forget how to sleep. I know everyone gets this every once in a while, but I'm almost certain it happens to me more often than it happens to you. I went to bed around 11 pm, but did not fall asleep until 1:30 am, which is actually better than what I usually do when I forget to sleep.
That sleep was short lived. At around 4:30, I woke up. The forecast had called for it to storm all morning, but I noted to myself as I glanced toward the window that it was not raining. Almost as if to mock me for thinking it wouldn't rain, the bolt of lightning flashed and thunder roared almost immediately after. Within seconds, it started pouring.
The lightning and thunder and pouring rain were enough to keep me awake, but I also had to now worry about running in the rain. A look at the radar on my phone show that the storm was pretty big and could last for several hours, long enough to still be there come the 8 am start time. Despite the pouring rain, the chances of the event being cancelled were slim. For some strange reason, races are held even in the pouring rain and some crazy people seem to actually enjoy running in the rain. I have never run in the rain. My schedule is flexible enough that I will put off or skip a workout if the weather is too wet or too hot. And now my first "bad weather" run would be for a race, where there would be other runners and masochistic crowds. Bad weather and worry kept me up for probably an hour (or more likely ten long minutes that always feel like an hour to people who need more sleep).
My alarm went off at 6:30, and I got up right away. I had breakfast, but my stomach was still bothering me a little and I was feeling bloated. Nothing too serious for a normal day, but not good if I was going to run. So, there I was, feeling crappy (literally and figuratively) and tired. A look outside revealed it still was very much raining. I was mad at myself because I could have easily backed out of it if I would have just waited to sign up in the morning. Instead, I was already committed. Of course, that was the idea. I know myself well enough to know that I sometimes have to take out what I call an "insurance policy" to guarantee I follow through with something.
Resigned to the fact I was going, I left around 7 am and stopped at Russ's Market to get a poncho or something for the rain. In the dollar section I found some large garbage bags and bought those. I drove slowly towards Pioneer Park, people riding my butt and passing me often, a bad sign when you're going to a race.
When I got there around 7:30 am, the rain actually stopped and the clouds showed signs that they would eventually clear. The ground was wet, but my makeshift trashbag poncho was unnecessary, which made me kind of sad since it took me a few minutes to determine where to put the head hole and how to properly "cut" the hole with my fingers.
For the next half hour I walked around. I also went to the bathroom twice, once because I had to, and once because I'm always afraid if I don't go immediately before I start running, I'll have to go about ten minutes into the run. I also noticed the people around. The crowd wasn't nearly as large as it was for my first race, a 5k in Council Bluffs, IA. I also noticed that most of the crowd was of a decidedly female persuasion. The race was to benefit breast cancer, or the more likely the fighting of it, which probably explains that.
Holy crap, this blog post is over a thousand words long, so I think I will stop here, right before the race actually starts. Come back tomorrow for another exciting installment of "running out of my mind", a Mark Hautzinger production.
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