Just keep Running... Running... Running: I am a liar...

I lied…. I swore I would never do Hospital Hill again and I lied… I just finished another Year on the Hill….

My sister has become a race junkie and in the different challenges she has set for herself she also pushed a challenge in front of me to keep up with her (unknowingly… I think). So as soon as my scars healed from baby #2 I began my quest. And although I had slowed down A LOT I was determined ot catch that girl!

As my loyal fans may remember I completed the Hospital Hill Half Marathon last year when I was carrying my son… Poor kid. It was hot, hard and exhausting but I finished!

I promised myself that I would not embark on this one again- it was terrible and by terrible, I mean horrible, hard, disgusting, heartbreaking…. Terrible.

And then I get a text message wanting my birthday, address, and t-shirt size… Yes- even from my mom and sister this is a very suspicious email… I was getting signed up for something! They knew me well, they knew I would wait until it sold out and then “Oh darn, I can’t do it- sorry guys it’s sold out.” Point for them, zero for me. I was signed up for the first 10k of the year (there was a moment of panic that they put me on the 13.1 docket, but they didn’t - whew!!) I was unsure with it being hospital hill, but nothing ventured- nothing gained, right? So it was time to stare down the bull.

My first practice 6 miler was a fail… I decided to go on Memorial Day during naptime, it had rained that morning and it was HOT… recipe for a muggy, sweaty and swollen run because you can never drink enough water to prepare for that kind of run. I spent 20 minutes talking to my sister about how I didn’t want to run, 15 minutes debating turning around at the 2 mile mark and the rest of the time worried because my phone had died and if I was abducted Jeremy would never know. Needless to say, it was not a good practice run and I had a horrible headache afterwards- BUT I did it and I felt I could now conquer the hill.

Race morning started with a “why do I sign up for these” kind of mood when I had to roll out of bed before 7:00 am on a Saturday but as I got closer, I was actually excited for the adventure!

Pre-Race shot with my favorite running partner

There were so many racers, we had to do a stagger start, so we didn’t actually start until 7:45ish but we were ready to go! My goal for my first 10k was 1:20:00, but I have decided to give myself some slack for this particular race, and here is why….

EVERYTHING WENT UP…. ALL THE TIME (I don’t recall ANY of those downward slopes!)

But I ran smart this time around, I didn’t commit solely to my intervals, I walk the hills when I needed too and ran as often as I could. There were great cheerleaders and even better there was beer at the end that I could actually enjoy this time so I was ready to go!

It was very hard to pass the 5k turn off (mostly because it was the first DOWN hill I had seen) but I stayed to the path and made myself finish. And as a side note, when it came time to follow the path for the 10k, the half marathon was also embarking on a downward slope… seriously.

I didn’t make my goal… I was disappointed… I know, I know I shouldn’t be as I did finish but it was a hard pill to swallow for me. Yes, it was a big accomplishment- don’t worry I have heard it all but I really took it hard. I have come around enough to just rely on the fact that I get to try again and I will do better… don’t misunderstand me here; I get to try another 10K, no Hospital Hill. Seriously I am not doing it again- ever. For anyone or any reason…. Did you hear me wonderful sister of mine?