Outback Distance Classis Recap + Thanksgiving

So Thanksgiving is over and now it's Christmas, which is really scary to think that this year is over already.
Thanksgiving morning I woke up bright and early for Jacksonville's "Turkey Trot" the Outback Distance Classic- Nothing like running a half marathon to really earn your dinner!

This was without a doubt probably one of the worst races I have had- I seriously almost quit like 17 times during the race. I was given the ok to go out at a 9 minute pace which would have put my finish time at 1:58 and I was content with that. I managed to stay on that pace for the first 5 miles, and then just fell apart, my hip was already aching and there were rolling hills on the course and lots of turns and I wasn't being super careful. Combine all that with the fact that I don't really feel like I'm in shape from taking so much time off and you get a really crappy race. I mentally was not in it the way I needed to be, and it's hard to be mentally sharp when you have no control over your body and it could fail you at any minute.


John came out to take lots of pictures, which will have to wait for another post because they are at home, and I am not. I really think if he wasn't there I would have stopped somewhere along the way and made someone take me home, but I stuck it out, and finished in 2:05:06, a lot faster than my half last weekend, but still not up to my standards. I have never had a bad race like this, where I literally wanted to quit, I love to race, I am not fast but I can execute a race plan to a T and that is why I think I love races because I always nail the plan, and I guess I did nothing I would normally do during this race, I felt reckless out there with no strategy. Oh well, onward and upward, the next race will be better.


I am now currently on day 4 of a running hiatus, I have another massage booked for later this week, and I have lots of cross-training plans, but truth be told I get very angry when I walk into the gym and see people running on the treadmills. I get even more angry at the people I see running outside. The goal is to go back out on Monday feeling back to normal and get back to my normal running, so here's hoping, not just for my sake and sanity, but for the fellow runners who now all have targets on their backs if my plan does not go well.