At the end of February, my Mom and I flew out to Dallas to run the Cowtown Half Marathon. What we could have never planned for was all the lovely snow that was falling when we landed in Dallas. Had a great time having snow ball fights with my nieces and nephew and my sisters and brother-in-law. We had a blast! Unfortunately that night over in Ft. Worth, they got hit with ice. So we started the day before the race not knowing if we would even be able to run a race, or how we were going to get from Frisco to Ft. Worth when the road conditions weren't looking too good. We eventually were able to get a train from Dallas to Ft. Worth (it was fun!). When we arrived in Ft. Worth we could barely walk out of the station to the sidewalk, everything was covered in ice. My Mom actually spent most of her time sliding around. Unfortunately there was a bit of a freezing mist/fog that was still coming down and the temps were around 30 degrees. We eventually were able to get a cab to take us to our hotel. And then we finally made it to the the expo. While at the expo they announced the cancellation of the Full and Ultra Marathons. The roads and course were just too risky, but they were going to be able to get the Half course cleared/sanded/salted enough for us to run the next morning. Mom and I ran the next morning, it was a great race, great course. It was about 30-32 degrees the entire time...so we ran out of energy over the last few miles, but we finished! Right now the plan is for me, my Mom and both of my sisters to run it next year!!!
After the trip to Texas, I had 20 days to get ready for half marathon #5. Which resulted in one run of a distance of 4.9 miles. I had a bit of a cold before I left for Texas, and by the time I got home from Texas...I had a bit more of a cold. So all the running plans I had to keep my legs ready for the next half went out the window as I concentrated on just trying to get healthy. A few days before the race I was actually able to start going back to yoga, so between that one run and a few yoga classes...I made it to the start line of the Newberry Half Marathon this past Saturday. And for the most part...had a great run. It ended up being a bit warmer than expected, so the last 4 miles or so of the race I had the sun beating down on me...but again...hung in there and finished. I was really not happy with my time...slowest one yet...but given how worn out I was going into the race...I'm just happy to have finished.
So that brings me to this week...where a few interesting things have happened. After the Newberry half, I planned on taking the month of April off, focus on yoga, maybe get back on the exercise bike...but to give my feet and legs a break from running. Well...plans have changed. Monday starts Full Marathon training...because I was one of the lucky runners whose number came up for the Marine Corps Marathon in October!!!!!!! I was orignally planning on running a Full in December. But last Monday...I decided that I was going to try putting my name in the lottery to see if I could maybe get in the race. Something was just telling me that the MCM was the race I needed to at least try for...and I was thrilled yesterday morning when I got the email telling me I was in! So then I started mapping out my training plan (my plan is based on the Galloway Marathon Training plan) and it worked out perfectly to start next week. I'll get into more of my actual training plan next week.
So there you have it!