Prepared? No. No, I'm not.

It's race month (St. Pete Rock 'n' Roll Half on Feb. 12), and I don't feel prepared. 

How did this happen, you ask. Good question. I asked myself the same thing. My answer: taking a break from running, being a long run loser and a a recent run-in with a massive headache and resulting burns on my legs probably had something to do with it. Or almost everything to do with it. 

Then there's the fact that after pretty strict training for my first half marathon, I feel like it ended in a big puddle of disappointment. Yeah, I finished the race. But nowhere near the time I wanted, and I was pretty miserable the majority of the race. What if heat and humidity rear their ugly heads during this race, too?

Sweating through my shirt before mile 5. Not a good sign, folks.

Really, though, these are all just excuses. I should be better trained. I'm kind of disgusted at myself (some things I obviously can't control, like illness, but I should be able to work around the other things). 

But, there's nothing I can do about it now (besides doing my best with my remaining runs before the race). And, train better for my next race.