My dad, the baseball (and running) fan

My biggest cheerleader is in town, and I’m ready to race!

My biggest cheerleader: Dad (when I say "biggest," I mean best not "biggest" as in size; but, at 6'4", I think he actually is the biggest in size).

He loves going to races. He enjoys all the aspects of a race (even the pesky early-morning start). He takes a ton of photos. He checks on me the rest of the day: Are you OK? Do you need some Gatorade? Are your legs sore? (This is even after a 5K). He thinks I did great no matter what.

Some of my dad's photography work

My race: a 5K on Sunday.

I ran this 5K last year. It is an awesome course along the beach, and it is flat and fast (or so I’m hoping). I really want to test my “speed” (there are quotes around it to indicate that this is a ridiculous term to use). Perhaps I should use “progress.” Yeah, that’s less ridiculous.

In the meantime, we’re going to hit some spring training games … it’s the most wonderful time of the year!

Things I realized today

Since I'm home alone during the week (my boyfriend works out of town), I have a lot of time to think (for some reason, I still can't get my dog to talk to me). As you probably guessed, me thinking is a frightening thing. In my thoughts today:

• I love running outside, but I need an out-and-back path. If I miss my training group (like I did both nights this week due to pesky work), I run around my neighborhood (usually – see below for the exception). The problem: my neighborhood has a 2.5-mile loop. I hate getting back to the beginning and having to run past it. It's too easy to call it quits early. Even if I don't, I'm still bitter about running past the start and having to come back. Silly, I know, but I'm silly.
  
• I still hate the treadmill. After working late and missing my training group today, I felt like the treadmill was the safest option to run. This is because I forgot about the face-of-the-sun temperature of the craptastic condo gym. Running in this temperature with no fan is not safe. Even though I didn't like it, the run is done. And, in another three months, I'll forget how much I really hate the craptastic gym and treadmill and do it again.

• The only show I watch religiously each week is "Jersey Shore." This is sad and pathetic, and I'm embarrassed. But, at 10 p.m. EST, I was by my TV to watch.

Wacky Wednesday

Time for some weekly wackiness:

• I'm SO slow to get hip to this (as turtles usually are), but I've become mildly obsessed with Twitter. I can follow all of my favorite celebrities and sports stars and help fulfill my need for daily celebrity gossip and information.
• It's the coolest thing. You can learn about things before they hit the mainstream news. Like I knew that Chad Ochocinco got peed on by a lion at a charity event instantly instead of waiting to read about in the news a day later. Important stuff, people!
• I love sports. Especially baseball. So, I'm super pumped that spring training is here. My dad always comes to visit for a week, and we hit as many baseball games as we can.

• It's also one of the few times I'm able to see this guy (since he's decided to hide in his house every Sunday during my long runs).

You can run, Derek Jeter, but you can't hide. Well, except on Sundays.

The reasons why work is pretty darn awesome

I have some pretty awesome coworkers.

Caroline, who is featured regularly on this blog, started me on this wonderful running journey. We run many races together, and I enjoy the races I run with her (even that terrible, dreadful, miserable first half marathon) more than any I've ever run by myself. 

Theresa created this masterpiece on the dry erase board (a.k.a. the doodle board).

I'm the turtle, in case you're wondering.

And this rockin' poster.

Theresa also has a blog that everyone should obviously check out. 

Work can be a hassle sometimes (I guess that's why they call it a job), but people like this make it all worth it. 

The half marathon that wasn’t

I had a half marathon on Sunday. I woke up at 4:30 a.m., got ready and left the house with my dog and boyfriend.

A bit concerning: the wind and rain and the possibility of lightning (thunderstorms were forecasted).

We drove to the race site (about a 20-minute drive). I was hoping the rain and wind would stop by the time we got there. It did not.

I sat in the car, watching people struggle even walking in the strong winds and dodging rain. It did not look fun. At all.

I kept watching. I debated whether or not this would be enjoyable. I decided it wouldn’t be. So, we drove home. But, not before stopping once or twice for me to think about it some more.

Many other runners dealt with the conditions. And, it even stopped raining early in the race (so I hear). The winds continued, but people said it was still a really enjoyable race.

I’m regretting not running the race now. I don’t have the sweet medal in my hands, and I should (but I’m a wimp).

I got the sweet shirt, but I’m going to feel like a fraud wearing it. 

Oh, joy!

One of my biggest fears (along with dark water, fire and Crocs – the shoes, not the animal): lightning. 

So, you can imagine my excitement when I saw this.

Why, yes, 6 a.m. is the start time of my half marathon. Gah. 

I keep obsessively checking the race Facebook page. The word: "The race will go on rain or shine. The race will only be cancelled if weather conditions present imminent danger to participants. At this point, everything is on at the scheduled times. We'll be keeping an eye on things and will update with any new news as we get closer. Please stay tuned."

Aside from my extreme fear of lightning, I have an aversion to waking up early. So, I really don't want to wake up at 4:30 a.m. just to find out the race is cancelled. But, I guess as long as it prevents me from running around screaming and crying like a little girl in lightning, I'll do it. 

A Bieber birthday and a run

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Happy birthday, Biebs! Yes, I am a 30-something woman that likes Justin Bieber. I’ve got issues. This may not be the biggest of my issues, sadly.

Oops. This already happened.

Aside from a Bieber birthday party (I kid, I kid), I had my last training group run before my half marathon on Sunday. It was 40 minutes of pure sweat. It was hot and humid and disgusting. Aside from that, the run was fabulous.

I really don’t have a particular time goal for this race. Well, I kind of do. I’d love to get the same time as my half marathon three weeks ago. So, a 2:33 finish is fine by me.

Looking like a complete tool, but I was happy with my time.

The forecast concerns me a bit. I’m trying not to worry about it, but a 40% chance of rain and windy conditions are worrisome. Also worrisome is this race’s start time: 6 a.m. I’m not a morning person. I can handle waking up by 6 a.m., but being somewhere and being functional by 6 a.m. is another story. I apologize in advance to anyone I run into there. I will most likely be out of it and perhaps grumpy. Sorry.

I will recover when I get this sweet piece of metal in my hand.

That, friends, is why I chose to do this race. Believe me; it wasn’t that pesky 6 a.m. start time.