New Years Day Half-Marathon (Forsyth County, Georgia)

 

As I've been realizing with my recent hikes, I'm very out of shape at the moment and I really need to get my butt motivated to fix that. A few weeks ago, I learned of a half-marathon being run on New Years Day in nearby Forsyth County. While I'm not in shape for it, I though it might be a good motivator and so I signed up. Also, the very inexpensive registration fee meant that if I ended up skipping it, I would only be out $24.

Having gone to bed well before midnight last night, I awoke early and debated if I really wanted to run this morning or not. It's dark and cold outside, and I'm going to run a horrible time. I forced myself to get up and get dressed though. I know how I work and it's very easy for me to make and accept excuses for not doing things like this. It's a habit I need to stop and this morning is as good a place as any to start.

After the forty or so minute drive to the starting location, I left my car to check-in. It's cold this morning, around 37°, but the only way to do a thing is to do it. That's just what I'm going to do. I returned to my car to pin my bib to my shorts and enjoy the heat until just before the starting 'gun'. As the countdown finished, fifty or so people crossed the starting line and began our journey. This is actually my least favorite type of race, which includes repeating the same route multiple times. I would generally never sign up for a race like this, as I tend to prefer scenic routes, but given the price and my need to get motivated, I signed up anyway.

I ran the vast majority of the first lap, but soon had to take a walking break for a bit. From there, I would alternate between walking and running the next three laps, which the last lap being almost entirely walking. By that point, my legs were shot and I was just forcing myself forward to finish. I crossed the finish line near the back of the pack with a time of 3:02:59, which is horrible for me. I need to do better and I hope that this experience gives me the motivation I need. For now, I feel exhausted and I'm heading home to shower and relax.