I absolutely hate running. I never thought that anyone could REALLY enjoy it. It's a lie. People have to tell themselves that they love it, or they will quit. I signed up for my 4th half-marathon. Technically, it's my 3rd. 1 of them was on a relay team, and I only had to run 6 miles. But I had just almost died 4 months prior and spent 2 of those months driving back and forth to the NICU, and staying isolated after that for a few months. My first half marathon was 18 months after I had Landon, and I had a stress fracture on my right foot. The last few miles, my foot was on fire. My time was not good, and that was because I had tried to train in about 8 weeks.
I thought I'd try it again! The second one I ran, I trained in time, and I stayed on schedule with the whole triple crown of racing in Louisville. There is a 5 K, 10K, and a 10 miler before the half. I did the Papa John's 10 miler, and then training was so hard. I had no more energy after that. I found out later that it was because little Ella was growing inside of me and taking it all! So the last few weeks after the 10 miler, I didn't do any more long runs longer than about 5 miles. I was freaked out to actually run more than I had ever trained ( 10), so my time was of course not what I had wanted.....again. By the time of the half, I think I was about 13 weeks along.
My next race is in about 23 days. It's the Urban Bourbon Half Marathon. I might not make it through the hills this course. And the entry cap is much much smaller, so there might not be as many people around to help motivate me.
But at least I have lost some more weight, gotten into better shape, set a goal & stuck with it, and will have a cool medal !
And at this point, I don't DREAD going to run. I'm still not enjoying it, but it's not as big of a hate. I should have given myself about 3 more weeks to train, but I've stuck with my schedule pretty much & even ran in California along the beach.
If I'm still around after those hill sin Cherokee Park, I might post some pictures! Wish me luck!