Sports Saturday

Sports Saturday! And yes, it is a sporty weekend for me! I have my first "long distance" running race since the Austin Marathon tomorrow as I run the Heels and Hills 1/2 Marathon. I got to Irving, TX this afternoon, picked up my packet, and drove the race course. There are some hills, but they are TX hills--so nothing too bad really, looked like the downhills were better than the up-hills, so that is always good. Not the most scenic route, but I'm not paying that much attention to the scenery when running anyhow. I expect there will be a few men, but it is mostly women. I do not have a time prediction, but of course would like to be as close to my PR of 1:39:54 as possible! So, we shall see. There are not very many aide stations, which is why I'm glad I have my fuel belt. I only have two water bottles on it...but with the aid stations, that's all I should need with my GU. The weather should be quite nice, so we'll see how hard I can push it.

Also, today is the Kentucky Derby, and while I know nothing about horse racing, it is still a sporting event, so I have now given it it's dues. Definitely not a place I'd ever attempt to gamble some of my money away. I think I'd have difficulties losing a couple of bucks in Vegas. A friendly game of poker may illicit $5-$10 from me, but that's about it. If I'm going to put my money into something, I want something out of it. Some of you may say, well why do triathlons and running race? For the t-shirt of course...haha, just kidding! Though the t-shirts are nice (especially when they are the tech-tees), I do get a lot out of them--I get the fitness from training, I get the experience of pushing myself, I get to meet great people and see interesting places I wouldn't see otherwise, and I always get a mark to measure myself and where I am. So, I do get a lot of running, and biking, and swimming, and whatever physical endurance event I put myself through. Discovering and embracing this element of sports has not only been a major stress relief for me, it has made me a stronger person, it has given me hours upon hours to look within myself and discover more of who I am. Endurance is not something I just apply to workouts and racing, but something I apply to life. This, endurance, is a lifestyle in ever aspect, not just in racing. Life demands endurance--if you give up when it gets tough and you think you're hitting the wall (or bonking as it is called), then you will never get better, you will never rise from where you are...we must press on, so why not do it in everything?

Have a great weekend! I'll talk at you 13.1 miles run and 170 miles driving later!