Runfessions – March

It is once again time to visit our monthly confessional. Let me unburden myself by sharing some of my running sins with Marcia’s Healthy Slice for our monthly Runfessions.

Let me first runfess I was not at all happy to have to get up at Zero Dark Thirty to board a shuttle bus before running the Marine Corps 17.75K in Prince William Forest Park near Dumfries, Virginia. (Race report coming soon.)

3,300 or so runners (including hubby Bill and me) shivered in the cold, dark staging area before the race, trying to stay warm. I had a sweatshirt and an extra pair of pants over my tights and tech shirt, but it was still very cold.

Bill and I decided to get in line for the porta potties almost immediately upon arrival at the staging area. We saw a long line moving slowly and assumed it was the potty line. Well, dear friends, you know what they say about what happens when you assume.

I must runfess that after standing in the line for 10 – 15 minutes, we began chatting with the fellow in front of us. He told us this wasn’t the potty line at all, it was the line to get into the nearby church in order to warm up! The porta potty line was much shorter and was to our left. We sheepishly switched lines.

I must runfess that I had an ulterior motive for running the Marine Corps 17.75k. Yes, many runners run this race because everyone who finishes in under three hours gets guaranteed registration into the Marine Corps Marathon, relieving you of the uncertainty of dealing with the lottery to enter the race. I guess that guarantee was one ulterior motive of mine, but I had an ulterior, ulterior motive.

You see, I ran this race with Bill, which meant that he also had guaranteed access to registration for the Marine Corps Marathon. I was hoping that guaranteed access would incent Bill to sign up for the marathon. Last year, Bill did not run MCM with me. He said he was finished with marathons after the Berlin Marathon in 2017. Bill is not a big fan of the training miles leading up to a 26.2-mile race.

But…Bill signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon using his guaranteed access link. Yay! So happy that hubs will be training and running the marathon with me this October. As a matter of fact, while we were walking the dog today, Bill surprised me by saying that we should run another marathon this fall since we will be trained up anyway. I must runfess, I was astonished. Who is this man?

I must runfess I was not excited about the prospect of doing a trail run with my hubby and trail-running friend Al today. It rained yesterday and the trails we planned to run on are wet even under the best conditions. I am fighting a bad chest cold and feeling kind of blah. My legs are still feeling the effects of running an 11+ mile hilly race over the weekend. And…cue the violins.

When I finally stopped making excuses and hit the trails with Bill and Al, I had a great time. Oh, the guys had to wait for me at several points during the run, so that I could blow my nose, but it still felt great to be out in the woods running. As always, I am so glad I went. Why can’t I remember that before I begin making excuses?

Thank you for once again witnessing my runfessions, friends. See you next month, when I will once again unburden my running soul.

 

I am also linking up with Fairytales and Fitness for Friday 5