My Body Tells Me No, but I won't quit, Cause I want more

Ok, confession time. I tried to listen to my body. I really did. I made the decision, and I tried to make peace with the decision.

Then I picked up my race packet...because I already paid for the shirt.

The next thing you know, I'm laying out my gear like:

And tweeting out stuff like this:

And then I'm lining up in the AM with a couple thousand other people like NBD peeps. Just a little Jog through the city.

Let me tell you-It was hard, it was painfull, I may have inadvertently given myself hypothermia and my time was not my best, but it was worth it.

And not just for the bling.

Although the bling is super nice.

This was the first time I ran a race with a pace group. I ran with the slow pokes (the slowest pace group offered), with a 3 hour time target. Up until I lost them in the hills half way through the run, It was so very very awesome to run with these people. Seriously I have never laughed so hard while trying to keep breathing and running (it is much harder than you'd think!)

And I met so many awesome people on this course, because once I started talking, I talked to everyone, and everyone talked back. I got to see amazing people do amazing things, including getting to scream and cheer one of my new friends through the chute as she finished her first half. 

So it may have been painful, and at times soul crushing (as I struggled to keep up a run/walk and not drop to just a walk/walk in the last two miles), and I may have sworn off half marathons soon after crossing the finish line....

But I know I'll be back, standing at that start line again. Because This Mom Runs, and I like the tired, stupid reckless version of me who runs better than the fully functional but totally lazy (and slightly crabbier) version of me who dosn't run.

And besides, I look super bad-ass in a bat girl shirt.

Yes. Yes I do.

Press rewind then stop and pause

A little over two weeks out from my goal race, I caught a cold. It didn't seem like a huge deal, but I was cautious about it, even calling in sick to work one day to give my body the best shot at kicking it.

Two days later, it settled into my lungs.

That weekend, I tried to do a 10 mile shakeout run, along my usual path from Home to my parents. I knew I was in trouble three miles in, but ignored everything my body was saying and just tried to tough it out.

Seven miles in, on my way up a long slow uphill, I knew I was done. I could have walked the rest of the way to my parents, but due to time constraints I actually had to call my dad to come pick me up and drive me home.

This week was my last chance to see if I could shake this off and do the half. Just walking around and doing my day to day activity was more than enough for me to know the half was out of the question. Aside from the coughing and heavy feeling in my chest, pushing myself as hard as I did during that 7 mile run aggravated my hip and my left foot.

So, I'm registering a DNS. Trying to do the right thing and listen to my body, reset, and continue training with an eye (tentatively) on a fall half.

I've been quiet, because I didn't want to write this post. I didn't want to face this decision, and make it real. As recently as this morning, watching the Boston Marathon in all it's inspiring glory, I kept thinking "Maybe I can do it, if I take it easy."

But I think the hip pain was the deciding factor. I don't want to push it, try to do this race, and end up laid up for weeks (or worse.)

So yeah, that's where I'm at.