Friday, June 4, 2010

A confession...The Nike Women's Half Marathon.

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Well, I think it's about time to let the cat out of the bag...and once I say it, I can't take it back so here goes...

A couple months back, say early to mid April I got a call from my sister. She was excited, really excited. What could possibly have her so worked up I wondered? She went on to tell me about the most glorious half I could have dreamed up. The Setting? San Francisco. Awesome. Finisher Medals? Tiffany Necklaces. Who hands them out? Firefighters dressed in tuxedos! Swoon. Rumors of a "Chocolate Mile"-unconfirmed at this point, but given the rest of the awesomeness, I'm not discounting it yet. Possibilities for fun after running? Endless. Wine tasting, exploring the city, visiting family and friends, basically something I couldn't pass up. She had me convinced. I was in. I signed up the next day with her group. The draw backs? We most likely wouldn't get in. Traveling to San Francisco would be expensive. I'd have to run another half (ha ha ha). Let's take a look at these one by one...

Not getting in...apparently they have to do a drawing because the demand to race in it is so high. It's capped at 20,000 participants, and not everyone gets in. Knowing my luck when it comes to drawings/the lotto/ etc. I figured we wouldn't REALLY get in. Imagine my shock when I got the confirmation e-mail that indeed we were in...which brings up the next point...

Expensive travel...gotta love those reward credit cards. Though I don't have enough to pay for the full ticket, I've got enough points to take the price to the reasonable range. Plus, I wouldn't need a hotel-another major perk. Just the spending $ and the ability to get out west. Definitely do-able. Plus, this HAS to be my year to get a teaching job, right?

Lastly, running another half. Really, not too tragic. I figure the 10K I did in May is practically a half of a half, and I do have until October to ramp up the training again. True that only leaves me slacking until next month, but really nothing too terrible. Plus, that sense of accomplishment at the end is so powerful, it's addicting.

So yes readers, it's official. I'm doing it. I'm San Francisco bound in October to run with 20,000 other ladies and get a great workout and the ability to eat as many freakin' calories as I want for the day. Who can argue with something that great?