Before & After: 13.1 miles in Virginia Beach

So I took a full week off after the Virginia Beach 1/2 Marathon because I was discouraged. Discouraged by the fact that my time was 10 full minutes slower than the 1/2 I ran in Arizona this past January, discouraged by the oppressive humidity, discouraged by the guy at the Expo who told me I was running in the wrong shoes (the day before the race!) and super discouraged by the fact that when I finished my hips hurt like someone had wrenched them from their sockets and then taped them back in with duct tape. Given all that, I was a little wary of picking up my running again right off the bat. The dangerous part is that I let my routine slip...one excuse led to another, which led to another, etc... Before I knew it, it was Sunday and I all but forced myself out for a 3 miler.
Then, Wednesday (Day 3) I went onto mapmyrun.com and found a 6 mile course in my neighborhood that someone had posted. Inspired by this new change in scenery I decided to take it on that evening. My only misgiving was that I couldn't memorize the route and had to carry a little slip of a paper with me telling me all the turns...I must have been a trip. Picture: 2 knee braces, hand-strapped water bottle on one hand, ipod strapped to my arm and a little piece of paper clutched in my other hand. The run went well, but I had to cut off the last 2 miles due to timing.
Yesterday (Day 4) I went back to to the routing site and found a 4 miler and then spent the rest of the day convincing myself that I was getting sick (I felt chest congested and wiped out) and that it woulldn't be healthy for me to run. This lasted all the way until I got to my house, when I walked into my room and put my running shorts on...followed by my shoes...and then I was out the door and running. This time it went better, and I'm really enjoying the new routes through Ardmore. There are more small hills than my normal route, which is throwing off my body (in a good way, i think) and when I got back I was feeling really good about getting out there.

Hopefully this re-invigorates me to get back into my schedule. I really want to be able to finish this marathon. It's one of those things I never thought I could personally do, and to be able to complete one may finally convince me that I can do whatever I put my mind to. Cliche, I know. But I'm feeling all cliche-y right now.