Houston and Pancakes, Plus Some Running

Week of February 17, 2014:

Monday:  Long run!  81 minutes total, ran 70.

Tuesday: Off

Wednesday: Off?  I can’t remember.

Thursday:  Another run!  61 minutes total, ran 46.

Friday: Off (Off to Houston for some friends and fun!)

Saturday: Evening walk

Sunday: Another run!  62 minute total, ran 57.

Total minutes walked/ran: 204.  Estimated miles: 19.4  (Wow!  That’s amazing for me!)

Last weekend, Paul and I took a mini-road trip to Houston for an overnight visit.  It was awesome!  We ran some errands that Paul had on his To-Do list, then we met up with his friend Brandon and family for Italian food at Candalari’s.  From there, we dropped in to visit his sister and her wife for a bit, and finally we joined our friend Courtney at her place, where we spent the night.  Courtney had friends over, so we all stayed up late talking and becoming sleepy-eyed until we snuggled down for the night.

The next day, we all went to brunch at Black Walnut Café.  Paul and I now have a ritual where we ALWAYS go to Black Walnut Café if we are in Houston for brunch time.  In fact, I bribed Paul into staying overnight by offering to treat us to a meal at Black Walnut, which he accepted.  It’s definitely true that the way to Paul’s heart has been through his stomach!  Usually, when we go to Black Walnut, we each order a savory entrée and then split a pancake.  This time, Paul ordered the pancake and then ate EVERY bite of it!  So that left me with a pancake craving so bad that I had to make some when we got home on Saturday.  Pancakes are such comfort food—I’m happy I can make a decent batch at home.  Sometimes you just need a plateful of comfort food, drizzled in maple syrup.

The half-marathon is this weekend, and my training for it has been lackluster at best.  I’m indulging in some blogging today before I head out for a long run.  My goal is a 90-minute run, but I’m going to see how I feel at 70 minutes (which is what I ran last week for my long run).  I am struggling SO MUCH with the “activation energy” for a run—that is to say, carving out the time and then actually getting my butt out and running.  I enjoy my runs once I’m out there, but the thought of lacing up for a long run is so daunting these days.  I’m hoping my running mojo will come back after the pressure of a race is off of me.  Then I can go out for short runs and not worry or feel guilty that they’re short.

I know I’ll finish the race on Sunday.  I also know that it won’t be a PR race.  I think this is okay.  But part of me regrets spending $60 on a race that I didn’t train very well to run.

Have you ever signed up for a race only to regret it later?  How did you talk yourself through the disappointment?

(And on that note, as soon as I publish this, I’m off to run my 7+ miles!  Happy running, friends!)