Walt Disney World Half Marathon

Guess what!  I did it!

I ran a half marathon in 2:39:55.   

I also ran the 5K in 34 minutes and some change, but the swag wasn't nearly as neat.   Now I'm just HUNGRY.   I want to eat back every calorie I burned plus some.    I promise I'll write more about the experience, but for now, I need to eat some more and sleep some more.

Motivating The Unmotivated Runner

I'm pretty laid back.   It's one of the best things about me and one of the worst things about me.

On the plus side:  Growing up in a family where four teen girls shared a single bathroom, it served me well in terms of staying out of drama.   That's not to say I couldn't join in the estrogen-fueled hysterics of four pubescent siblings under one roof , but really, for the most part I've always been pretty happy to just go with the flow.    I'm a great team player and a great listener.   I'm perfectly happy to be the support crew rather than the star.   I like to have my roll and be left to it.   I get along with most people regardless of their political and religious views, because I just don't care to argue about much of anything.

On the negative side: sometimes laid back = lazy.  I know I'm supposed to wear make up to conform to some society standard of beauty.   I own make up.  I know how to use it.  I really can't be bothered to take the time to apply most days.   The same goes for hair dryers and flat irons....   I've got em' but I don't really feel any pressing need to deviate from my comfortable bare skin and pony-tail.   My mom puts on make-up to run to the pharmacy to fill a prescription.   I consider it an accomplishment to put on actual shoes, instead of Crocs or flip-flops.   I'm honestly just not that concerned with the cashier's perception of me.  I feel the same way about exercise.   Honestly, I just want to stay the same size so I can keep on wearing the same jeans I bought five years ago, because going shopping for new ones is a pain, and I can't get the ones I like on Amazon.com yet.

So the big question becomes HOW to motivate this unmotivated runner.   The answer is simple.  Piss me off.  A girl made me mad about my husband's dog training techniques and I went home and taught my dog to fetch a beer from the fridge - seriously.   Another person told me that I couldn't do a half marathon (in an irritating way) and so I decided I would....   And now I have to because I can't let that person be right.

Unmotivated Runner Sets Lofty Goals

I'm the girl who got benched from the high school cross country team for passing out after my first meet (which incidentally was junior varsity and only two miles).   My dad was a big distance runner and he always tried to encourage me to do it, but no....    I pretended to try, but my lack of motivation for the sport ran deep back then.   I recall at cross country practices, when Coach Poe would tell us to go out for an hour run (unsupervised) there was more than one occasion where I ended up jogging to my great grandfather's pool and taking a quick swim instead.   Now in all fairness, I was NOT the only one running off to go swimming, but I'm the only one who ever pulled a header crossing the finish line.  I slacked my way through practices and ended up getting dunked in the sprinklers after what I'm told was a dramatic stumble and slide over the line...   When Coach said I should see a doctor before continuing with my training, I did a secret happy dance while feigning devastation at not being able to join my team mates in their early morning sprints up the high school hill in 98 degree heat and 98% relative humidity.

In the nearly 20 years since high school I have completed three 5ks, each with several walk breaks, generally coming in around 35-40 minutes, (POINT OF CLARIFICATION:  ONE WAS AN UNOFFICIAL FUN RUN IN TRINIDAD AND I DRANK A BEER WHILE 'RUNNING') so I'm not sure what my motivation was to enter a half marathon....   Okay, I know exactly what my motivation was, but it's petty, and in retrospect, was a really stupid reason to shell out $160 to run 13 miles.

Never the less, I ended up on the phone with one of my sisters some time last year saying, "I just entered the Disney Half Marathon next January."    I guess it was contagious because within the next week, my three sisters and their respective husbands had also all entered the half marathon.  (My husband offered to fall on the sword and watch our son while I run).    Maybe it was just an excuse for them to go to Disney World, but whatever their motivation, it had to be better than mine!

I realize now that I should have started blogging months ago to share the whole experience, but now I'm a week away and I'm just starting this blog, so let's just leave it at I'm entered and I actually think I have a shot of finishing this thing in a respectable manner!