Happy February!

Happy February to you.

I'm trying to be in better spirits about February than I was about January, so bear with me here while I work my way through it.  One of my many issues right now is loneliness, so February bringing ol' V-day isn't going to help that, but whatever. 

So, on Sunday I went out to watch the Houston Chevron Marathon.  My friend Melissa was running her very first.  I was supposed to be running this race, but the ol' pelvic stress fracture took that opportunity away from me.  I wasn't really so sad about that when I took note of the weather that day.  The temperature was between 68 to 72 degrees and it was quite humid and drizzling most of the day.  I felt sorry for the runners and was quite thankful that it wasn't my first marathon.  Now, watch it be identical conditions next year when I embark upon my "adventure".  Oye.  Our first stop was Mile 6.  It was pretty cool because we got there so early that we were able to watch all the gazelles elites run by.  They are truly amazing!  I kept my eye out in the crowd for some familiar faces I knew were running the races - most specifically That Pink Girl, but alas...I sadly never did see her.  =(  I did cheer my heart out for all the runners.  As a runner myself, I know it means the world to me to hear people cheer.  It doesn't matter if you know them or not.  One dude told me he loved me.  I figured that meant we were dating and if I saw him again at a later mile marker perhaps we would become engaged, but no such luck.  I became hoarse from shouting my encouragements throughout the day.  We made it to miles 11, 15, 19, 23, and then to the George R. Brown Convention Center to congratulate Melissa.  She did great!  We were sooo proud of her!  I would also like to mention that we did see one guy running the race who wore a blue t-shirt that read "from 426 lbs to 26.2 miles".  Though I don't know who this guy is - he brought tears to my eyes.  Not only had he conquered one remarkable feat, but he had conquered two!  So very inspiring!

The marathon got me thinking about my plans for improving my running and achieving my goals.  I told myself that it's time to stop the pity party and time to start conquering my demons!  Tuesday morning, I got up at 4:30am and went out for a run.  It was 68 degrees and ridiculously humid.  A few hours later, it was 38 degrees.  What is going on Houston?!  Sheesh!  Last night I went out to run my coldest run EVER - it was 29 degrees (20 with the wind chill).  I managed 2.75 miles.  Post run, my house felt like an inferno compared to the chilly outdoors. 

In other news, I booked my vacation yesterday.  Uber excited about this.  Since I'm going out to Los Angeles to run the Orange County Half Marathon on May 1st, I thought I should incorporate that into my vacation.  It's really cool that I don't have to run this race alone.  A friend / co-worker of mine from NJ is coming out to Cali with her husband (also a co-worker of  mine) to visit their son and daughter-in-law who live in the same area where my brother and sister-in-law live.  This will be her first half marathon, though she is quite the runner! I'm heading out on Saturday, April 30th, and I will stay out there until Wednesday, May 4th.  On the 4th, I will head out to Greenville, SC to visit one of my best friends and her husband.  I haven't seen them since October '09.  I will stay with them until the 8th when I will arrive back in Houston JUST in time to celebrate Mother's Day with my family!  This means the mini triathlon I was going to do on May 8th is out.  I'm okay with that, though.  I think I really would rather focus on running this year and then I can consider a tri next year.

I also did more race shopping - one of my favorite things to do.  I discovered the Hippity Rock Half Marathon in Cypress, TX (VERY local) on April 23rd.  Do the math, my friends - this is 8 days before my Orange County Half Marathon.  Call me cRaZy, but I decided to take the plunge and register for it...I really want to be comfortable with the half marathon distance so that the marathon won't be quite so daunting for me.  I also found the See Jane Run Half Marathon in Austin on October 9th.  This is an all women's half.  I'm about 90% sure I'll be doing this one, as well.  Their slogan is "i run for champagne and chocolate."  How much do I love that?!

Well there you have it - you can tell, I'm sure, that now I'm all kinds of excited about what is in store for me running-wise, so my body better be in agreement!  =D