The Runs

The half marathon I've been training for is quickly approaching and I have the butterflies in my stomach to prove it. I'm not quite sure what's making me nervous, the thought of running that far or the fear that I might poop my pants while trying to do so. I do know I'll be really glad when the whole thing is over.... the training has taken over my life for the past two months. My weekends have revolved around when I could do a long run and how long it took me to recover. I religiously watched the weather forecast to see if I should run on Saturday or Sunday because I didn't want to run in the rain. I was worried about going away for the weekend because I didn't know where to run or when I would be able to.

Both of these fears became reality this past weekend, when on my last full weekend of training, I traveled to the homeland to visit the family. My plan was to run with Rose and Aren, my running buddies, on Saturday morning, before I left. But when I woke up to a torrential downpour, I knew I'd have to postpone the run until the next day. I mapped out the route I would run in the homeland and hoped for good weather on Sunday.The route was a road that I've always loved driving, meandering up a hollow that follows a stream and through open fields and farmlands. Upon hearing of my running plans, my mother encouraged me to use the treadmill, to run a more populated route, or to not go at all. It didn't help that the weather was not ideal, totally foggy and completely socked in. Despite my doubts and the doubts of my mother, I knew I had to do this run anyway. The half marathon is this weekend, for crying out loud!Well, just as in many times in my life too numerous to count, my mother came to the rescue. She decided she would drive along with me and make sure I was safe. She drove to the first mile of the run, parked there and read her book until I passed, and then drove on to the next mile... all the way up to mile nine! She made the run so much better and not as scary and I'm so glad she was there... Especially at mile nine when I needed a ride to the bathroom stat!