Pathetic Race Recap And More Racing News

In case you didn't hear my rant on twitter, Saturday's Big Fun Run didn't go exactly as planned.

I did it and finished! That's always a good thing!

But there was no clock/stopwatch at the end to see my time. If I would have known that earlier I would have timed myself, but of course I wasn't so lucky.

And of course, this on the website was a bit misleading....

Not sure about you, but I thought that meant I would receive a text message from the organizers after the race......

I'm like 99.9% certain I PR-ed too. I made sure to run my little heart out for 3.1 miles.

Oh Well.  My hefty new PR will forever be unknown.

Shouldn't really complain too much, though. It was for charity, and I got a medal! 

See? A shiny new medal and I only had to run 3.1 miles to get it. I had to run twice that amount last December to get a medal!

(End rant)

I have more important things to focus on now.

Besides having a winter wedding to plan (eeeeeeekkk!), I also have a half marathon to train for!

And I'm saying this out loud (well, out loud in blog form) for everyone to see so that it's official and I am forced to stick to it: Training starts this week for my half marathon on February 17, 2013!

I'll try not to bore anyone to death with daily training posts, but I would like to post a "sum up" at the end of the week, kind of in the style that Meghan from Little Girl in the Big World does it. 

I think this will always be first and foremost and expatriate blog. But to be honest, I like running! And I love running blogs. And I'm not trying to be someone I'm not by saying "hey, I run, I'm cool, blah blah blah..." because I will always get excited about sheep in the road and drowning my chips in vinegar. I will also get excited over my slow running accomplishments, as well. 

 

(Thanks for sticking by to hear everything I have to gawk about!)

So tonight, I'm trying something new. I'm going to run with a local running club (which I wanted to do in my expectations list. Hopefully, I'll enjoy it and want to join! If not, well at least I tried! I kept saying to the membership woman that I don't want to slow anyone down. But I've read that joining a running club is the best way to improve your running despite your preconceived notions about yourself. So I'm going out of my comfort zone (that's saying a lot coming from the girl that just moved to another continent) and going to join them in their group run tonight.

Wish me luck! 

Do you ever get worried about joining new groups even though you know it will be for the best? Tell me about a time when you left your comfort zone to do something you ended up loving (or hating!).

5K-ing Across The Pond

Remember that weekend when I registered for a race here in England? My first race as an expat and somewhere NOT in south Florida heat?

Well that race is this weekend! TOMORROW to be more specific.

And even though it's only a 5k, I am beyond excited! Probably because my first (and only) 5k went a little something like this....

That's me and my friend and yes those are our real faces. No that's a lie. But those are our real facial expressions. I'd rather look like not impressed McKayla Maroney . That's how bad it is. And just look at that massive sweat stain. Thanks, Florida. WTF is my arm doing flailing around like that? 

(Photo from thephotoguys.net, the watermark got a little cut off)

This time around, I'm going to put on my game face for the finish instead of looking like a sweaty Derpina.

I remember completely falling in love with racing. Even if I probably was the slowest one out there, it was more than just running. It's a feeling you can't get anywhere else, and I'm excited to feel that way again this Saturday.

Plus, this is a race for many firsts!

First race...
1. In nearly a year! That's too long if you ask me.
2. In England/Europe/not in Florida.
3. In the cold.
4. Where I can actually work towards a personal record (PR) since I've run this distance before.
5. Where I feel as confident as ever. 

Hopefully, I'll have an automatic PR since the 5K (3.1 mile) distance has become incredibly normal for me. Between 3-5 miles has been my go-to distance daily. I'm still not looking to break 30 minutes or anything; I'm unfortunately still too slow for that. But the cold air here has been doing me wonders so who knows what's in store for the upcoming months!

My bib number. Look how fun it looks! I'm a BIG FUN runner!!! It just needs some sparkles and jazz hands I think. 

And of course, in true Taylor nature, my race day outfit has been picked out probably since I registered back in September. Sadly, I left part of my race day outfit in America. COOL. So I have to run (no pun intended) into town to pick up a spare pair of shorts and wash them before tomorrow. Screw my apparently terrible packing skills!

Anyone else racing this weekend on either side of the pond? Or maybe you're kicking back and watching the football on the telly? What are you guys up to this weekend?