On Like Donkey Kong! #July100Miles

It's pretty evident that I'm a magpie for shiny things. I do stupid stuff for costumes, medals, bits of code in the form of badges, etc.

This time it's a belt buckle. How very Texas of me.

I had seen this pretty on my FB feed and tossed it on my page half-kidding. Running Momma called my bluff and signed up.

Challenge accepted. Because mutual pain.

This actually is a really good goal for next month. I don't have to go fast. I can even walk. I just need to be diligent--a minimum of 3.25 miles/day. That means I can really crank out a majority of Zombies, Run! Season 2 (no chases), and Mister has been making noise about evening family walks.

#July100Miles Are you in?

Back to Training

For good or ill, I made the lottery for the Aramco Houston Half Marathon.

Nervous.

I've finished a half before, so no worries on that score (other than getting back into longer distances again). I'm a little worried about time cut-offs. According to the registration, I'm going to have to keep up a 13:46 pace through 9 miles at least.

This means that I'm going to need to fold in some interval training again. I know I will do better as well if I do some weight training and lose some poundage. I don't need to really start working hard until September or October, but I'd like to get back into the general flow again (fast run, long run, intervals).

In the meantime, I'm going to see how much of Zombies, Run! I can complete before the end of August.* I turned on the chases again this morning; while I evaded the zoms each time, the sprinting took a lot out of me. I ended up walking a lot more than I intended. I'm reminding myself that, hey, it's summer. It's hot!

I also have to figure out what to wear. I'd like a change from the WW costume, but it is a brand and this is a big race. Thankfully, I have time to figure it out.

* I had a whole blog entry on my head canon, but that seemed too weird even for me. 

Where Do We Go from Here

I thought this was the end.

With Facebook's new page policies, I'm not getting much exposure unless I want to pay for it. I started seeing this as an opportunity to let this project die a natural death. I've accepted that running is now part of my landscape. Getting out to log 2-3 miles at least three times a week is part of the schedule. I don't think about it--I just go. I think that I've finally accepted that I'm about as fast as I'm going to get. Until I get older and/or large portions of the population die off, I'm not going to be up for an age award any time soon. Finishing has to be the thing I focus on.

I still love the costume thing, but I'm finding a need for that less and less. I was going to do a super cute unicorn for the Awesome 80s Run, but that was cancelled due to lack of participation. I'll still do the WW thing from time, but I don't need it all the time now. (I do want to go cute, though. And wear tutus.)

For the sake of our budget, I've been cutting back on races. I did a 10K in February and a 5K in April, but I have to admit that I'm disappointed in my performance for each. The 5K I did in May, however, was really, really fun in terms of extras, and my performance was ... acceptable. I've tossed my hat in the Houston Half Marathon lottery; if I don't get picked, I'll volunteer again. 

Looks like this is the end, right?

Except ...

Except that I'm finishing Season 1 of Zombies, Run! and am probably going to dive headfirst into Seasons 2 and 3. Instead of binge-watching, I'm binge-running for the story (and to build my base). I want a place to share my head cannon.

Except that Enell is starting an Ambassador Program. I would have never started running--never even considered it possible--had it not been for this sports bra. I already sing their praises as much as I can; to do it officially would be an honor!

Except that I like the discipline of writing. Except I like a space to discuss the geek approach to fitness and body-acceptance. Except that I've met amazing soul friends because of this blog. Except that, for unknown reasons, people have started running because this overweight, fortysomething she-nerd gets up, suits up, and goes.

I really did think this was the end.

For a girl who reads comic books, I really should know better.