9 weeks to half 'm' day.

Despite a weekend full of wedding and family, I managed to get a long run in on Sunday. I thought I was doomed weather wise, and debated going ahead and doing my long run on Saturday post wedding (it was a morning wedding--and oh yes i have pictures of me in pink fluffy goodness, and no ashley, i don't look like a peep marshmallow bunny) but I accidentally fell asleep... for a few hours. Then of course needed to shove my face with pizza with the fam. So you know, that clearly won.

After sleeping in big time Sunday morning I puttered around and the weather was better than Saturday's had been, so I ventured out for another lonely long run. Sigh. It was stupid cold, but not stupid windy, so I didn't wimp out and sure did do my run outside. This had to be my worst run of the year, and since I started running again. I sure did have a small break down a few miles in (thanks to some sock issues and being emotionally drained) and things didn't improve that much from there. But I was slapped around after some serious pouting and reminded that bad runs, kinda like shit, happen. So I moved on. Ate some post long run Pho and enjoyed my night.

Although there WAS something significant that happened on that run of mine. I was lopping along at my slow little pace along a street near my neighborhood when a Suburban with two gentlemen pulled up next to me. THAT'S not creepy for a girl running alone with an iPod in! But no worries, the first thing they said was, "are you running a marathon?" And I knew they meant training for one, so I explained my OKC thing and it just so happened I was talking to the Wichita race directors armed with a city map. They were so nice and chatty and it was a great distraction. Right.....just going to go ahead and delete that snarky little post I had drafted airing my frustrations with the Wichita Race Directors.... chirp.... It turns out sharing my grievances over some recent changes to our two major local races (we don't have a lot of races, or a super supportive community in regard to running in here) to the faces of the race directors eliminated my need to slap my frustrations all over the interweb.

It turns out these guys were out charting the course for the NEW Wichita Prairie Fire Marathon, (hmmm, i just realized the logo looks like a rabbit with fire coming out of it's butt... ummm might want to reconsider that...just sayin'...is it running fast because it had to much mexi, orrrr....???) taking place on 10.10.10. Sigh. Frustration number one. They asked me if I planned on running that, and I told them I would have LOVED to, and I was really bummed about the fact it is landing on the day of Chicago, and that I already signed up for Chicago. Then I asked if they were going to have the new course go through my 'hood and sure enough they are. SWEET! I shared my excitement and hopes to do the Wichita M in 2011. They were so nice about it all, so I forgave them for choosing the date they did and realized they are simply trying to make our running community as good as it can possibly be.

But then... THEN, I shared with them my REAL beef. The date change of the Wichita Half Marathon. That OTHER race I need a little redemption at. I told them since I was doing the OKC half I couldn't participate in the Wichita Half which I was severely disappointed about. You see the Wichita Half used to be in September, but they moved it to April 25. Right. That's the day of OKC, a race which TONS of Wichita runners do every year. They understood my frustration and were again really nice about it. So I forgave them, but only a little. I'm still frustrated I'm going to miss yet another (thanks to those little stress fractures) Wichita Half where I can't get sweet redemption and take on my nemesis.... THAT woman, fanny pack. Another big sigh. What is a girl supposed to do? So I carried on with my run feeling better about my Wichita race frustrations and hoping next year I can get a little redemption and finally run a full marathon in my city.