It's Race Week!!

It feels like forever since I’ve done a race.  It’s been since Nov 24^th since my last half to be exact.

After basically taking the month of December off, it’s been a long couple of months trying to build my mileage back up.  Add in snow storm, after snow storm and a lot of my miles have been indoors.  Luckily I’ve been able to do my last two long runs outside, which is a bonus, but still I’m not feeling quite ready for this race.

We are heading to Little Rock, AR this weekend.  This will be my second time doing the half, and Jim’s third doing the full (or maybe he did a half in there – I can’t remember).  So yes, we like this race.  It’s a neat little town and a pretty fun atmosphere and it's a pretty close drive from home (about 6 hours).

Here’s the forecast -

I can’t say I’m looking forward to that.  I’ve been watching it all week, waiting for it to change.  It hasn’t changed a bit.  That 80% chance of rain (in the morning) has been an 80% chance since Monday.  They seem pretty certain.  I’ve done one race before with similar conditions.  It was about 45 and absolutely poured the entire race.  It was one of the worst experiences I have ever had!  EVER.  I was so cold and so miserable.  It took me hours to warm up.  It probably didn’t help that I was deathly sick with a cold at the time.  I don't remember ever been that cold.  I’m hoping we get lucky.  There is a storm moving through that will drop temps – I just hope it comes through at like 11. 

Driving home should be fun too.  We are expecting up to a foot of snow in Kansas City on Saturday/Sunday.  So we should have lots of snow to drive through on the way home…good stuff.

Lastly, as many of you know I switched to a Ketogenic diet about a week and a half ago.  I’ve been able to get through some hour/hour and a half workouts, but I haven’t ran a half marathon….with no carbs.  I have no idea how my body is going to respond.  Will I feel great?  Or will I crash and burn at mile 8 or 9.  It will definitely be interesting to see.  My back up plan (great one I know) is that if I start feeling really, really crummy I’ll grab some Gatorade at the nearest aid station and “hope” it doesn’t make me sick.

In spite of several obstacles I’m still really looking forward to the trip/race.  I love when Jim and I get to do short getaways and go do the thing we love together.  It’s always fun.  And no matter what the outcome whether we fall flat on our face, come up with a new PR, or practically freeze to death.  It gives us new stories and new memories to share.

So bring it on Little Rock.  Race weekend is almost here!  And it’s going to be EPIC. –That’s their slogan this year.