Oh. My. Goodness!

I watched the NYC Marathon this morning. It was...... AWESOME!!! I think I'm going to plan ALL of our future family vacations around races....Boston....Big Sur..... Chicago... sounds like a fantastic idea - don't you think?

I'm also super-excited b/c I'm going to be volunteering at a 1/2 in nearby (ok, like, an hour away) Lakeland on Saturday. :) I was really torn between running it for 'practice' and just volunteering since I'm technically NOT up to 13.1 miles in my training yet.... I kind of liked the idea of my trip to Cocoa not being my first ever half, but at the same time, Lakeland is really hilly AND my training run for next weekend is only supposed to be 12 miles....but what's an extra 1.1 miles right? ....That was the inner-conversation conflict I'd been having all week.

This was part of the course description:
"The southern portion of the course offers rolling hills through some of Lakeland’s scenic neighborhoods."

The hills are what finally made the decision for me. I wouldn't have been so concerned about throwing an extra 1.1 miles onto my training plan if it hadn't been for the fact that those HILLS! I am NOT in the mood for 'rolling hills' - if you've ever been through this part of Lakeland, these hills are everywhere!! The 'southern portion' would be the majority of the race!

I think I made the smarter choice since I've invested a lot of time, pain, and $ into the race in Cocoa. I've already dealt with injuries that delayed my training and changed my plan for the race as it is. I definitely don't want to risk making it worse!!!!!

This is the race I'm running December 1st!

So, I'm volunteering at a race for the first time ever! :) I won't be handing out water - I'll be working at the results table. I'm very, VERY glad I won't be having the responsibility of passing out water/gatorade!

Now, I think I need to find a second job to support my running habit......
   

This is how ridiculously happy the thought of running these races makes me! I can't wait!

Have you run any of these races?

Do you have any PLANS to run any of these races?

How do you support your running habit? :)