Hello Friends!  Happy Happy Friday!! 

Usually, on Fridays, I like to do fun, light-hearted posts and usually share my favorite things with you!  Today, however, I am skipping that.  I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer on a Friday, so I’m going to go into this post with as much positivity as I can and just move on.  It really isn’t that big of a deal…just something that makes my running heart a little heavy.

I was supposed to run a half marathon tomorrow.

I decided months ago that I was going to do it.  I ran the same one last year and it was one of the best experiences that I’ve ever had….I felt such a sense of accomplishment when I finished!  This year, I was excited to train and prepare for it and beat my time from last year!  I was determined!

For the past couple of months, I did train.  It wasn’t always pretty and I didn’t always do my best, but I trained.  I got my long runs in on the weekends and a couple of short runs during the week.  However, something was not right…

I kept putting off registering for the race.  I had every intention of running it, so why I didn’t register, I really do not know.  Last year, my mom and I stayed overnight the night before the race and I kept saying that I had to book the hotel room….but I didn’t.  I kept telling myself I had time and I would ‘do it later’.

Well, by now, I’m sure you know where this is going…

I’m not running the half tomorrow.

The last long run I did was nine miles.  I felt good and felt ready to tackle my last long run of ten and then move onto the half.  Then…life happened.

With one of our friends being in a serious car accident and me making a career change, the past two weeks of my life have just been a whirlwind.  Between time spent in the hospital and the worry about having to tell my boss I was quitting, I have been emotionally exhausted and I just didn’t do my ten-miler last weekend.  I just didn’t feel confident and I was tired.  Physically and mentally.  While everything has turned out okay with the job situation, we are still waiting patiently for our friend.  He has made small strides and we just wait day to day for any piece of good news.  It’s such a tough process.

I know I could go out and run my 13.1 and finish, but I’m just not mentally there.  I know I wouldn’t beat my time from last year and I don’t want to force myself to run it and then end up disappointed.  I think, too, that maybe there is a reason I never registered or booked my room.  Maybe this just was not my race and there were more important things that I needed to concentrate on.

Whatever the reason…Yes, I am disappointed that I’m not running it, but I feel okay with my decision.  I think it’s best and I know there will always be other races.

Have you ever had to back out of a race?
Do your emotions play a roll in your workouts?