[32] Bouncing Back

In my previous post, I rationalized my three week vacation, but reading it over, it sounded like I was simply making excuses. This morning, I woke up with a charley horse in my left calf. It's been a while since I've had one of those mornings, and after talking with one of my running partners, I realized that it was a signal from my body to get moving. Did I run today? No. Will I run tomorrow? Definitely.

Last night, I went to Manhattan for the first time in a while that wasn't merely for transit. I stopped by the Times Square Alliance Visitors' Center and picked up my Revlon Run/Walk 5K T-shirt which means one less thing to schlep around on Saturday. I can't believe race day is almost here. I added my donation to the pile, pushing my total to $420! According to their rewards scale, I not only get the swank black-and-khaki totebag with pockets-a-plenty, but also the black gym bag. Not too shabby. When I handed my bib to the race volunteer, she showed the other ladies how I decorated it. The bib was smaller than what I anticipated, so I was thankful that I managed to have a fine point Sharpie in my desk. Yes, I wrote each name on it, and added some hearts because who doesn't love hearts?

Thank you to everyone who donated! I'm so thankful!!

I have a nifty Instagram (LoMo Style) photo I also took, but it crops out some of the names with its square formatting. I wanted to make sure that every name was visible. Hopefully, I can get someone to take a picture of me wearing it. According to my weather app, the high for Saturday will be 67 degrees and partially cloudy (though it might be closer to the 50s in the morning when I leave for NYC).

I contacted NYRR today about my Membership Information. The online registration system for the summer races (July-September) goes live Monday, May 2nd at noon. If I have to hold off on lunch until I can register, I will. Last year, the Queens and Bronx halves sold out in less than 24 hours, so I can't sit on it at all. I need to get moving not only on my guaranteed entry plan, but also on my 3-by-33 plan. This segues into my my next dilemma: The Tinkerbell Half-Marathon at Disneyland.

Oh, Run Disney.

It would figure after having a spectacular time at the Disney Princess Half, that I would be bitten by the ESPN Endurance Series bug. I already promised my girlfriends that I would run the Princess Half with them next February as my college gal pal, Meredith, is turning 30 (finally!!). The benefits of the TB1/2 would be that 1) it's the inaugural year, 2) I've never been to Disneyland, and 3) I potentially completing the Coast-to-Coast Challenge medal for running a half-marathon (two races, one on each coast in a calendar year). The flipside would be 1) convincing my friends to shift to the west coast, 2) possibly running the race alone, 3) not recovering before the Princess Half, and 4) the Manhattan Marathon potentially being scheduled the weekend before. I'll e-mail them and see what the verdict is.