[46] British Invasion

Summer vacation is so close, I can taste it! What does that mean precisely? My trip to the UK & Ireland has finally arrived! Although my racing wish list took a hit or two, I am still really excited about being able to experience racing, not only in a different country, but in a completely different part of the world! Granted, the UK is another English speaking country (the Queen's English to be precise, as opposed to Queens Boro English which is a completely different story ;) ). In the last three months, my destination running plans have chagned a big, but I believe for the better.

[Revised Race Rundown]

• England: Marston Forest 5K: Scrapped from the travel list. I never received a reply from the race director which was disappointing, as I wanted to take a stab at trail racing.
• Scotland: Jog Scotty -> Race for Life Edinburgh (Holyrood Park; June 19th @ Noon): I grew antsy waiting for JS to update their summer schedule, so I sought out another avenue for racing. It worked out for the best because 1) I found a race date within my travel dates, and more importantly 2) I am running it with one of gal pals from when I lived in Japan. One of our colleagues, Nicole, lost her battle to cancer last year, so we are running the race together in her memory. I love that I can share running with another one of my long time friends, especially one who ran before I took it up! I already have my racing number (#16574), so now I just have to pack accordingly.
• Ireland: Strawberry Festival 5 Mile Road Race (Riverside Park Hotel Promenade; June 26th @11AM): This race I am a little nervous about as my Couch Surfing requests have not been answered as of yet. I am keeping my fingers crossed, but worst case scenario, I'll hope some racers will take pity upon the pitiful, lost American girl.
• No headphones: Will need to use Nike+ SportBand & HRM.
• Only 1 water station at 2 mile mark: Hmm... may need to invest in running bottle
• Timed race with running chip
• All Finishers receive: a finisher's medal, technical t-shirt, and free tea and sandwiches at the HQ hotel!
• In conjunction with the Strawberry Festival, so there will be things to do before and after the race!