On the final leg of my Christmas trip, I stopped at Jen and Dan's house in Ocala. It was a nice, half-way point where I could get some quick sleep in a real bed and dish a bit with Jen before heading back to pick up the dog from the kennel.
My original plan called for an 8 o'clock arrival, which would have given us plenty of time to see each other. However, I really have no concept of time and left South Carolina three hours later than I intended. In the grand scheme of things, I figured that twenty years from now, I would rather have the memories of a few more hours with my 83 year old grandmother than my 31 year old friend.
While driving along US301 in south Georgia, watching the clock move closer and closer to midnight and updating Jen with a later and later ETA, my guilt took over. I still stand by my earlier decision, but I also had a difficult time accepting the fact that I would not be in Ocala when I said I would. As a result, I finally agreed to run the Five Points of Life half marathon in Gainesville.
This is a big deal because I've never run a half marathon and this particular race is filled with hills. Lots of hills. I live (and run) in the south Florida flatlands where sledding and gliding effortlessly on rollerblades is impossible.
Sigh.
The bright side is that this race course goes through the UF football stadium, and the truth is that if it were not for that fact, I would have forced myself to get over my guilt. It's amazing what I will do when football is involved, even when there's not an actual game happening.
Seriously. A race through "The Swamp"? Bliss!
(You can follow my training schedule on Twitter.)
My original plan called for an 8 o'clock arrival, which would have given us plenty of time to see each other. However, I really have no concept of time and left South Carolina three hours later than I intended. In the grand scheme of things, I figured that twenty years from now, I would rather have the memories of a few more hours with my 83 year old grandmother than my 31 year old friend.
While driving along US301 in south Georgia, watching the clock move closer and closer to midnight and updating Jen with a later and later ETA, my guilt took over. I still stand by my earlier decision, but I also had a difficult time accepting the fact that I would not be in Ocala when I said I would. As a result, I finally agreed to run the Five Points of Life half marathon in Gainesville.
This is a big deal because I've never run a half marathon and this particular race is filled with hills. Lots of hills. I live (and run) in the south Florida flatlands where sledding and gliding effortlessly on rollerblades is impossible.
Sigh.
The bright side is that this race course goes through the UF football stadium, and the truth is that if it were not for that fact, I would have forced myself to get over my guilt. It's amazing what I will do when football is involved, even when there's not an actual game happening.
Seriously. A race through "The Swamp"? Bliss!
(You can follow my training schedule on Twitter.)
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