I've decided....

As you may, or may not care to, remember...I injured my foot in a failure of a 9 mile race (blog post dated Friday, September 13th).  I spent a couple weeks in a air cast and was told to rest it.

Torturous!

No shuffling for a month.....the month before our scheduled half marathon....the half marathon for which I had been training the entire summer...

The half marathon that I have decided to shuffle....
tomorrow.

Against my better judgement...my husband's...and no doubt most of the readers of this blog...

I WANT to.....so I am going to.

That finisher's medal....the Brooks pull-over....
I own them....I bought them.....I deserve to receive them...
I worked hard for them!!

I will work hard for them....and get them....tomorrow.

I have shuffled a handful of times since my foot healed.  A mile and a half one day....then 3 miles another day....then 5.

This past Wednesday I shuffled 9.
My foot felt wonderful....I felt wonderful...until mile 6.
I was exhausted....my legs were jello....I wanted to stop...
I ALMOST stopped and gave up on the idea of doing the half...
until...

 I heard a horn honking behind me.  I jumped out of my skin and turned to see an old friend from high school (who was just visiting from California) slowing down to say "hi".  That incident....that little gesture of kindness and encouragement...(and the quick burst of adrenaline!) was ALL I needed to complete my 9 mile shuffle :)

Thank you, Rob!!! :)

I know that I am not in the best shape to shuffle this half marathon...I am just now not sore (3 days later)...I don't expect to PR or break any shuffling records....
I just want to participate in a long, slow-and-steady shuffle along the lake shore on a beautiful, Fall morning....with 1000 of my closest friends....

and earn the finisher's medal I paid for.


On my mind's movie screen...where I play the lead role and the world revolves around me....I imagine this going one of two ways....


I imagine myself shuffling swiftly, effortlessly across the asphalt (yes...it IS asphalt...we checked!!) and finishing the race with nary a drop of sweat on my brow....arms raised high in triumph...long blonde hair flowing in the warm autumn breeze...the crowd cheers and chants my name....."SHUFF-LER!!  SHUFF-LER!!"  I am picked up by my adoring fans and crowd-surfed while sunshine illuminates my smiling face....as I hold up the finishers medal...all of this happening in slow-motion to the majestic sound of french horns.

Or....

I finish "Forrest Gump" style....."Stupid is, as stupid does".....
Walking off the course at mile ten because I've re-injured my foot while on-lookers shake their heads and say "wow...what the hell did she think was going happen?!  She isn't even wearing any shoes!!!" while my friends and family silently think to themselves "Wow...what the hell did she think was going to happen?  She just healed a foot injury!!" all the while knowing they had better not vocalize those thoughts out loud for fear of making me angry.....

They wouldn't like me when I'm angry....

No matter the outcome....

I will just blame Rob!