Thank you all for the sweet words about the accident. It was definitely not a fun moment but is now one we look back on and can at least smile about because we’ve certainly created a lifelong memory. Although I think we’ll be able to smile more once Bobby gets his cast off five weeks from now. Turns out, he broke one of the slowest healing bones in our bodies and has to wear the cast for 12 weeks! I’ll definitely share more in the final honeymoon installment.

Bobby’s injury was far worse than mine, but I wanted to share an honest post about running the Phoenix half marathon with you today, since for anyone who doesn’t know me personally, it kind of came out of nowhere at the end of a recent post. You may be wondering why I haven’t talked much about my training, my goals, etc. – and that’s because they have changed dramatically since I first made the decision to sign up for it.

Unfortunately, after our honeymoon accident, my cut up knee on my left leg (I’ll spare you that picture again!) and big bruises on my right leg created a bit of a kink in my training plan.

Not pretty.

The morning after the accident, I was so sore I had to walk with a limp, and this part of the healing would last for about a week. The actual scarring and bruises wouldn’t heal for another three weeks, and this made it impossible to run because I feared that everything would open back up again.

For someone running a half-marathon tomorrow, you can imagine how 3-4+ weeks of no training has affected me. Once I could walk normally again, I was able to do some light elliptical work, but that’s about it.

Having run races in the past (both 5K and 10K), I initially figured this little bump in the schedule wouldn’t be that big of a deal. I was a little lax about my training for those races and ended up with decent times.

But once I was finally able to run again, I realized what for some may be very obvious. That a month of little to no exercise makes a huge difference when you are preparing to run 13.1 miles.

When I picked up where I had left off on training, running more than 1-3 miles at a time was impossible. I was incredibly winded, sore and achy right away and my knee seemed to hate me.

So I’ll be honest – I never did reach the mile goals and speeds that I had originally set for myself. I’ve talked to other runners (Melissa, who is also racing, was a huge help in all of this!) who have assured me that given what I was still able to do in two months since the accident, I will be just fine on race day. I will cross that finish line, but it won’t be in the way I had originally envisioned – and that is OK.

That said, here are a few of my “favorite things” during this entire training process!

1) Gotta Getta Garmin

I’ve wanted a Garmin for a while now and my parents were kind enough to give me one as a Christmas present. I can’t tell you how much of a difference it has made in training these past few weeks! I have a tendency to start way too fast and burn out. Not training for a month, this became a huge problem as I started to ease back into my runs. Knowing what pace I am going at helps me to slow down and speed up when I need to and I can’t wait to use this for other races in the future.

2) I “Spi”

I’ve written about my appreciation for the SpiBelt in the past. I continue to love the way it fits my cell phone, key and cards perfectly – and I can’t even feel it while I’m running! I look forward to using it for the first time during a race tomorrow.

3) Clif Shot Bloks

After asking about refueling in my recent post, I took the question to Twitter and asked what people preferred: Gu or Shot Bloks? Turns out, there are benefits to both and Gu is actually a sponsor of the Phoenix race. But I bought Clif Shot Bloks in Cran-Razz and ran with them during my taper runs this week – they weren’t bad! Definitely easier to swallow than the candy I tried to use once… 😉 I don’t recommend Swedish Fish while running unless you want gummy sticking to your teeth.

4) Music

I can’t get through a long run without music, plain and simple! I’m excited to hear the band playing during the Phoenix Rock ‘n’ Roll and pick up on the energy and tempo of the crowds.

5) Above all else…carbo load!!

“Pizza and beer on the Friday night before a Sunday race is completely acceptable.” ~Me and Jill

I am excited about the race and incredibly nervous at the same time. I look forward to seeing what my body is capable of and I know that I have the energy to see it through to the finish line. But I also know not to set high expectations for myself this time around. There will be other races to train for and other goals to achieve. My goal tomorrow is to simply cross that finish line surrounded by family and friends.

Look at that? Already achieving my New Year’s resolutions! 🙂 Wish me luck!

Question: Have you run a race with live music before? What was it like?

See you on the other side of the finish line!!!!

Abrazos,