I figured I’d better finish writing about last weekend before THIS weekend ends!

I spent all of last Sunday afternoon after the Holiday Half Marathon relaxing in my hotel room. It was lovely! This time of year is always so busy that I don’t have enough time to enjoy myself. Spending a whole day without needing to accomplish anything substantial felt really great. I only left my hotel that day to get lunch (a sandwich at Jimmy John’s) and dinner (a salad at Panera). I couldn’t believe how tired I was. It didn’t help that I had trouble sleeping the night before the half marathon. I went to bed plenty early, but I woke up about five times between 3 AM and 6 AM, anxious about the race. At that point I realized it wasn’t worth tossing and turning any longer, so I got up and started getting ready. Staying so close to the Pomona Fairplex was great because I got there that morning by 6:45 AM, even after only waking up at 6 AM. Totally worth it. It was another cold morning (45 deg), so I was glad for the old sweatshirt I’d brought with me. My plan was to wear it until the start of the race or shortly after, and then discard it. Actually, this was all my mom’s idea. She knew that I have several sweatshirts that I was planning to give to Goodwill anyway, so wearing them for warmth before races during the winter works out perfectly. The race instructions said that discarded clothing would go to charity anyway so everyone’s a winner! Even though I was cold before the race started, it turned out to be perfect weather for running. Too bad the course wasn’t as perfect. There were SO MANY HILLS. I walked the entirety of mile 8 because it was all uphill. Ugh. It actually turned out to be a lovely course (check out the above photo for proof), but I can’t say that I really enjoyed it. My finishing time turned out to be about the same as my Disneyland Half Marathon time, which means slow, but I’m OK with that. I crossed the finish line and that’s all that really matters to me. Afterwards I picked up my Golden Snowflake Challenge medal for completing the 5K and half marathon that weekend! That was pretty cool. I don’t think the promise of an extra medal will tempt me to return next year, though. That half marathon course was killer and I’d honestly rather not repeat it. It made me realize how much I appreciate the flat Disney race courses!