Rewards and incentives

I’ve had a weird and somewhat disappointing Saturday, but I’ll write about that tomorrow. It’s late and I’d like to spend more time on that subject that than I have tonight. However, I would like to share a little something before I go to bed. Last week I wrote about my internal struggle regarding the Avengers Half Marathon Weekend in November. I spent a couple of days debating it, and in the end I made a deal with myself. I would register for the Infinity Gauntlet Challenge (10K + half marathon), but then I had to get serious about training again. Afterwards I realized it was like giving a child a treat before they earned it. Oops. I didn’t say it was a good deal! (Not that running 19.3 miles is exactly a treat, but I sure do enjoy the medals at the end!) Fortunately I did get my rear back in gear as far as exercise goes this week. I ran last Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and went to a spinning class on Monday evening as well. It felt really good to be active again. Difficult, since I’m still out of shape after my injury, but good. And the best news is that I was lucky enough to sign up for the Avengers Infinity Gauntlet Challenge on Tuesday during Disneyland annual pass holder early registration. Once again the process was a bit of a disaster, but I was fortunate enough to get a spot two weeks before open registration. According to my deal with myself, this means I have to stick to my training schedule during the summer and fall. (It also means I need to make a training schedule for the summer and fall, but I’ll worry about that after my races in May.) This dedication should help me with my New Year’s resolution #3 to wear a bikini in Hawaii in June too. I’m going to Maui in less than three months. Yikes! I got myself another treat, of sorts, to help me with all of this. New running shoes! I bought the new incarnation of my Nike Zoom Structures to see if they work as well as for me the old ones. So far the results are promising, but I’ll reserve judgment until I’ve put more miles on them. Hopefully they will be properly broken in by my next race. I’ve got a lot of work to do!

Run all the races!

This may already be obvious, but I have a confession to make. After discovering Disney races I’ve become slightly obsessed with running as many as possible. Hence the fact that I participated in the Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend (not the half marathon, but the 5K and 10K) at Disneyland one week after the Disney World Half Marathon back in January. Oops. It’s really hard for me to see the registration for one of the races approaching and not at least consider signing up. Most of the Disney World events are out since I can’t make it to Orlando that often, but each and every one of the Disneyland races makes me drool. The combinations of running and Disney is irresistible. The shirts and medals are pretty attractive too!

Here is the latest example of my ridiculous dilemma. This morning Run Disney announced that they’re adding a 10K race as well as a challenge (10K + half marathon) to the Avengers Half Marathon Weekend in November. Cue the temptation! I ran the Avengers Half Marathon last year, and besides the gale force winds which made the middle of the race miserable, I enjoyed it. In fact, it’s my fastest half marathon time so far. (Fast for me, but not for anyone else.) For a number of reasons I’d love to sign up for the new Infinity Gauntlet Challenge. My only reservation is that the Wine & Dine Half Marathon is the weekend before at Disney World. I had been planning to do Wine & Dine for a while so signing up for it this week was a no brainer, even without the new Avengers race information. The big question is, should I commit to another big race just a few days after I get home from Orlando? I’m torn! The obvious compromise is just to run the 10K to make sure I don’t injure myself with too much running (I can survive 6.2 miles in just about any circumstances), but part of me is dying to do the challenge! One reason is that I have a chance to be a legacy runner for the Avengers Half Marathon if I participate all of the first five years. It’s not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things, but as of now it’s be the only race where that’s even a possibility for me. Annual pass holder registration opens on Tuesday morning so I have until then to make my initial decision. I’ll think about it. If this isn’t a first world problem, I don’t know what is!