This past Friday night I spoke in Memphis at the wonderful 10th anniversary celebration of Westminster Academy--a fabulous classical Christian school in Germantown. As I drove out of the parking lot of the church that evening, I made a last minute decision to run in Jackson the next morning. If I was going to do that then I knew I would have to drive a little more than an hour, find a hotel somewhere nearby the race, get settled in, and then be up early the next morning ready to run. I was feeling great, so I thought I'd give it a go.
Big mistake. I didn't get into my hotel until after 11 PM. Then, I had a hard time sleeping. I was just too exhausted. Ever have that happen? Too tired to sleep?
Well, the next morning, I awoke to discover that the temperatures had not cooled significantly over night. I knew it was going to be a hot one! And was it ever! Then, I found out that the course was hilly throughout. Oh boy! Everything was conspiring to make this more difficult than 13.1 miles really need to be.
But, even though it was just about the most painful and slowest half marathon ever, I did finish. On that particular day, that was more than enough for me!
It did reinforce the fact that I am still a long, long way from being ready for a full marathon! And I've got a full one to run in just three weeks!
