From 1:08:56 to 1:03:13.

I like running. Whoa, it feels weird to even type it, let alone say it aloud. Since moving to Korea one of my friends (Bridgette) somehow got me into running. Waaay back in November she proposed that we run the Daegu marathon together. I, naively agreed to this proposition. I didn’t even know how long a marathon was to be honest. I can tell you that when I did find out, I nearly pooped myself. So I settled on running the 10k. I had 5 months to train for a 10k- more than manageable. The only thing was that I hated running. Every time I got on that treadmill I was only thinking about WHEN I COULD GET OFF OF IT.

Daegu Marathon April 10, 2011.

The week prior to the Daegu Marathon I was a wreck, I was really doubting whether or not I could complete the 10k in under 1 hour and 30 minutes. Although, by this time I actually am enjoying running- I’m still a beginner! Luckily, Lana came to Daegu this weekend to support me and she kept me from going insane.

The day of the race I got really pumped up~ the vibe around the race was so exciting and it felt so good to be a part of it!

Daegu International Marathon. He is the Daegu man!

With a little help from my ipod and this little magical gel and all of the adrenaline from the cheerers on the sidelines I was feeling really good during the race.  I paced myself with my friend Bridgette who is a runner and we finished together!!!! 1 hour, 8 minutes and 56 seconds!

The short shorts girls leading stretches!

 After a group stretch led by girls in very short shorts we made our way to the race line. “The Daegu running crew” which consists of my friends Erin,  Bridgette,  Kristen,  Ann Marie and Jezebelle stood at the starting line for what felt like an eternity. (Although Kristen wasn’t participating because the day before she ran a FULL MARATHON, her spirit was with us!)

Deagu International Marathon.

Before the race...

My first 10k!

Bridge and I finishing the 10k together!

We got a medal!!!!!!!!!!

Seongju. Sunday, May 22, 2011.

In the time between the Daegu race and the Seongju race I hit the gym for realz. I was determined to beat my time. Seongju is where my friend Jez lives just outside of Deagu, so we all took a trip to run in her town! It was a beautiful, sunny day- perfect running conditions!

Seongju Chamoe Melon Festival,

Stretching before the race!

PIGHTING!

The Half Marathoners!

The 10kers.

Ann Marie finishing strong!

I wanted to stop running so bad.

Erin finishing with her friend she made along the way.

Kristen finishing with an impressive time.

Jez finishing her first half marathon with her friend she found along the way! haha

THE ONLY PEOPLE CHEERING IN THE WHOLE TOWN!!!!

Seriously, the biggest difference from the Daegu race and the Seongju race was the LACK of people cheering for you!! It was so eerie, but we were the loudest people in the town haha. Cheer!!! Its a race!!

arrrrggg.

During the Seongju run I was able to shave off 5 minutes off of my time! I couldn’t be more proud and it only makes me want to keep improving and keep running!! : ) Next up, Jeju-do marathon.

Running, running and running.

I am going to run in the Daegu Marathon in April. Daegu Marathon

Map of the race. I am doing the small blue one teehee.

It is called a ‘mini-marathon,’ 10k course. How did this happen? I wondered the same thing.

Last week, standing outside of Viniroo my friend Bridgette and I are talking about getting in shape. She recently joined a gym and has been doing a good job at making it there! She slips in the fact that she is training for the Daegu Marathon in April. She mentions that I should join and train with her. I am thinking; “yes! I need to be healthy and have a purpose.”

“How long is the marathon?”

“26.2 miles.”

oh shit.

I am all for it, and Bridgette is very supportive and took control of a training schedule. Her excitement is contagious!! Although, through the excitement when I looked at the training schedule everything hit me- 26.2 miles is a really long distance…I haven’t even ran 3 blocks in a year. I shouldn’t blame grad school, but I kind of do. Its the nature of the beast, you are so incredibly busy!!!! I should have found time to exercise but when would that have been? In between my hour and half commute home? I remember one week in grad school Lana and I ate licorice candy and coffee for dinner for a week. haha, so 26 miles seemed like too much for me. So I am feeling nervous about this distance then Jeff tells me about how the word marathon came to be. In ancient Greek or Roman (I can’t remember, sorry) a man named Marathon was sent with a message to deliver that was 26.2 miles away. He made it to his destination, relayed the message and then died. Great.

I researched and saw that there was a ‘mini- marathon.’ That made me feel better. I didn’t want to die. I called Bridgette a bit nervous to tell her that I can’t do the full race but I want to still train with her and do the shorter race. Fewf, now I feel much better.

TRAINING. (2 days so far…)

Jeff and I started training this week. 2 miles for 4 or 5 days a week and slowly increasing mileage.  He is not running the marathon, but wants to be healthy still. We are running at a school near my house. The first day there were 3 of my 5th grade boys playing baseball. They were shy at first then tried to run with us! It was very cute. The second night was a bit different. We went to the same school but there were a lot of my students. It was a bit distracting, I wanted to care for them but I also wanted to run. They wanted me to play baseball and whatnot!! I invited them to run, but they remembered how much they had hated it the day before. Not only were my kids there wanting to play there was this little girl, maybe 5 who wanted to talk. She stayed in one spot on the track and asked my different questions-

“What is your name?”

Next time around.

“Where are you from?”

Next time around, her and her dad grab my hand and run 2 laps with me!- the little girl held my hand not the dad, just to clear that up.-

On top of the students who want to play there are middle school boys who come out and want to practice their English. They were shouting “Cheeseburger! Cheeseburger!!!” at me. Evil.

2 days so far, and we have a big Korean final tonight. Wish my luck!

Happy Birthday to LanaLee!!

Happy Veterans Day!

Happy Pepero Day!

equalopportunityforallofthesenationalholidays.