The Gift Every Little Girl Dreams Of

If you missed my Facebook and Instagram post on the topic, thank goodness you've tuned in.

My friends Monica and Bella have bestowed upon me -- as congratulations for #actually running a Marathon, my very own Run, MeriG. Run bobble-head.

She looks like me except for the fact that she has a tummy that allows her to run in a sports bra only as a top. We can all dare to dream!

It's awesome and amazing and I love it oh, so very much!

Monica has been trying to get into this blog for a while now. She chases me down and tells me quotes to the tune of, "There is no amount of money you could pay me to run 26.2 miles. I would literally pay someone else to not run 26.2 miles," in the hopes of being published in this find piece of internet genius.

But it took a sweatshop in China to produce a replica of me with a big head and flat abs to finally make it a reality. Well done, Monica and Bella. Well done indeed.

So, with the running.

I'm evidently reprising my 2012 showing this coming Sunday for the NYC Half Marathon. It's a really, really cool route that takes you around Central Park, through a shut-down Times Square, down the Westside Highway and finishes at South Street Seaport. Really fun, really unique and was good times all around last year.

A couple of issues for Sunday though:

Last year it was high 40s/ low 50 degree weather. Delightful! Sunday's forecast has been revised to show a high of 47 for the day. Meaning when we arrive at the starting line at 6:30 am it will be probably near freezing (if not below). Yucky.

Also, I have been a little lax with my normal Half Marathon training because I, you know, RAN A MARATHON 7 WEEKS AGO. My legs are super-duper tight, which I know is not ideal for starting a race. It invites injury and I have to be very careful. I think I've decided to start regularly scheduling sports massages from here on out, because I am plagued with tightness no matter what I do (and yoga just isn't happening as much as I'd like).

Finally, my tummy is "acting up." I want to say "I don't know what to do about it!", but I know exactly what to do about it.

Stop eating so much of this:

I want to go to there.

Hey hotties.

And stop doing so much of this:

[She said as she gets ready to pack up and leave work to attend not 1....not 2....but 3 happy hours. 36 before running a Half Marathon. And no, she will clearly not drink "water." Gross.

But I have 2013 NYC Marathon training (remember that?) this summer and early fall to be "good." Right now I want it all: To be happy and a lil' gross but also to run. Just not always as easy said than done...

I keep reminding myself that I clearly have the capacity to finish. I've done this before. In fact, this will be my eighth official half marathon race (not including that lil' full one I just did!)  Crazy, right?

The reality is that I did a lot of these halves before I was actually very serious about running. I completed one a year from 2008 - 2011 whereupon after completing the 4th one I decided to pursue running the NYC Marathon in 2011 (remember that?). With each race, with the exception of one (which I was using as a training run for NYC 2012), I have gotten a Personal Record time (PR). Without really trying....just improving with experience and time.

My ultimate was Brooklyn last year: 1:58:48. An absurd time for me. Absolutely absurd. Makes me want to puke a little bit just thinking about how fast I was that day.

And the thing is that tomorrow I don't think I'll even come close. And it's frankly a little weird going into a race being 100% sure that you won't beat your best time.

But I have to remember that I can just run. I don't have to "race" -- against anyone else or against even myself.

I can just run. [Repeating this to myself...to convince myself...]

I can just run, and I will just revel in experiencing the unique moments in life that happen only when you do this crazy running "thing." Things like this:

Photo Credit: http://marathon.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/15/how-to-watch-the-nyc-half/?src=twrhp

I'll enjoy the flat course on a "crisp" day even if I'm running slow. And I'll relish in experience the moment with my friends who are also running -- including my friend Sarah who is signed up for her very first Half (way to go Sarah! yeehaw!)

I'm competitive and I like to demonstrate improvement and betterment in all that I do. But sometimes? It's okay to have fun. As I write this I know that I'm convincing only myself. You, dear reader, frankly don't give a damn. But you know what? I feel like we've made a lot of progress today during this little online therapy session, so thanks for indulging me.

After I run, I have a group of friends ready to celebrate both the run and the Irish Saint Patrick with lots of the aforementioned foods above and lots of the aforementioned beverages so depicted. And I'll have another cool medal to add to my collection and an 8th race under my belt.

It's no bobble head (NOTHING IS)...but it's still a very, very cool thing to have.