I guess it’s almost spring? It’s supposed to be in the 60s in the DC-region this weekend, so I’ll take it. (I’ll be across the country in sunny San Diego for a work thing, but it’s the idea that I’m going with, so work with me people.)

Anyways. I’ve talked previously about how I’ve stepped back from running and taken a long break – really not running at all since crossing the finish line at the Baltimore marathon last October. My body needed a break. My mind needed a break. Running and I needed a break. Like Ross and Rachel.

But now, it’s spring, and I’m getting antsy. I’m ready to mix up the workouts again. I’m putting things on the calendar.

To get my itching feet tuned up and in gear, I’m kicking things off next week with a 5k in San Diego with some coworkers. I’m a little nervous at how well I’ll feel during (and after), considering I haven’t run in… 4 months, but no matter! This race (associated with my annual work conference) is always a good time and pretty casual – no pressure, other than not to fall on my face.

After we get back, I’ll have a little over a month until my next two races. This is when I have to get down to business.

The first weekend of April is chock full of all the miles. I’m not running a marathon, but by the time Sunday is over, I’ll have run more than 20!

Back in December, a group of friends and I entered the lottery for the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run. It’s a notoriously big race in DC and can prove difficult to get in to. So, we opted for the group option in hopes that our chances would improve. Improve they did! We all got in and are looking forward to braving the hoards of tourists that descend upon the city during the Cherry Blossom Festival to get our miles in.

While all of this was going on, my boyfriend mentioned that he wanted to maybe, kind of, probably run the Marine Corps Marathon this fall. Of course I was on board for that! We could train together! (Never mind that he’s WAY faster than I am.) We could commiserate together about the pains of marathoning! (Again, did I mention that he’s faster than I am?)

But then I remembered a crucial detail: while he is in the Marine Corps, and therefore gets an automatic entry into the race, I would have less of a guarantee. MCM is also a lottery race – newsflash, it’s popular. Go figure. So, I would have two options for getting in: take my chances on the lottery and possibly not be selected, OR run the Access Granted 17.75k race in the spring to earn my spot in MCM.

I mean, the answer was pretty obvious. I was going to take my chances and try for 17.75 and see what happened.

Never mind the fact that 17.75 is the Saturday before Cherry Blossom. Nope. That’ll be fine.

And take my chances I did. I set the alarm on my phone for 11:55am on February 17, sat patiently at my computer waiting for registration to open at noon, and squeaked in! I’m glad I remembered to be ready when reg opened because the race sold out in 8 minutes!

Not as fast as Adele tickets, but damn son.

So, the next couple of months will be a little intense, running wise, but I’m really excited about it, because it means that the summer of 2016 will be spent training for yet another marathon and I’ll get to do it with one of my all-time favorite humans. That’s a win!

Bring on the miles!