Eating a $180 Entry Fee Because I Hate Running

This is how we look when we enter races together. You can tell this is pre-race, because we're still smiling and Emily isn't soaked through with sweat.

Emily and I signed up for the Rock 'n' Roll DC Half Marathon back in December. It was mostly to keep her accountable to work out through the winter (which she hasn't), but I signed up as moral support.

But I haven't run since October, and Emily hasn't exactly followed my prescribed training plan either. At all.

Also, I don't miss run training (or swim training) at all. I enjoy riding my bike so much, but I have no interest in running or swimming anytime soon.

There's also the matter of the stress on my body. I don't think of a half marathon as a very long event; I'm positive I could suffer through it, although I wouldn't be getting a PR or anything. But running is much more stressful on the body than cycling, especially in terms of impact. I might (MIGHT) have retained enough fitness from Ironman training to make it through unscathed, but Emily doesn't have that fitness. I'm concerned we might suffer more adverse effects than being winded and miserable. Specifically, I'm worried about stress fractures or soft tissue pathologies that might arise from taking so much impact without proper training.

So I'm pretty sure we're bailing out on the race. I would much rather spend the weekend riding my bike with Veloworks-Spokes Etc, and Emily would much rather spend the weekend sleeping in. Even though $180 is a lot of money to throw down the drain . . . actually, there's no good justification. But we're going to do it anyway.