Fear of committment, conquered

I’m finding inspiration today in my next race, which I signed up for without hesitation over the weekend.

Regular blog readers will know that this is quite an accomplishment for me. I like to slink into races at the last minute, afraid that if I sign up for things too early, I’ll injure myself and be unable to run. Or, worse, that I’ll ruin everything by taking myself too seriously and failing to meet unattainable goals I’ve set for myself.

Yeah, I know. Kinda messed up. Which is why I just make the plunge and signed up for the ZOOMA Annapolis 10K on May 31 without thinking about it too much. It’s a women’s only race that promises free wine tastings and spa treatments post-race.

Better yet, I’ve roped my two best friends, Jen and Alexis, into running it with me. Jen is my high-school cross-country buddy. Lex surprised Jen and I both by first agreeing to walk the race, then casually mentioning that she finished four miles of walk-running in 42 minutes as a pre-race test. We are still gushing at her about how awesome this is, and are trying to keep the running peer-pressure to a minimum.

Also inspiring me today is Chito Peppler’s fun and exciting story. Peppler ran to almost 30 EU embassies Saturday for European Union Open House Day, in which EU member states open their embassies to the public, offering music and cuisine specific to each country.

He met three new friends who found him through a DC Running Examiner post I wrote last week. The three of them ran 12 miles through the city, seeing new neighborhoods, meeting new people, and experiencing unexpected things (Steven Spielberg posed for a photo with them in Georgetown).

It struck me while writing about this unique experience that it’s not unlike any long run, in which you gain a new appreciation for where you live, make new friends you might have never encountered otherwise and encounter some surprises that remind you why it’s fun to be alive.

Read Peppler’s running blog for more details, and follow his Tweets for updates about his exciting plans for next year’s event.