Running like the Energizer Bunny

Fast forward two weeks and it's time for race number 2 - this time upping the ante a bit and going for the half marathon.  Honestly i'm not sure what I was thinking but I guess it is something that has always been in the back of my mind - on my bucket list. Especially after surrounding myself with runners - like my friend Peter from La Crosse who ran multiple marathons and always told me "just train, you'll get better at running and it'll be easy. I didn't believe him at the time seeing as I was lucky to run two miles, let alone 13.  I did find my love for exercise at La Crosse but running and I continued to have a love / hate relationship. Come Junior year another friend of mine, Jeremy, once again spiked my interest in running but I didn't seriously considered doing a marathon - sure I toyed with the idea but never got much further than that.  Jump ahead a few more years, find me living in Korea, this time friends with Charles who also told me "oh they're easy, you can do it".  I again shook it off and continued with my light jogs and yoga - but then one day the energizer bunny must have been hiding in my shoes because I could just keep going. Okay so back to the point...I did it, my first half-marathon is done and in the books, success. 

But you have to keep reading for the story behind it 

Racing in Korea

As I briefly mentioned in a recent post I've finally found my running niche ~~ I really do think it has something to do with all the beautiful rice fields I have at my disposal, or the Kpop might have something to do with it to, although my friends believe I run on Soju fuel. Now that I've written a terribly incorrect run-on sentence (yes, i'm an English teacher) let's get to the point.  

A few weeks ago I ran my first race here in Korea, The Gyeongju Cherry Blossom Marathon [경주 벗꽃 마라톤] with my friend Charles.  Seeing as it was only preparation for more to come [keep reading] I opted to run the 10k, leaving Charles to take care of the rest (well the half course anyway).  

Let the games begin

Finishing Strong

Just like that and it was time to pack our bags and head back to Buksam. Although there was plenty of the island left to see I was happy to be going home where I could sleep in my own bed, eat fruit and cereal for breakfast, and not have people constantly taking my picture (okay, that didn't really bother me all that much). After another delicious breakfast and a bit of chaos packing and organizing the students we were on our way. Our final destination for the trip was 성산일출봉 [Seongsan sunrise peak] which is apparently a huge tourist destination on the island, especially for the Chines tourist. We reached an area which actually just looked like the side of the road, but as we walked towards the shore I realized why we had stopped - the views were spectacular. A few hundred Kodak moments later we were back on the bus, heading towards Seongsan. We drove for maybe 10 minutes before parking again and being told it was time to walk. You should've heard the complaints coming from the students. You would've thought they were being told they had to climb Everest. 

A bit cloudy but still beautiful ~ 성산 일출봉

And the Fun Goes On

After the previous nights excitement and now two nights of fitful sleep, waking on Wednesday morning was admittedly a bit difficult.  I decided to forego breakfast (much to the dismay of my roommates),  giving me more time to get ready and enjoy some peace and quiet.  I knew i'd make it through the day after seeing the surplus of snacks the day before, so I passed on the morning kimchi. We were out the door again by 8 and ready for another day of fun throughout the island.