Monday, January 27, 2014

Will You Regret It In The Morning?

Why is it that alcohol makes things seem like a good idea?

Photo: HUMOR | Beer is fine, in moderation... but too much can lead to poor decisions:

Very rarely do you find yourself drinking and someone mentions an outrageous idea like running a marathon (when you hate running and have never run a mile), and you say, “Well, to be honest, I just do not think this is the best, most well thought out decision. Let me check my calendar and process this with my therapist and I will get back to you.”

More likely your response is a very intellectual “HELL YEAH! Order another round and I will get out my credit card!”

I actually think deciding to sign up for races while under the influence is a great idea. Your inhibitions are lowered and you take a risk you might not otherwise take. You wake up in the morning and realize what you have done and you have to hold yourself accountable.  Because who wants to lose a race entry fee and wear a t-shirt forever from a race you never ran?

So, spill it….

Have you ever signed up for a race while drinking? Did you follow through with it? No, I haven’t. But, I have talked a bunch of crap about races I am planning to do (100 miles? Why is that such a big deal? I could do that right now if I wanted.)

SUAR

37 comments:

  1. Two Words - Blue Ridge. Sure I kept talking about it while I was sober but it was a wine induced coma that resulted in the actual registration for said race.

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  2. I've pretty much signed up for all my races after drinking. No, not seriously. But when I signed up for the Chicago marathon, there was some alcohol involved. I needed a little liquid courage. And regretted it in the morning....I did follow through tho!

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  3. Hahaha no I have never signed up for a race while drinking but there is a first time for everything :)

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  4. I want to do a 50-miler and/or a triathlon. I KNOW I'll need to drink before I sign up for either!

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  5. My first Ironman was totally the result of some drunken arguing with friends about whether I could do it or not. As it turns out, I could! Same with my first stand-alone marathon, actually...

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  6. HECK YES I have done this several times--but, my max so far is half marathon distance. Perhaps this year (now that I've run 4 halves) I'll get drunk enough to sign up for a full! Muahaha.

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  7. Yep, my first half-marathon was agreed to under the influence of strawberry-infused vodka, but I did go through with it!

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  8. I actually can't drink (hello, underage ;) ) but I'd like to think that I would make the choice to do a marathon while under my own thinking power :)

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  9. GUILTY! But to be honest, it was a race I had contemplated doing for about 4 weeks. A couple glasses of wine just gave me the little push I needed to sign up. Plus, spending that kind of money (races are not cheap) while tipsy doesn't make it seem as bad.

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  10. I agreed to a race while drinking, but signed up while sober because I'd've felt guilty if I backed out from it. My hubby so wanted me to start running :)

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  11. Ummm.....yeah. My first half-marathon was purchased while sitting at the bar, and ran while still hung over from the Halloween party the night before. That worked so well, my first full marathon was signed up while having a celebratory evening out after the half marathon....and run pretty much the same way. I'm a charter member of the Beer Drinking Club With A Running Problem. My mother is very proud of me.

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  12. Nope. My friends are good enough at the peer pressure that I don't need the alcohol to push me to sign up for anything.

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  13. I'm too much of a planner to sign up for a race drunk, but I DID sign up for my first half on a whim while blissfully unaware that just because I could run two miles didn't mean I was ready for 13. But the failure of THAT race sure spurred me on to improve and keep at it!

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  14. My first marathon came about because I was drinking wine AND looking at Facebook where I saw my ex-boyfriend announce his engagement. One of his friends made a comment about training for Boston and put the date, which happened to be my 40th birthday. I was a big-time runner but never had run a marathon. I vowed there and then to run the Boston marathon on my 40th birthday. Besides the fact that it was a Nor'Easter (2007) it was the beginning of a whole new chapter of my running life and I've never regretted it. So see? Wine is GOOD!

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  15. My worst decisions regarding running and wine involve imbibing one the night before the other, not poor race choices!

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  16. I've never signed up under the influence of alcohol, but FOMO, yes. When you spend a lot of time reading about other people's ultra adventures in incredibly beautiful places or of those that triumphed over challenging circumstances or simply people much older than me who run 100 miles over and over, I find it's damn near inevitable that I'll assume that I can do it too. Call it drunk on inspiration and thirst for adventure...

    No regrets, even when I can't finish. Those failures are stepping stones to future success.

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  17. I have never done it "under the influence" but I may have persuaded my husband to run his first 5K that way! He went through with it but basically hated every minute. Totally worth it!

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  18. Yep, my first marathon when I lived in Hawaii. I was 21 and newly married. We trained by running 6 miles on the highway every day. I got heatstroke on our only long run of 17 miles and took the bus back. The Honolulu marathon did not go well, but I finished. The next marathon was when I was 45. No drinking involved then, and better training.

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  19. Both my 50Ks, because who signs up for an ultra sober? I did follow through and loved every wonderful horrible minute of both.

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  20. My first 5K and I have been running ever since, 4 years later.

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  21. The fuzziness of alcohol makes othwerwise unwise decisions seem wise. I haven't signed up for a marathon, but I have had some of my best at-home business ideas come up while my blood alcohol was elevated. The best so far was the at-home online chat business that involved me webcamera chatting with men while I was cleaning in lingerie. Thankfully, it never came to fruition, i'd probably lose my real job, and my child, and then I saw it on Desperate housewives, and realized I wasn't the only one thinking that. And if i did, with my luck, I'd get something important sucked into the vacuum hose, and ruin my dyson.
    aMY p. pHILLY RUNNER

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  22. Funny you say this...I was just recently talked into another Tough Mudder after drinking...I should know better...but never fear, I will do it!

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  23. That is how I got sucked into my first marathon and how I recently agreed to register for the Mt. Evans Ascent in June. It is probably the only way I would have agreed to take those risks. I may die on the Ascent though.

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  24. I wouldn't say I was *drunk* but a glass of wine at the end of the day has influenced more than one race registration, I'm sure.

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  25. I haven't, but my Ragnar Las Vegas team a couple of years ago was called Alcohol Influenced Decision, and I think most of the rest of the team came up with the idea while enjoy a glass (or two or three) of wine. We haven't done that race since, either; no one really expected to start the race in snow or have so much wind. ;)

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  26. Yep, I've been talked into races while drinking, then actually followed up and registered the next morning.

    Also, I talked several people into doing Warrior Dash when THEY were drinking (I was already registered) AND made them sign up immediately when they said, "Sounds like fun! I'll do it!" Surprisingly enough, although none of them were runners, they all followed through, had fun and didn't hate me.....and most of them are signed up for this year's event.

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  27. No, but I have signed up plenty of times for another event when I was on a runner's high from finishing a marathon or half marathon! Does that count? :-) I usually follow through but there has been once or twice when it didn't work out for one reason or another.

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  28. Nope, never... that's nuts. I do much riskier things when I drink... Heh heh!

    For me, decisions like that planned out ahead of time.

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  29. I didn't even run at all when I got dared into a half marathon. The wine made me say yes. I only had 11 weeks to go from 0 to 13 (or maybe 2 to 13 - I guess anyone can run 2 out of the blocks). It was painful but I'm glad it got me kickstarted into becoming a runner! So yay for wine!

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  30. Wait, you mean you shouldn't sign up for races while under the influence? WUT? There goes my entire year of races for 2014!

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  31. I rarely drink so don't have this problem. Now, if you were to ask "Have you ever signed up for something crazy while on a euphoric high from finishing a short race?" then my answer is 'Absolutely! Including a half marathon when I'd only ever run 6km before....' LOL

    Oh, and while having dinner at friends last weekend I said I'd do Tough Mudder races with them this year - have I mentioned how much I hate dirt, mud, and running in less than stellar conditions? Sheesh..... ;-)

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  32. I usually sign up for races when I am mad at someone/about something at work. I leave a meeting and sit right down at my desk and register for a race.

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  33. I may have never started running marathons had it not been for a bottle of wine. It's one drunk moment that I will never forget.

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  34. I got roped into Ragnar - The Wasatch Back on a night of 'too many'.... The next morning after taking some ibuprofen and kicking myself, I got right back into training and had a great experience!

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  35. اخي العميل اذا كنت تريد شركة الصفرات لخدمات التنظيف والنظافة بالرياض
    تعد من افضل الشركات المعروفة بمجال الخدمات المنزلية
    شركة الصفرات لديها كل الادوات التي تستخدم في تنظيف المجالس والموكيت والسجاد
    لدينا اجهزة التنظيف بالبخار المستوردة
    شركة الصفرات لتنظيف المجالس
    شركة الصفرات لتنظيف الموكيت

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