Not Ready To Put The Race Medals Away

 

I am up earlier than I would like to be but I have a feeling it’s because my body is convinced it is time to get ready for another race.

Running three races in two days and riding buses in the predawn hours which take you from your car to the starting lines will do that to you.

Is it just me or do the famous Steel Stacks remind you of something out of the movie, Willy Wonk And The Chocolate Factory?

Wow. So this weekend was pretty amazing.

It sounds so corny but I am truly proud of myself. Like really.

I was never much of a competitor. I am still not. I have always gone through life doing my own thing but there is just something so amazing about signing up for a race and in this case, three races in one weekend, and actually showing up, running, trying your best and crossing that finish line.

And you know what I mean when I say I want to continue wearing these race medals around my neck today.

I am not ready to let go of the energy of the Runner’s World Half & Festival.

Yes, that would be Bart Yasso.

And you know what else, wearing these race medals around town today can double as a doctor’s note so that people understand why it is I am walking funny.

Yeah. I am sore. But I will take being sore AFTER completing the Hat Trick rather than during it.

I have so much to tell you but I need a little more time to get my act together.

I literally crossed the half marathon finish line yesterday, grabbed water and a banana, found the shuttle to my car, got myself back to the hotel to quickly shower, eat and hit the road to get home.

I couldn’t even cook dinner last night.

You had to know this would be my meal of choice.

You would think that all this running would leave me wanting my desserts.

Not really. I didn’t care if we had dessert last night or not. My appetite is funny like that after races. I am super hungry but the cravings for fudge cakes and desserts really isn’t there.

Of course I ate it though. You can’t put it in front of me and expect me to pass it up.

Okay, so anyway, my plan is to recap the races tomorrow followed up on Wednesday with what I ate to keep myself running.

The one thing I want to leave you with this morning is the first thing I wrote down while sitting in on the Women’s Running seminar on Saturday.

It’s the truth. The running community is just so nice.

It’s like we know each other so well without knowing each other at all. We understand each other. We relate to the training, fueling and cravings, the aches and pains, the race day anxieties and logistics and that feeling of crossing the finish line.

Everyone just starts talking as though we are friends and this will forever fascinate me as you know from reading my post last week about New Yorkers because it is completely different from what I am used to.

And I just love it.

I met these lovely ladies in the hotel while I was drinking my coffee getting ready for the first race on Saturday morning.

We hadn’t a clue where we were going in terms of parking our cars so we headed out together in the dark, following each other in order to get to the right place.

We found our way to the parking areas (confusing as it was) and then found our way to the bathrooms and start lines.

Both race days.

My point here is that we just started talking and helping each other out as if we had been friends forever….

….Because we saw immediately that we were runners and all runners are friends.

I WILL NOT be running today. My father told me yesterday that I really shouldn’t and even without him offering that piece of advice, I already knew it wasn’t even a consideration.

Maybe a walk to loosen up the legs but that’s about it.

I will talk to you tomorrow all about the races, I promise!

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What do you normally crave after a race?

Do you make friends at races too?

Tell me two things you did over the weekend…