The Race

So you know I posted about the race that might not happen here.  Seriously it was like one hurdle after another.  The leg pain was intense....it was.  Billy broke his ankle running and couldn't go with me.  Which meant the kids couldn't go either.  Mom was sick.  Dad is expecting another grandchild any day and couldn't go last minute either.  There were lots of road blocks and reasons to say, forget it.  One friend said why not ask a girlfriend to go with you?  Guys honestly, a race weekend is not really a "girl's weekend" unless all the girls are running.  Early to bed Friday night without much dinner and a 4:15 wake-up call can easily place a wedge in a friendship!  The crazy bus shuttles...the waiting for me to finish the run.....the can't find the shuttle back to hotel issue.....the seriously I'm the last shuttle stop? issue.  Yeah.  It's a weekend that was better to just take alone.  And being quite independent and determined to run the race that I'd registered for in APRIL...I was going.  I really enjoyed being by myself honestly.  I mean how many times in your recent adulthood have you had a weekend...by....yourself?  Dang. That was nice.

So why did I run when the doctor said not to?  Well, on Wednesday prior to the race I took matters into my own hands and visited an acupuncturist.  Holy cheese cracker with a side of squeeze cheese!  It was amazing.  No really.  She alleviated the calf pain enough that I was able to run the half marathon with ease.  Yeah, I did listen to my body and took the 13.1 mile turn off.  I hated it.  I cried.  Crying and running do not mix either.  In fact the combo of those two can make you pass out.  Not that I did, but I did have to stop and gather myself and set the eyes straight ahead to the finish line.

The race itself was super fun.  Band stages were set up the entire course.  Rock n' Roll the whole way.  The finish line had a huge stage with bands playing all day.  And of course, on our race bib were tickets for beer.  Can this get any better you ask?  The weather was perfect for running.  I didn't even sweat.  In fact, I told Billy I just kinda glided over the finish line not even winded.  I suppose when you train for a marathon and then run a half your body is used to the distance.  In the past 10 weeks I've run over 14 miles every Saturday until the last 2 weeks.  The most I ran during the training was 18.

So today I feel pretty good.  I ate like I was never going to get to eat again ever yesterday.  Funny.  The leg pain is very annoyingly persistent though.  I just want to run.  And not hurt.  So I'll take it easy and hopefully build back up to the distances again.  And yes, I am already looking ahead for the next race.