Running recap - a comical story

Well I'm back from the great city of philly and let me tell you. I am sore! I never expected to be this wiped out after running, but i most certainly am. It's a good thing my fiance was along to drive us home because I don't know if I could! This weekend was a mix of nerves, adrenaline, and excitement all bundle up into on big emotional mess. This race pushed my limits but has me looking forward to the philly half marathon this fall. Can I do it? I'd sure like to!

The trip started out with a 2.5 hour drive in lots of traffic. Once we got into Philly we fought against people trying to get to (1) a concert (2) the baseball game or (3) the running expo. Traffic was ridiculous! It didn't help that we took a wrong turn which took us atleast a mile out of the way. Well to make a long story short. We were on our way back in the right direction with only 25 minutes until the expo closed. (5pm) - Afraid that we wouldn't be able to get our bib number my friend and I threw on our running shoes, jumped out of the car, and ran to the expo. Yes, that's right. RAN. No, actually it was a full out sprint for atleast a mile! Oh my goodness, I ran on a highway in philly in jean shorts and running shoes.

Well don't you know, but as we are running past tons of cars (a laughing because they were stopped and we were running) we hear another person honk, and a girl yelled, "HEY!" We looked left to find our other friend driving next to us. To make sure that she got her bib too, we took her license and information and kept on running. We made it to the expo with 16minutes to spare! whew, glad we took care of that!

We had a beautiful italian dinner last night and tried to sleep (although the excitement kept me awake). Woke up this morning around 5:40, took our time getting ready, then walked through town to catch the subway at 6:45. Weather today? Cold and rainy. ew. We made it to the start with plenty of time and managed to pee twice before the race! haha - it must have been the nerves.

The race itself was beautiful. It was a straight shot through philly, down broad street. Spectators from all over came out of their houses to cheer us on. Bands were playing at random mile markers and our halfway mark was city hall. It was an absolutely beautiful run... until... around mile 6 my calves cramped. And when I say cramped, I mean complete muscle contraction, causing me to scream in pain and pull off to the side to stretch. This slowed me down for the last 4 miles, but somehow I managed to walk/run and finish averaging a 10 minute mile!

Final chip time? 1:41:02

whew, glad that's done, but can't wait to train for another. Although I don't have kids, I relate running to giving birth to kids. Terrible while you're doing it, but you forget all the pain once it's done and can't wait for another! haha

Tonight I plan on taking another hot shower, stretching, and relaxing!

Calories today? B: piece of bread and half a banana (150) Post race food: plain soft pretzel (?400) and a banana (100) S: fruit and yogurt bar (230) D: Leftover spaghetti (600) Ds: one serving of vanilla ice cream and caramel (220)

Tomorrow's attractions: current weight and what I've learned from this race!