Recovering & Spectating

Hey guys!

It’s been a little while since we’ve last talked. I have been busy recovering from my marathon and watching my training group dominate their race!

We got home from New York late Monday evening and thankfully, I was able to take the day off from work on Tuesday. Tuesday evening I was worn out, but Daniel convinced me that we should go to the group run at Running Wild that evening. I should’ve known something was up at this point, because usually I am the one trying to convince him that we need to go to the group run and not the other way around. I reluctantly got out of bed (it was 5:30 p.m. #noshame) and we headed to the store.

My legs felt surprisingly good and we were able to get in 6 miles with the group. Daniel and I were planning to go grocery shopping after the run, but that didn’t happen. We got in the car and he started driving, but he passed the turn for the store. I was really confused at this point, but as it turns out, a few of my friends had planned a little “surprise party” for me after the run that evening and Daniel was in on it. I was so surprised and very appreciative of such a kind gesture! We stayed around for a while talking and hanging out with everyone. I hate that I didn’t get any pictures that evening, but I do have a picture of the banner that they made for me. Isn’t it awesome?!

The rest of the week was pretty standard stuff, which was actually pretty nice after a couple of weeks that felt like a whirlwind. I was ready to get back into somewhat of a routine. Work, a few short, easy runs and a few rest days happened. We did finally make it to the store at some point, as well. Oh, and Brookser got a bath. He loves his baths! It is so funny to see him prance all around in his scarf after he is cleaned up. It’s like he just knows he is a big ‘ole heart throb. He was actually the only thing that got documented on my camera the rest of the week, so here ‘ya go.

Saturday morning, Daniel and I headed back to Running Wild for my training group’s last run of the training cycle. They only had three miles on the schedule (their race was the next day), so we decided to meet a little bit later and we all went to breakfast afterwards to talk about the game plan for the race. We went to Sweet Olive at the Windmill Market in Fairhope. I have been hearing a lot of really good things about this place, so I was really excited to try it out. It definitely didn’t disappoint. They had lots of healthy “carb” options, which is exactly what marathoners need the day before a race. I think everyone either got the homemade fruit and nut granola, the organic rolled oatmeal or the breakfast quiche and everyone was happy!

Sunday morning was a very early wake up call (i.e., 3:15 a.m.). A few of us met to carpool over to the race, which started at 6:30 that morning in Pensacola. When I woke up and looked at the weather forecast, the radar was a solid green blob. 100% chance of rain all the way through the morning. I really hated that for my girls. They have trained so hard and race-day weather plays a huge part in your marathon success and/or failure. The only silver lining was that the temperatures had cooled off a little bit from the previous two days.

I was absolutely amazed and how well the group handled the weather. They stayed positive and went out there and ran their hearts out. I absolutely loved being there to watch each one of them cross the finish line. It was so exciting to catch a glimpse of them in the distance. Every time, I would exclaim, “Oh my gosh, here comes (insert runner name here)! Ahh! Yay!” I am having a hard time putting my feelings into words here, but you get the idea … I was just so darn proud of and happy for them.

It would have been really easy for them to get discouraged or give up on the race because the conditions were bad, but for the most part they stayed relentlessly positive. They really inspired me! Not everyone got the goal that they wanted (for the most part, they actually did though), but they all showed up and gave it their all. As a coach, you can’t ask for more than that.

Watching them run was so much fun and of course, made me want to run! I had already decided that Sunday was going to be a rest day for me, so I didn’t do any actual running. BUT, I did do some actual thinking about running. I’ve officially (well, as official as you can be without actually registering for the race yet) made up my mind about the next marathon I am going to run …

More to come on that on the next installment. Stay tuned!

Anyone have any guesses?