The Aftermath and Cheering

After the race I attempted my first ice bath. Ginormous tubs were set up at the finish line and I decided to dive in. Or, gradually lower myself in. Holy moley, coldness! Excruciating, especially for all the parts of my person from the calf muscles down.The North Face people, while well-organized and gifted at coordinating endurance challenges, can't draw an ice bath to save their collective souls.

While, as an ice bath newbie, I am not exactly qualified to comment, I am pretty sure that there should be some water in the ice. I had to break through a layer of ice with my shoe just to get in. I lasted for literally 12 seconds before I was almost screaming in pain.

I felt like I was James Caan in Misery.
 
It was sort of the worst and I, after 12 seconds in an ice bath, have decided that they are over-rated and, like, chilly.
 
I chugged some chocolate milk (recovery nutrition I truly believe in) and tried to convince my Mom and Dad to take me out for food. But they thought I was stinky and made me take a shower back at the hotel before refueling me with noodles and curry. Here's a tip: curry is delicious, but your guts will probably hate it after running a race and continue to do so for some time.
 
The Mom and Dad fled back to their home and then I met up again with Genny so I could continue to stuff my face with more food.
 
She was running the half-marathon on Sunday morning so we crashed early and, for the second day in a row, I hopped out of bed before the sun did. I was excited that I hopped -- my legs actually felt totally fine. I thought I would be limping around for at least a few days so this was exciting to me.
 
I chugged a cup of coffee and a diet blue Mountain Dew -- Genny had cheered like a pro and I wanted to make sure that I had the energy to do the same.
 
We got to the start about an hour before the start. The morning was as gorgeous as the morning before and I was sort of jealous of those who had shown up to race.


I made Genny a sign. It was my own idea and I did it all myself.



Genny seemed happy to race but nervous that she hadn't trained enough. I've known her since the dawn of time and knew that she would finish happy. We hung out, stood around, stared at the grass and got our picture taken.

 

 

Just after 8 a.m., they were off, followed about an hour later by the 5k and 10k runners. The 13.1 course was an out-and back and I obviously wasn't going to outrun the runners so I had some time to hang out before Genny finished. I took a nap on a picnic table and woke to a dog the size of a small squirrel laying next to me.

Genny at the .00001-mile mark.

 

'He thinks you are my girlfriend," the dude holding the dog's leash said. "He gets anxious when she isn't around so he is just pretending that you are her."

 

Uh, pets are weird. Or, in this case, maybe the owner is weird.

 

I sampled some free wine and topped off the tank with some free chocolate milk. Before I knew it it was time to start looking for Genny. Her time goal was approaching and then, with two minute to spare, she came around the final turn, neck and neck with a guy who looked just as intent on crossing the line before her as she did of him. I knew she'd pull it off -- I played soccer with her for years and, well, I knew that no one gets in her way without risk of an ambulance ride.

 

 

Who ya got?

We ate some chips after she finished and I began the long, traffic-filled drive back home. I want to run 50ks every day. I had a great weekend and loved the race. Plus recovery has been going fine so I hope to finish the ride Bill and I are registered to do. I've spent a total of 14 miles on my road bike since a duathlon in March so a century in what looks like will be stormy weather might be interesting. There's an option to drop to the 75-mile route at about the 55-mile mark -- after that you either give up and buy a house to live in wherever you stop or you are on board for the full deal. Could be quite the time.